It’s the Cook Out Southern 500 and a last chance to make the playoffs for the Cup Series at “The Lady in Black” and “the track too tough to tame”; the track also known as Darlington Raceway.
Currently 13 drivers have secured spots in the playoffs with race wins. As the crews enter Darlington Martin Truex Jr, Ty Gibbs, and Chris Buescher are above the cut line and would make it in the playoffs should a driver who has already won a race win again. However, Darlington is one of those tracks that anything can happen and anyone can win.
Thirty-seven teams brought cars to Darlington this week with Shane van Gisbergen doing double duty as he continues to learn the tracks of NASCAR.
The drivers have been divided into two groups for a 20 minute practice session. The drivers are practicing and qualifying in the heat of the day but will be racing later in the evening on Sunday night.
It has been two years since Erik Jones has won a race, but two of his three wins have come at Darlington.
Ricky Stenhouse spins out hitting the wall hard head on. Stenhouse reports that he doesn’t think the damage is too bad and the crew can get it fixed ok. He reports that he got tight and the car stepped out on him. Due to the damage to the car, Stenhouse will not be making a qualifying run and will start the race at the back of the field.
Tyler Reddick earned his Darlington Stripe early…during practice.
At the end of Group A practice, Erik Jones tops the leaderboard with the number 43 car.
After Group B practice, Carson Hocevar tops the leaderboard.
The first driver on the track to make a qualifying run is Shane van Gisbergen who posted a time of 30.267 seconds around the 1.33 mile track.
The third car out, Ryan Preece breaks the 30 second mark with a time of 29.981 seconds.
Austin Dillon gets loose but saves the car and still posts a time of 29.670 seconds.
Bumping the wall, Bubba Wallace still put down a lap of 29.328 seconds to top the board.
The top five drivers from Group A are Bubba Wallace, William Byron, Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick, and Chris Buescher and will be moving on to round two of qualifying.
Timmy Hill is the first driver on the track from Group B and posted a time of 31.296 seconds.
Christopher Bell puts down the fastest lap of the day with a time of 29.239 seconds.
The Group B drivers moving on to round two of qualifying are Martin Truex Jr, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, and Carson Hocevar.
First up is Chris Buescher who posted a time of 29.650 seconds.
With a time of 29.421 seconds, Bubba Wallace sits on the pole with Kyle Larson starting alongside on the front row.
The starting lineup for the Cook Out Southern 500:
Bubba Wallace
Carson Hocevar
Chase Briscoe
Kyle Larson
Martin Truex Jr
Tyler Reddick
Ryan Blaney
William Byron
Christopher Bell
Chris Buescher
Austin Cindric
Brad Keselowski
Ty Gibbs
Denny Hamlin
Josh Berry
Austin Dillon
Kyle Busch
John Hunter Nemechek
Corey LaJoie
Chase Elliott
Justin Haley
Ross Chastain
Joey Logano
Harrison Burton
Daniel Hemric
Zane Smith
Alex bowman
Erik Jones
Noah Gragson
Ryan Preece
Michael McDowell
Daniel Suarez
Todd Gilliland
Shane van Gisbergen
Kaz Grala
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Timmy Hill
Stages one and two 115 laps each with stage three lasting 137 for a total of 367 laps around the 1.33 mile track.
Bubba Wallace brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with rookie Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar alongside on the inside lane. Wallace gets out in front for the lead with Kyle Larson moving up to second.
Lap three, the first caution flag of the race comes out for a wreck between Martin Truex Jr and Ryan Blaney. Truex made a hard turn and got loose and took out Blaney in the process. He came on the radio saying that he was an idiot. Ryan Blaney is out of the car…and out of the race. When asked if he was ok, Blaney said he didn’t know.
With a severely crashed car, crew chief James Small tells Martin Truex to get out of the car. The crash erases a 58 point cushion above the cut line for Truex.
Bubba Wallace brings the field down for the green flag restart with Kyle Larson alongside on lap 10. Wallace edges out for the lead with teammate Tyler Reddick behind him.
Lap 12, the top five are Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson, Carson Hocevar, and Chase Briscoe.
Out of the infield care center, Ryan Blaney said that he is all right.
Lap 15, Bubba Wallace has a quarter of a second lead on Tyler Reddick; Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five. Hocevar is the youngest driver to start on the front row at 21.
Lap 20, bubba Wallace leads the race but is getting a challenge from teammate Tyler Reddick; Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, and William Byron round out the top five.
Lap 24, Bubba Wallace has led every lap so far with Tyler Reddick on his bumper with car owner Michael Jordon looking on.
