{"id":43155,"date":"2023-09-03T22:50:42","date_gmt":"2023-09-04T03:50:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=43155"},"modified":"2023-09-10T16:41:46","modified_gmt":"2023-09-10T21:41:46","slug":"kyle-larson-wins-cook-out-southern-500-to-advance-in-nascar-cup-playoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2023\/09\/03\/kyle-larson-wins-cook-out-southern-500-to-advance-in-nascar-cup-playoffs\/","title":{"rendered":"Kyle Larson wins Cook Out Southern 500 to advance in NASCAR Cup Playoffs\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on September 03, 2023 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Reid Spencer <\/em><\/p>\n

NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/b><\/p>\n

DARLINGTON, S.C.\u2014Welcome back, Kyle Larson. <\/p>\n

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\u2019s Cook Out Southern 500 and earn an automatic berth in the Round of 12.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on September 03, 2023 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

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 his third victory of the season, the 22nd<\/sup> of his career and his first at the famed Lady in Black.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, finally from start to finish,\u201d Larson said of his ability to put together a complete race. \u201cEighteenth to third in the first stage, I didn’t think that was possible. Our race car was really good when the sun was out. Just had to work on it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on September 03, 2023 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI messed up once and it got hung in neutral, and I slid and hit the wall, and I think bent the toe link a little bit, so it was kind of a struggle from there. Definitely had to fight it more than I was earlier, but we kept our heads in the game. That was really important. This race is all about keeping your head in it\u2026 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a great way to start the Playoffs, and hopefully we can keep it going.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Larson took the lead for the first time during a quick pit stop on Lap 313 and held it for the final 55 circuits. Reddick rolled off pit road second but couldn\u2019t find a way past the race winner.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Kyle and I were pretty close the majority of the day, honestly, and he just got ahead of us there on pit road, but all in all, this is the day that we needed to have,\u201d said Reddick, who led 90 laps and crossed the finish line .447 seconds behind Larson.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, celebrates with the checkered flag after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on September 03, 2023 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cReally just thankful for the hard work from my pit crew, from the team, everyone at the shop. Days like this, with a car like this, we haven’t been able to get a second-place finish out of it, so really glad we were able to do that, and it was a really good points day on top of that, as well.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Chris Buescher ran a mistake-free race and finished third, followed by William Byron, who charged forward from his 23rd<\/sup> starting position. Ross Chastain ran fifth, with Brad Keselowski and Bubba Wallace behind him, as Playoff drivers claimed the top seven positions.<\/p>\n

While Larson leaves Darlington with guaranteed admission to the Round of 12, Byron, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, leads the Playoff standings by one point\u2014over Larson. Reddick is 15 points behind Byron, followed by Buescher and Denny Hamlin, who trail by 18 points.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – SEPTEMBER 03: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, and crew take a selfie in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on September 03, 2023 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Catastrophes proved the undoing of several Playoff drivers who showed excellent speed but succumbed to a variety of pit road mistakes and errors in judgment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hamlin led 177 laps, swept the first and second stages and dominated the race\u2014until he made an extra green-flag pit stop on Lap 274, believing he had a loose wheel. Hamlin lost a lap and any chance he had of starting the Playoffs with a victory. Hamlin\u2019s night got worse when he was collected in a five-car wreck on Lap 330. He finished 25th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

After Hamlin\u2019s demise, Kevin Harvick was chasing Reddick for the lead. Harvick steered his car toward pit road on Lap 309, causing Reddick to check up in front of Ryan Newman in an attempt to duplicate Harvick\u2019s maneuver. Newman spun in Turn 4, causing the sixth caution, and the red light indicating a closed pit road caught Harvick just before he reached the entry line. The resulting penalty sent Harvick to the back of the field for a restart on Lap 317, with no time to recovered past 19th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 Yahoo! Toyota, leads the field to the green flag to start the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on September 03, 2023 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

A driver with no margin for error entering the Round of 16, Michael McDowell didn\u2019t have the speed to stay on the lead lap, but his Waterloo came in the same Lap 330 wreck that involved Hamlin and fellow Playoff driver and pole winner Christopher Bell. McDowell\u2019s No. 34 Ford was too badly hurt to continue, and he fell out of the race in 32nd<\/sup> place.<\/p>\n

McDowell heads to next Sunday\u2019s Playoff race at Kansas Speedway in 16th<\/sup> place, 19 points behind Bell in 12th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

Late in the first stage, Bell slammed the outside wall and damaged the suspension on his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, ruining any chances of victory.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Mobil 1 Take 5 Ford, and Ross Chastain, driver of the #1 Unishippers Chevrolet, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on September 03, 2023 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI just got in the marbles and fenced it hard,\u201d Bell radioed to his team.<\/p>\n

After the stage break, Bell dropped precipitously through the field and was soon lapped by leader Denny Hamlin.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe toe is messed up\u2014I\u2019m having to turn the wheel a lot,\u201d Bell radioed to crew chief Adam Stevens.<\/p>\n

Bell, who finished a lap down in 23rd<\/sup>, wasn\u2019t the only Playoff driver who fell victim to mistakes in the first stage, which ran under the green flag from start to finish. Joey Logano scraped the wall at the apex of Turns 3 and 4 on Lap 86.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Bubba Wallace, driver of the #23 McDonald’s Toyota, exits pit road during the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on September 03, 2023 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

