Cook Out Southern 500 Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C. — Welcome back, Kyle Larson.  The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion held off a desperate charge from fellow Playoff driver Tyler Reddick at sold-out Darlington Raceway to claim victory in Sunday night’s Cook Out Southern 500 and earn an automatic berth in the Round of 12.  Larson entered the Playoff opener with an undistinguished average finish of 17.5 in his previous six races, but he weathered a transmission momentary stuck in neutral and a disconcerting brush with the wall to register hisRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C. – After edging Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin by .026 seconds in Saturday’s time trials, Christopher Bell will lead the field to green in the first NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race of 2023—Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway (6 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).  Bell navigated the venerable 1.366-mile speedway in 29.065 seconds (169.193 mph) to claim his third Busch Light Pole Award in the last eight races and first at the Track Too ToughRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C. – In a race that had more twists and turns than a Victorian melodrama, Erik Jones put the vaunted No. 43 Chevrolet back in Victory Lane for the first time since 2014.   In a remarkable run to the finish in the season’s first NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race, Jones held off Denny Hamlin in a 20-lap run to the finish to win the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway for the second time.   The Sunday night race took its toll onRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Kevin Harvick has had enough. The safety of the Next Gen car in the NASCAR Cup Series has been a common topic during its inaugural season on track and Sunday night at Darlington Raceway, safety was back at the forefront again. Harvick, who was running inside the top-five with less than 100 laps remaining in the Cook Out Southern 500, suddenly had fire erupting from under the right-front wheel well as he ran down the frontstretch. As he drove into Turn 1, the fire grew largerRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C. – Déjà vu will be just fine for Joey Logano.  The driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford won the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series spring event at Darlington Raceway from the pole.  After edging Christopher Bell for the top starting position in Saturday’s time trials, Logano will have a chance to repeat the feat in Sunday’s Playoff opener, the Cook Out Southern 500 (6 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).  In the final round of qualifying, Logano negotiatedRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor After a wild weekend in Daytona to wrap up the regular season and set the 16-driver field for the Playoffs, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to one of the crown jewels on the circuit, Darlington Raceway, for Sunday’s running of the Cook Out Southern 500. A staple of the Cup Series since 1950, there are many elements to Darlington that make it a special track. From the egg-shape of the track that features one end narrower than the other as a result of building the trackRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer When the NASCAR Cup Series have its final 10 races, the main focus shifts directly to the playoffs. For non-playoff driver Ross Chastain, his goal is delivering strong results in his final 10 races with Chip Ganassi Racing before moving to Trackhouse Racing in 2022. Chastain was best of the rest and felt to have had the strongest car during Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. As the laps were winding down, Chastain was able to go toe-to-toe with the likes of DarlingtonRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Just send it. Heading into the final set of turns in Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington, Kyle Larson had one chance to try and surpass Denny Hamlin for the win and in true Larson fashion, he gave maximum effort. Larson launched his car around the outside lane of Turns 3 and 4, bouncing off the wall a few times, but still managed to gain ground on Hamlin, eventually finding himself on Hamlin’s back bumper as they came down the home stretch to the checkeredRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C. – Holding off regular-season champion Kyle Larson throughout a thrilling final green-flag run in Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Denny Hamlin is winless in 2021 no more. Hamlin maintained control of his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota as Larson buried his No. 5 Chevrolet into Turns 3 and 4 on the final lap. Larson gave Hamlin a tap, but Hamlin blocked the top lane and got to the finish line .212 seconds ahead of the runner-up. “He droveRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer William Byron was among the many NASCAR Cup Series playoff drivers who were tamed by “The Lady in Black.” Not once, but twice in Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500, becoming the third competitor crashing out at Darlington Raceway. Following a late-race crash in last Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400, Byron hoped Darlington would be a turnaround weekend. Especially, that it’s the playoff opener and having a career season. However, it wasn’t in the cards the from the very beginning. On Lap 15, Byron couldn’t avoidRead More