Bojangles Southern 500 Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Each week NASCAR Editor David Morgan will break down the top storylines from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. This week, we break down the Bojangles’ Southern 500 from Darlington Raceway. Comeback of the Year? After winning Saturday’s NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Darlington with a last lap pass on Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin headed into Sunday night’s main event looking for the weekend sweep, but despite having one of the fastest cars on track, he almost gave the win away. Hamlin would lead 121Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C. – Denny Hamlin made a huge mistake on Sunday night. Then the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota made an even bigger comeback to win one of NASCAR’s most prestigious races. Running down race leader Martin Truex Jr. from 20 seconds back after missing the entrance to pit road on Lap 313 of 367, Hamlin won the Bojangles’ Southern 500 for the second time, finishing off a sweep of the throwback Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series/NASCAR XFINITY Series weekend atRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Despite suffering a flat right-front tire with two laps to go at Darlington, taking him out of contention for his second straight Southern 500 win, Martin Truex, Jr. will leave the track “Too Tough to Tame” with the consolation prize of the regular season points championship, giving him an all-important 15-point bonus for the playoffs. “It was definitely a bittersweet night for us, to come up just two laps short there, blow a tire at the end after having no issues with tires all nightRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway was a tale of two races for the 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year (ROTY) contenders in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Of the five of the ROTY contenders, only the two BK Racing drivers have no previous experience at ‘The Track Too Tough to Tame.’ Erik Jones was the best rookie for the third week in a row, finishing fifth in the No. 77 5-hour ENERGY / Rookie Salute Toyota Camry after running inside the top-10Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After a weekend off to recharge the batteries before making the final 12 race push to finish off the season, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to one of the crown jewels on the circuit, Darlington Raceway, for this weekend’s running of the Bojangles’ Southern 500. Darlington Raceway has been a staple of the Cup Series since opening in 1950 for its annual Labor Day weekend event with the Southern 500 being held on that date until a controversial decision was made to moveRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor Ryan Newman, who has made it into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup in each of the past three seasons, will face a huge uphill battle in Richmond — the final race before the 2016 Chase — if he is to advance into the championship battle this year. Newman finished eighth this past week at Darlington, a track he calls his favorite on the schedule, but in post-race inspection Newman’s No. 31 Chevrolet SS failed in the LIS (Laser Inspection Station). As a result,Read More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor Many are considering 2016 a career-year for 36-year-old Martin Truex Jr., but I believe after an incredible victory in the Bojangles’ Southern 500 on Sunday, that he’s just getting started. Truex has been fast virtually everywhere he has unloaded in 2016, and with Sunday’s win at Darlington, he has now crossed two crown jewel events from his bucket list. He of course led 392 of the 400 laps in the Coca-Cola 600 earlier this year as well. Truex was also within about an inch ofRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor Throughout the night in the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington, Kevin Harvick and his No. 4 Chevrolet, sporting a Cale Yarborough throwback paint scheme, was a familiar sight at the front of the field, but a late race pit road miscue ended Harvick’s hopes for a second Darlington win. Starting on pole after qualifying was cancelled due to Tropical Storm Hermine, Harvick took off in the lead like a bullet from a gun when the green flag dropped and was untouchable for the first 93Read More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer Entering Sunday’s Bojangles Southern 500, Tony Stewart had yet to win at the historic Darlington Raceway. As part of the Throwback Weekend at Darlington Raceway, Tony Stewart and his Stewart-Haas Racing team unveiled a Bobby Allison-inspired Coca-Cola Chervolet SS paint scheme, which Stewart would run at Darlington. All track activity on Friday was cancelled due to severe weather. As a result, qualifying on Saturday was scrapped in favor of practice. With the starting grid set by points, Stewart lined up 17th on Sunday. Stewart wasRead More