His No. 22 Ford bit the wall again on Lap 115\u2014the final circuit of Stage 1\u2014when the No. 23 Toyota of Wallace spun underneath him in Turn 4 and knocked the right rear of Logano\u2019s car into the fence, after Hamlin had taken the green\/checkered flag to win the stage and the accompanying Playoff point.<\/p>\n

Martin Truex Jr. (who finished 18th<\/sup>) lost four spots after brushing the wall late in the stage and ran 17th<\/sup> in the first segment. Truex\u2019s problems multiplied in Stage 2 when he had to make an unscheduled pit stop because of a loose wheel and lost two laps.<\/p>\n

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (16th<\/sup>) lost a lap serving a pass-through penalty for speeding on pit road during his first green-flag pit stop, as mistakes began to shape the Playoffs\u2014as they invariably do.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Interviews:<\/h3>\n

Kyle Larson (No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) and Cliff Daniels — Winning Driver and Crew Chief of NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway –<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/DanielsLarsonDarlington9423.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Winning Team – Jeff Andrews (HMS), Scott Maxim (HMS) –<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/MEDIACENTER5DARLINGTON03SEP2023NCSHMS.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

NASCAR Cup Series Race – Cook Out Southern 500<\/b><\/p>\n

Darlington Raceway<\/b><\/p>\n

Darlington, South Carolina<\/b><\/p>\n

Sunday, September 3, 2023<\/b><\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    1. (18)  Kyle Larson (P), Chevrolet, 367.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    2. (3)  Tyler Reddick (P), Toyota, 367.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    3. (8)  Chris Buescher (P), Ford, 367.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    4. (23)  William Byron (P), Chevrolet, 367.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    5. (27)  Ross Chastain (P), Chevrolet, 367.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    6. (5)  Brad Keselowski (P), Ford, 367.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    7. (19)  Bubba Wallace (P), Toyota, 367.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    8. (13)  Chase Elliott (P), Chevrolet, 367.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    9. (4)  Ryan Blaney (P), Ford, 367.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    10. (20)  Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 367.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    11. (11)  Kyle Busch (P), Chevrolet, 367.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    12. (6)  Joey Logano (P), Ford, 367.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    13. (16)  AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 367.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    14. (10)  Aric Almirola, Ford, 367.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    15. (12)  Chase Briscoe, Ford, 367.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    16. (25)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (P), Chevrolet, 367.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    17. (15)  Carson Hocevar(i), Chevrolet, 367.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    18. (31)  Martin Truex Jr. (P), Toyota, 367.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    19. (7)  Kevin Harvick (P), Ford, 367.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    20. (28)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 367.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    21. (17)  Ty Gibbs #, Toyota, 367.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    22. (22)  Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 367.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    23. (1)  Christopher Bell (P), Toyota, 366.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    24. (29)  Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 366.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    25. (2)  Denny Hamlin (P), Toyota, 366.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    26. (30)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, 366.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    27. (35)  Ryan Newman, Ford, 365.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    28. (34)  Ryan Preece, Ford, 364.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    29. (26)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 364.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    30. (33)  JJ Yeley(i), Ford, 362.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    31. (14)  Austin Cindric, Ford, 361.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    32. (9)  Michael McDowell (P), Ford, Accident, 329.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    33. (24)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, Accident, 322.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    34. (21)  Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, Accident, 320.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    35. (32)  Harrison Burton, Ford, Accident, 318.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    36. (36)  BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, Engine, 210.<\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:  120.906 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:  4 Hrs, 8 Mins, 47 Secs. Margin of Victory:  .447 Seconds.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:  8 for 51 laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:  13 among 7 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:   C. Bell (P) 1-33;J. Yeley(i) 34;T. Reddick (P) 35-62;D. Hamlin (P) 63-67;C. Bell (P) 68-71;T. Reddick (P) 72-91;D. Hamlin (P) 92-150;T. Reddick (P) 151-153;C. Bell (P) 154-156;D. Hamlin (P) 157-269;K. Harvick (P) 270;C. LaJoie 271-273;T. Reddick (P) 274-312;K. Larson (P) 313-367.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Denny Hamlin (P) 3 times for 177 laps; Tyler Reddick (P) 4 times for 90 laps; Kyle Larson (P) 1 time for 55 laps; Christopher Bell (P) 3 times for 40 laps; Corey LaJoie 1 time for 3 laps; Kevin Harvick (P) 1 time for 1 lap; JJ Yeley(i) 1 time for 1 lap.<\/p>\n

Stage #1 Top Ten: 11,45,5,4,12,6,9,20,17,10<\/p>\n

Stage #2 Top Ten: 11,5,43,45,24,8,12,3,6,47<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By Reid Spencer  NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C.\u2014Welcome 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\u2019s Cook Out Southern 500 and earn an automatic berth in the Round of 12. Larson entered […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":43167,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[651,225,16],"class_list":["post-43155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-darlington-raceway","tag-kyle-larson","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1658271795-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1644&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-be3","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43155"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43173,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43155\/revisions\/43173"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}