Darlington rundown: Erik Jones stuns Cup Series field. Where did playoff drivers finish?

After car troubles plagued several top drivers, Erik Jones added to the storied history of the No. 43 car.

Jones took over first place on a restart with 20 laps to go and stayed in front the rest of the way to earn a win at Darlington Raceway on Sunday night, his first win of the season and stealing a victory from four playoff drivers who all lined up behind him in positions 2-5.

The win for Jones is his third career win — second at Darlington — and came on the 55th anniversary of Richard Petty’s one and only win at Darlington in the No. 43 car. It’s the first win for the No. 43 since 2014, when driven by Aric Almirola.

The win is also the 200th victory in the history of the No. 43 in 2,194 total races.

Denny Hamlin tried his best in the final laps to run Jones down, but Jones help him off.

Hamlin placed second, followed by Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano and Christopher Bell.

6 other notable playoff-driver results

Chase Elliott: Turn 2 proved treacherous on Sunday. The biggest victim? Chase Elliott. The NASCAR Cup Series points leader exited the first playoff race of 2022 early after spinning out by himself and knocking into the wall toward the end of Stage 1. He collected Chase Briscoe in his spin.

Elliott’s crew had 10 minutes to make repairs — issues with the right rear — but wasn’t able to get him back on the track in time, and thus he finished last on Sunday. The Hendrick Motorsports driver of the No. 9 car was evaluated and released from the infield care center post-race.

When asked about the wreck post-race, a visibly frustrated Elliott wasn’t exactly... loquacious: “We hit the wall on Turn 2 and broke something on the right rear.”

When asked what to do in upcoming races: “Run better than we did today.”

Kyle Larson: Elliott’s teammate and reigning Cup champion, Kyle Larson, struggled for a second-straight week with car issues. The driver finished last in Daytona and had to get the hood of his car popped early in Stage 1 on Sunday to get another mechanical issue rectified. The driver of the No. 5 car quickly re-entered the fray but exited Stage 1 down three laps, and another spin-out on Turn 2 in Stage 2 pushed him back further.

He didn’t relent — Larson was the leader among one-lap-down cars at the end of Stage 2 and thus got waved through and began Stage 3 on the lead lap — but ended up finishing 19th.

Daniel Suarez: The TrackHouse Racing driver started Sunday at the rear after his car failed inspection three times before Cup qualifying on Saturday. In addition to not being allowed to qualify, he had his car chief ejected, lost pit stall selection and had to serve a pass-through penalty at the race’s start, per NASCAR rules.

But the No. 99 car pushed on: After benefiting from a caution because of rain in Stage 1, hopping back on the lead lap early, he slowly made his way up the field — finishing Stage 1 and Stage 2 in eighth, and then eventually spending a bulk of Stage 3 in the top-five. Suarez’s good fortune eventually ran out, earning a penalty for pit road speeding, pushing him back. He finished 17th.

Joey Logano: The No. 22 car looked strong all day — not that anyone expected less. Logano won the last Cup race at Darlington Raceway in May and also started on the pole on Sunday. He led for most of the race’s first 70 laps and hung around the top 10 the rest of the evening. He finished fourth.

Kevin Harvick: It wouldn’t be sensational to call Darlington Harvick’s haven — the veteran and former Cup champion hadn’t finished outside the top-10 in Darlington since 2012, per media notes, and has won three times at Darlington in his career.

The No. 4 car, however, was the victim of “crappy-ass parts,” in his own words, when his car caught on fire on Lap 275. Harvick’s comments come on the heels of him publicly criticizing NASCAR on Thursday for not doing enough to promote driver safety. He immediately pulled over on the apron and hopped out of the car as another caution emerged on Sunday. He finished 33rd.

Kyle Busch: The No. 18 car made it off pit road to maintain the lead with 24 laps to go — but on Lap 23, it nearly combusted. The car issue made Busch — after a promising run that saw him lead a race-best 55 laps and swipe a Stage 2 win — exit the race early like six drivers before him (two of whom were playoff drivers). He finished 22nd.

Official results from Darlington

Postrace inspection completed a few hours after Sunday’s race. No issues reported. Corey LaJoie and Cole Custer cars have been sent to R&D for teardown.

(P) - Playoff driver

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated who won the Southern 500 55 years ago. It was Richard Petty. The error has been fixed.

This story was originally published September 4, 2022 at 10:41 PM.

Alex Zietlow

The Charlotte Observer

Alex Zietlow writes about the Carolina Panthers and the ways in which sports intersect with life for The Charlotte Observer, where he has been a reporter since August 2022. Zietlow’s work has been honored by the Pro Football Writers Association, the N.C. and S.C. