Denny Hamlin holds off Kyle Larson at Darlington for dramatic NASCAR Cup Playoff win: 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.[Read More](9-5-2021)

#11-Denny Hamlin won the Cook Out Southern 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway. The win is his 1st win of the year, 4th win at Darlington and 45th career win.
#5-Larson finished 2nd followed by #42-Chastain, #19-Truex, #4-Harvick, #1-Busch, #2-Keselowski, #22-Logano, #17-Buescher, and #3-Dillon.
Pole sitter #12-Blaney finished 22nd after a late race spin.
Hamlin took the lead with 68 laps remaining and held off late charges by Larson and Chastain. The win locks him into the Playoffs’ Round of 12.
A number of Playoff drivers ran into trouble:
On lap 32, #34-McDowell got loose and slid down the track into the inside wall, tearing up the front of the car.  He could not continue and finished 37th.
Just after the start of the second stage, #18-Busch got hard into the outside wall after contact from #3-Dillon and tore up the rear of the car.  He went to the garage and finished 35th.
#24-Byron cut a tire down on lap 200 and slid up into the wall. The car could not be repaired.  He finished 34th.
With 41 laps remaining, #9-Elliott made contact with the wall and tore up the front end of the car.  He finished 31st.
Stage 1 was won by #11-Hamlin. Stage 2 was won by #5-Larson.
There were 18 lead changes among 10 drivers and 11 cautions for 52 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 121.279mph.
See race details at: Race Results, Drivers Points Standings, Owner Points Standings, Cumulative Report, Penalty Report.

Race Fast Facts – Darlington:
Denny Hamlin (P) won the 72nd Annual Cook Out Southern 500, his 45th victory in 569 Cup Series races.
This is his first victory and 18th top-10 finish in 2021.
This is his fourth victory and 15th top-10 finish in 19 races at Darlington Raceway.
Kyle Larson (P) (second) posted his seventh top-10 finish in eight races at Darlington Raceway. It is his 19th top-10 finish in 2021.
Ross Chastain (third) posted his first top-10 finish in five races at Darlington Raceway.
Chase Briscoe (19th) was the highest finishing rookie.
(NASCAR)(9-5-2021)

Where the 2021 Cup Series Playoff drivers finished at Darlington:
#11-Denny Hamlin, 1st
#5-Kyle Larson, 2nd
#19-Martin Truex, Jr., 4th
#4-Kevin Harvick, 5th
#1-Kurt Busch, 6th
#2-Brad Keselowski, 7th
#22-Joey Logano, 8th
#10-Aric Almirola, 16th
#8-Tyler Reddick, 18th
#20-Christopher Bell, 20th
#12-Ryan Blaney, 22nd
#48-Alex Bowman, 26th
#9-Chase Elliott, 31st
#24-William Byron, 34th
#18-Kyle Busch, 35th
#34-Michael McDowell, 37th

Cup Series Playoff Standings after Darlington:

(Race 27 of 36 in the season; Race 1 of 3 in the round of 16)
1) #11-Denny Hamlin, 2072 [Locked into Round of 12]
2) #5-Kyle Larson, 2106 +80 ahead of 13th
3) #19-Martin Truex, Jr., 2062, +36
4) #1-Kurt Busch, 2052, +26
5) #12-Ryan Blaney, 2048, +22
6) #22-Joey Logano, 2047, +21
7) #4-Kevin Harvick, 2046, +20
8) #2-Brad Keselowski, 2038, +12
9) #20-Christopher Bell, 2031, +5
10) #9-Chase Elliott, 2030, +4
11) #10-Aric Almirola, 2029, +3
12) #48-Alex Bowman, 2026, tied with 13th
Currently below the Round of 12 cutoff
13) #8-Tyler Reddick, 2026, tied with 12th
14) #18-Kyle Busch, 2024, -2
15) #24-William Byron, 2017, -9
16) #34-Michael McDowell, 2006, -20
See the Driver Points Standings and Owner Points Standings.

Paint Schemes

Cars to the rear: #3-Dillon (multiple inspection failures)

Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the Cook Out Southern 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway have been made.
Pole sitter #12-Blaney chose pit stall 1.
Outside pole sitter #11-Hamlin took the 8th stall, with an opening in front of it.
See all pit choices on Pit Stall chart.(9-1-2021)

#12-Ryan Blaney will start from the pole for the Cook Out Southern 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway.
#11-Hamlin will start second, followed by #1-Busch, #9-Elliott, #48-Bowman, #5-Larson, #8-Reddick, #10-Almirola, #4-Harvcik, and #19-Truex, Jr.
The lineup was set by the qualifying metrics, based on race finish, points position, and fastest race lap, with Playoff drivers starting ahead of the rest of the field.
See the complete starting order on the Cook Out Southern 500 Starting Lineup page.(9-1-2021)

Crew Rosters

Goodyear Tire Notes

The Entry List for the Cook Out Southern 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway is posted, 37 teams/drivers [for 40 spots] are listed.
Some of the drivers entered include: #15-Gase, #53-Davison, #77-Haley.
See the full entry list on the Cook Out Southern 500 Entry List page.

There will not be practice or qualifying at Darlington.

2021 Cup Series: Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington TandemDraft Stats