Lap 32, the top five are Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, and William Byron.
This is the 13th visit to Darlington for Bubba Wallace and he has led more laps today than all of the other trips…combined!
Lap 35, Bubba Wallace leads the way for green flag pit stops. Tyler Reddick is the new leader.
Tyler Reddick makes his green flag pit stop and gives the lead over to William Byron.
Kyle Larson beat Bubba Wallace out of pit road and will take over the lead of the race once all of the pit stops have cycled through.
Lap 38, William Byron makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Denny Hamlin.
Tires are very abrasive at Darlington and wear out long before the car needs fuel.
Lap 41, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and Shane van Gisbergen are the only drivers left that need to make a pit stop.
Lap 42, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch make their pit stops and gives the lead over to Shane van Gisbergen – the only driver who has yet to make a pit stop.
Denny Hamlin had a slow pit stop after the tire changer had to re-apply a lug nut.
Lap 52, Kyle Larson has a lead of over two seconds on Bubba Wallace; Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.
In eighth place, Ty Gibbs noted how nice everyone is driving…there is still plenty of racing left though.
Lap 58, Kyle Larson has increased his lead to three and a half seconds on Bubba Wallace.
Lap 60, Kyle Larson has increased his lead to over four seconds on Bubba Wallace; Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.
Lap 70, Kyle Larson has a lead of over three seconds on Bubba Wallace as drivers begin a second round of green flag pit stops.
Austin Cindric was charged with having an uncontrolled tire on pit road and will have to serve a pass through penalty.
Lap 75, Denny Hamlin is the leader and in need of a pit stop. He has never had a DNF – Did Not Finish – at Darlington.
Lap 79, Kyle Larson retakes the lead after green flag pit stops with Bubba Wallace nearly two seconds back; Tyler Reddick, William Byron, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.
Lap 84, there are just 25 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 88, Kyle Larson had a lead of nearly three and a half seconds on Bubba Wallace; Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe, and William Byron round out the top five.
Currently in third place, Tyler Reddick is not feeling well.
Lap 92, leader Kyle Larson and Daniel Suarez battle for position with Suarez trying to stay on the lead lap.
Lap 97, Kyle Larson finally gets around Daniel Suarez to put Suarez a lap down.
Lap 100, Kyle Larson has a near three second lead on Bubba Wallace; Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.
With just eleven laps remaining in stage one, Kyle Larson has a near four second lead on Bubba Wallace; Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick, and Christopher Bell round out the top five. With 23 cars on the lead lap.
Kyle Larson wins stage one for his ninth stage win of the season..
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Kyle Larson
Bubba Wallace
Chase Briscoe
Tyler Reddick
Christopher Bell
Denny Hamlin
Ty Gibbs
William Byron
Josh Berry
Chris Buescher
Drivers come down pit road for service with Kyle Larson winning the race off of pit road; followed by Bubba Wallace.
Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two on lap 123 with Larson jumping out in front and Chase Briscoe in second.
Bubba Wallace drops to fourth.
Lap 124, Tyler Reddick has reported several times of feeling ill but he is showing no sign of slowing down on the track and continues to battle; he is currently in third place.
Lap 127, Kyle Larson has a lead of just a quarter of a second on Chase Briscoe; Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.
Justin Haley makes an unscheduled trip down pit road.
Lap 129,Todd Gilliland gets into the wall hard but the track stays green.
Lap 130, Bubba Wallace and boss man Denny Hamlin battle for fifth. Christopher Bell takes fourth.
There is as much of a battle for position to stay on the lead lap as there is at the front of the field.
Lap 142, Kyle Larson has a second and half lead on Chase Briscoe; Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
As the sun begins to set, the air and track temperatures are beginning to drop.
Lap 146, Kyle Larson has increased his lead to two seconds on Chase Briscoe.
Lap 150, Joey Logano and Todd Gilliland begin the cycle of green flag pit stops.
Lap 153, leader Kyle Larson makes his green flag pit stop and gives the lead over to Josh Berry.
Another slow stop for Denny Hamlin after a lug nut issue.
Lap 157, leader Josh Berry makes his pit stop and gives the lead back over to Kyle Larson.
Lap 164, Kyle Larson has a lead of over a second and a half on Chase Briscoe; Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
Lap 167, the lights are on but have not yet taken full effect as the sun continues to go down.
Lap 171, there are 24 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 173, Ty Gibbs hits the wall but the track stays green.
Lap 175, Kyle Larson holds a second and a half lead on Chase Briscoe; Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
Lap 181, Kyle Larson’s lead over Chase Briscoe is down to just half a second; Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, and William Byron round out the top five.
