DARLINGTON, S.C. – Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) after a battle for the win with Tyler Reddick drove away to open the NASCAR playoffs with his first win at the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
His margin over second-place Tyler Reddick was .447 of a second.
Larson’s win is his third of the 2023 season, the 22nd of his Cup Series career, and it advances him to the Round of 12 in the playoffs.
Larson found himself out front in the final 50 laps, where he had to match wits with Reddick before pulling away in the closing laps.
There were eight caution periods for a total of 51 laps. Only 22 of the 36 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
Stage 1 Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
SHR Race Finish:
- Aric Almirola (Started 10th, Finished 14th / Running, completed 367 of 367 laps)
- Chase Briscoe (Started 12th, Finished 15th / Running, completed 367 of 367 laps)
- Kevin Harvick (Started 7th, Finished 19th / Running, completed 367 of 367 laps)
- Ryan Preece (Started 34th, Finished 28th / Running, completed 364 of 367 laps)
SHR Points:
- Kevin Harvick (14th with 2,029 points, two points below the top-12 cutoff)
- Aric Almirola (23rd with 471 points)
- Ryan Preece (26th with 438 points)
- Chase Briscoe (30th with 355 points)
Playoff Standings (with two races to go before Round of 12):
- Kyle Larson (2,074 points) 1 win
- William Byron (2,075 points) +45 points
- Tyler Reddick (2,060 points) +30 points
- Chris Buescher (2,057 points) +27 points
- Denny Hamlin (2,057 points) +27 points
- Martin Truex Jr. (2,055 points) +25 points
- Kyle Busch (2,050 points) +20 points
- Brad Keselowski (2,048 points) +18 points
- Ryan Blaney (2,046 points) +16 points
- Ross Chastain (2,043 points) +13 points
- Joey Logano (2,033 points) +3 points
- Christopher Bell (2,031 points) +1 point
- Bubba Wallace (2,030 points) -1 point
- Kevin Harvick (2,029 points) -2 points
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2,027 points) -4 points
- Michael McDowell (2,012 points) -19 points
Almirola finished 10th in Stage 1 to earn one bonus point.
“All things considered, that turned out to be a decent day for our race team. We had a top-10 car all day and the guys executed on pit road,” Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang. “We got damage to the nose and splitter on that restart in stage two when everyone stacked up, which wasn’t repairable and completely changed the balance of our car. It was like a totally different car after that and I was just way too tight to be as competitive as we were. We fought all day stayed out of trouble and found our way from 28th back up into the top 10. I’m proud of this team and these guys for working so hard. It’s a testament to what this team can do for the rest of the year.”
This was Almirola’s eighth top-15 this season and his second straight. He finished third last week at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
This was Briscoe’s 10th top-15 this season.
Harvick finished fourth in Stage 1 to earn seven bonus points. He led one lap to increase his laps-led total at Darlington to 819.
“The caution came out and the light was on, and I didn’t think I could turn right. We’ll just go and put the gas pedal down and do the exact same thing we’ve done for 23 years,” said Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1/Take 5 Ford Mustang
Harvick has now led 11,609 laps since joining SHR in 2014. He has led 16,024 laps in his entire NASCAR Cup Series career and is one of just 11 drivers who have surpassed 16,000 laps led.
This was Harvick’s milestone 775th consecutive NASCAR Cup Series start. He ranks third behind only Jeff Gordon (797 consecutive starts) and Ricky Rudd (788 consecutive starts).
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday, Sept. 10 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City The second race in the 10-race NASCAR Playoffs starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
