Kyle Larson wins Cook Out Southern 500 to advance in NASCAR Cup Playoffs: 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.[Read More](9-3-2023)

#5-Kyle Larson won the Cook Out Southern 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway. The win is his 3rd win of the year, 1st at Darlington and 22nd career win.
#45-Tyler Reddick finished 2nd followed by #17-Chris Buescher, #24-William Byron, #1-Ross Chastain, #6-Brad Keselowski, #23-Bubba Wallace, #9-Chase Elliott, #12-Ryan Blaney, and #43-Erik Jones.
Larson took the lead on his final pit stop, with 56 laps remaining and held off Reddick the rest of the way.
Pole winner #20-Christopher Bell made contact with the wall early and was caught in a late accident. He finished 23rd.
Other playoff drivers suffering bigger issues during the race:
#4-Kevin Harvick was running second with under 60 laps to go when headed for pit road for a green flag stop.  The caution came out just before he hit pit road and he was penalized for pitting while pit road was closed.
#11-Denny Hamlin dominated much of the race, leading 177 laps but had a loose wheel during a pit stop on lap 269 and was involved in a late accident.  He finished 25th.
#34-Michael McDowell lost a lap on track during the first stage. He took the wave around just before the end of stage 2 to get back on the lead lap but fell back later.  He was involved in a late accident and could not continue.
There was a red flag on lap 189 to repair lights that had not come on in turns 3&4.
Stages 1 & 2 were both won by #11-Denny Hamlin.
There were 13 lead changes among 7 drivers and 8 cautions for 51 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 120.906mph.
See race details at: Race Results, Driver Points Standings, Owner Points Standings, Cumulative Report, Infraction Report.

Where the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff drivers finished at Darlington:
#5-Kyle Larson, 1st
#45-Tyler Reddick, 2nd
#17-Chris Buescher, 3rd
#24-William Byron, 4th
#1-Ross Chastain, 5th
#6-Brad Keselowski, 6th
#23-Bubba Wallace, 7th
#12-Ryan Blaney 9th
#8-Kyle Busch, 11th
#22-Joey Logano, 12th
#47-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., 16th
#19-Martin Truex, Jr, 18th
#4-Kevin Harvick, 19th
#20-Christopher Bell, 23rd
#11-Denny Hamlin, 25th
#34-Michael McDowell, 32nd

Race Fast Facts – Darlington:
Kyle Larson (P) won the Cook Out Southern 500, his 22nd victory in 322 Cup Series races.
This is his third victory and 13th top-10 finish in 2023.
This is his first victory and eighth top-10 finish in 12 races at Darlington Raceway.
Tyler Reddick (P) (second) posted his fourth top-10 finish in nine races at Darlington Raceway. It is his 12th top-10 finish in 2023.
Chris Buescher (P) (third) posted his fourth top-10 finish in 13 races at Darlington Raceway.
Ty Gibbs (21st) was the highest finishing rookie.
William Byron (P) leads the point standings by 1 points over Kyle Larson (P).
(NASCAR)

Cup Series Playoff Standings after Darlington:
Race 1 of 10 in the playoffs & 1 of 3 in the Round of 16
1) #5-Kyle Larson [3 wins, 1 in Round of 16], 2074
2) #24-William Byron [5 wins], 2075
3) #45-Tyler Reddick [1 win], 2060
4) #17-Chris Buescher [3 wins], 2057
5) #11-Denny Hamlin [2 wins], 2057
6) #19-Martin Truex, Jr. [3 wins], 2055
7) #8-Kyle Busch [3 wins], 2050
7) #6-Brad Keselowski, 2048
9) #12-Ryan Blaney [1 win], 2046
10) #1-Ross Chastain [1 win], 2043
11) #22-Joey Logano [1 win], 2033
12) #20-Christopher Bell [1 win], 2031
Currently behind the cutoff for the Round of 12:
13) #4-Kevin Harvick, 2029
14) #23-Bubba Wallace, 2030
15) #47-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. [1 win], 2027
16) #34-Michael McDowell [1 win], 2012
See the Driver Points Standings and Owner Points Standings.

Paint Schemes

Cars to the rear: #8-Busch (unapproved adjustments)

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 winner #20-Bell 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 the Darlington Pit Stall page.

#20-Christopher Bell won the Busch pole for the Cook Out Southern 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway with speed of 169.193mph for his 3rd pole of the year, 1st at Darlington and 7th of his career.
#11-Denny Hamlin will start second followed by #45-Tyler Reddick, #12-Ryan Blaney, #6-Brad Keselowski, #22-Joey Logano, #4-Kevin Harvick, #17-Chris Buescher, #34-Michael McDowell, and #10-Aric Almirola.
See the complete qualifying results and the Cook Out Southern 500 Starting Lineup.

Darlington Raceway – Qualifying Fast Facts:
Christopher Bell (P) won the Pole Award for the Cook Out Southern 500 with a lap of 29.065 seconds, 169.193 mph.
This is his seventh pole in 135 NASCAR Cup Series races.
This is his third pole and 17th top-10 start in 2023.
This is his first pole in nine races at Darlington Raceway.
Denny Hamlin (P) (second) posted his 13th top-10 start of 2023 and his 18th in 23 races at Darlington Raceway.
Tyler Reddick (P) (third) posted his sixth top-10 start at Darlington Raceway. It is his 17th in 27 races this season.
Ty Gibbs (17th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR)

Where the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff drivers start:
#20-Christopher Bell, 1st
#11-Denny Hamlin, 2nd
#45-Tyler Reddick, 3rd
#12-Ryan Blaney 4th
#6-Brad Keselowski, 5th
#22-Joey Logano, 6th
#4-Kevin Harvick, 7th
#17-Chris Buescher, 8th
#34-Michael McDowell, 9th
#8-Kyle Busch, 11th
#5-Kyle Larson, 18th
#23-Bubba Wallace, 19th
#24-William Byron, 23rd
#47-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., 25th
#1-Ross Chastain, 27th
#19-Martin Truex, Jr, 31st

Qualifying Order

Practice for the Cook Out Southern 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway is complete:
#20-Christopher Bell 168.428
#34-Michael McDowell 167.277
#47-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. 167.049
#24-William Byron  166.642
#23-Bubba Wallace166.591
Slowest: #51-Ryan Newman 163.067
Most laps run: #22-Joey Logano, 37 laps.
Best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 31 drivers): #2-Austin Cindric 164.167
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run, and more on the Crown Royal presents Darlington Labor Day Race Weekend Practice speeds page.

Crew Rosters

The entry list for the Cook Out Southern 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway is posted, 36 teams/drivers [for 40 spots] are listed.
Some of the drivers entered include: #15-JJ Yeley, #42-Carson Hocevar, #51-Ryan Newman.
See the full entry list on the Crown Royal presents Darlington Labor Day Race Weekend Entry List page.

TandemDraft Stats – Darlington

Goodyear Fast Facts — Darlington Raceway

Weekend Event Schedule