William Byron passes Denny Hamlin for fourth.
Lap 184, Brad Keselowski begins the next cycle of green flag pit stops.
Kyle Larson is in a battle to put Austin Cindric down a lap and loses his gap on Chase Briscoe.
Bubba Wallace reports no grip on all four corners.
Lap 187, leader Kyle Larson makes his green flag pit stop with a report of being tight. Christopher Bell is the new leader.
Lap 188, Christopher Bell makes his pit stop and givbes the lead over to Denny Hamlin.
Lap 192, Denny Hamlin makes his pit stop and gives the lead over Jash Berry.
Lap 193, Josh Berry completes the cycle of green flag pit stops and gives the lead back over to Kyle Larson.
Lap 201, Kyle Larson has a lead of over a second on Chase Briscoe; Christopher Bell, William Byron, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Lap 205, there are just 20 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 206, Josh Berry and Ryan Preece pass Joey Logano.
208, Kyle Busch passes Joey Logano for 13th.
Lap 209, Kyle Larson has a lead of over a second on Chase Briscoe; William Byron, Christopher Bell, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Lap 217, Kyle Larson has a lead of over a second on Chase Briscoe; William Byron, Denny Hamlin, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.
Lap 220, Kyle Larson is “mowing them down” and has put all but 18 cars a lap down.
Kyle Larson has a lead of over a second and a half on Chase Briscoe.
With seven laps remaining in stage two, Denny Hamlin gives William Byron a bump to get Byron loose and passes Byron for third.
Five laps to go in stage two, Kyle Larson is once again in a battle with Daniel Suarez to put Suarez a lap down.
When the race began, Tyler Reddick had a 13 point lead on Kyle Larson for the regular season championship; that lead is now down to just eight points.
Kyle Larson wins stage two for the stage sweep.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Kyle Larson
Chase Briscoe
Denny Hamlin
William Byron
Christopher Bell
Ty Gibbs
Josh Berry
Tyler Reddick
Bubba Wallace
Brad Keselowski
Drivers come down pit road for service with Kyle Larson winning the race off of pit road; followed by Denny Hamlin.
Martin Truex Jr has secured a spot in the playoffs despite a lap two crash out.
Austin Dillon was charged with leaving pit road with equipment. Daniel Hemric was charged with the crew coming over the wall too soon. Both drivers will have to restart the race from the back of the field.
Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 238 and holds on to the le but Chase Briscoe moves up to battle for the spot on the inside lane.
Christopher Bell gets into the wall on the restart.
Lap 239, the top five are Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, William Byron, and Tyler Reddick.
Lap 242, Bubba Wallace needs to find six points in order to make in into the playoffs.
Lap 244, Kyle Busch enters the top 10.
Kyle Larson now has a one point lead over Tyler Reddick for the regular season championship.
Lap 249, Kyle Larson has a lead of a little over half a second on Chase Briscoe; Denny Hamlin, William Byron, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five with 19 cars on the lead lap.
Lapa 256, Kyle Larson has led 190 laps so far.
Lap 259, Kyle Larson has a near second and a half lead on Chase Briscoe; Denny Hamlin, William Byron, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Lap 264, Kyle Larson has a near three second lead on Chase Briscoe; Denny Hamlin, William Byron, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Lap 270, green flag pit stops have begun. Kyle Larson has pulled out to a four second lead on Chase Briscoe; Denny Hamlin, William Byron, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
The teams were given 12 sets of tires for tonight’s race.
Lap 273, Kyle Larson makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Denny Hamlin. Larson comes out of pit road in front of Chase Briscoe who pitted the lap earlier.
Lap 279, leader Denny Hamlin makes his green flag pit stop. Bubba Wallace is the new leader.
Lap 280, Bubba Wallace makes his green flag pit stop and gives the lead back to Kyle Larson.
Lap 287, Kyle Larson continues to lead the race – 213 laps and counting. He has a lead of over two seconds on Chase Briscoe; Ty Gibbs, Ross Chastain, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
With 77 laps remaining in the race, Kyle Larson has a four second lead on Chase Briscoe; Ty Gibbs, Denny Hamlin, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.
Timmy Hill is slowed on the track but gets off the racing surface and the track stays green.
Seventy to go, Kyle Larson leads the point standing by four points over Tyler Reddick. Larson has a lead of nearly five seconds on Chase Briscoe; Denny Hamlin, William Byron, and Ty Gibbs round out the top five.
Lap 301, Denny Hamlin passes Chase Briscoe for second.
With 63 laps to go, Kyle Larson has a lead of over three seconds on Denny Hamlin; Chase Briscoe, William Byron, and Josh Berry round out the top five.
Sixty to go, Kyle Larson’s lead is down to under three seconds over Denny Hamlin. Bubba Wallace is just two points below the cut line.
Lap 314, Carson Hocevar spins out to bring out the caution flag. Ross Chastain had just come down pit road and is now a lap down.
Drivers come down pit road for service. Kyle Larson notes that the track is losing grip. Kyle Larson wins the race off of pit road with Denny Hamlin coming out second. Chris Buescher had a slow pit stop with tire issues.
Kyle Larson brings the field down pit road for the green flag restart with Denny Hamlin alongside on lap 320. The two go side by side with Kyle Larson finally getting out in front on turn four.
With 47 laps to go the top five are Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Ty Gibbs, and Josh Berry.
Lap 322, the caution flag comes out after a crash between Todd Gilliland and Chris Buescher. Gilliland tried to pass Buescher and makes contact; Gilliland gets into the wall.
Many of the drivers come down pit road for service with the top seven staying out on the track.
Michael Jordan – owner of the Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick cars – said that he is very excited and nervous for his drivers.
Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag restart with Denny Hamlin alongside with 40 laps remaining in the race. Larson takes the lead while Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin battle for second.
The top five are Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, ty Gibbs, and Josh Berry.
With 38 laps to go, Chase Briscoe is on Kyle Larson’s bumper.
There are 36 laps to go, Kyle Larson has just a tenth of a second lead on Chase Briscoe; Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and Ty Gibbs round out the top five.
Just 33 laps to go, Kyle Larson holds on to the lead with Chase Briscoe on Larson’s bumper.
The caution flag comes out on lap 337 for Carson Hocevar who gets into the wall with a flat tire.
Drivers come down pit road with Ross Chastain staying out on the track. Bubba Wallace reports that he is very tight. Kyle Larson wins the race off of pit road.
Ross Chastain brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 342. Chastain gets out in front for the lead. Chase Briscoe jumps down on the inside for a three way battle with Kyle Larson and Ty Gibbs to take the lead.
The top five are Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, and Christoper Bell.
The caution flag comes out on lap 344 for a big crash when Josh Berry goes for a three wide battle with Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs. Berry gets into the wall and stacks up the field. Austin Dillon, Noah Gragson, Bubba Wallace, William Byron, Ty Gibbs, and Daniel Suarez were all involved.
Several drivers come down pit road for fresh tires while the leaders stay out.
Chase Briscoe brings the field down for the green flag restart with just 17 laps to go in the race. Briscoe jumps out in front for the lead. Restarting the race in ninth, Kyle Busch jumps down on the inside lane and moves up to fifth.
The top five are Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Chris Buescher, and Kyle Busch.
With 15 to go, Kyle Busch is in second place just over half a second behind Chase Briscoe.
With 12 laps to go, Kyle Busch is just half a second behind leader Chase Briscoe. For the second week in a row, Kyle Busch is in second place fighting for a win.
Ten to go, Kyle Busch is less then three tenths of a second behind Chase Briscoe.
Eight to go, just two tenths of a second separate leader Chase Briscoe and Kyle Busch.
Five to go, Chase Briscoe has a three tenths of a second lead on Kyle Busch.
Three to go, leader Chase Briscoe and Kyle Busch are separated by less than a third of a second.
Chase Briscoe takes the white flag after hitting the wall.
Chase Briscoe wins his second career race after a 93 race winless streak. Kyle Busch falls short again and fails to make the playoffs for the first time in eleven years.
Chase Briscoe has just raced himself into the playoffs; joining Harrison Burton in a win and you are in shocker.
Ty Gibbs gets the final playoff spot.
And winning by just ONE point, Tyler Reddick is the regular season champion!
The unofficial results of the Cook Out Southern 500:
Chase Briscoe
Kyle Busch
Christopher Bell
Kyle Larson
Ross Chastain
Chris Buescher
Denny Hamlin
Joey Logano
Corey LaJoie
Tyler Reddick
Chase Elliott
Ryan Preece
Austin Cindric
Brad Keselowski
Austin Dillon
Bubba Wallace
Todd Gilliland
Daniel Suarez
Alex Bowman
Ty Gibbs
Harrison Burton
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Zane Smith
Erik Jones
John Hunter Nemechek
Shane van Gisbergen
Justin Haley
Michael McDowell
Daniel Hemric
William Byron
Josh Berry
Noah Gragson
Carson Hocevar
Kaz Grala
Timmy Hill
Martin Truex Jr
Ryan Blaney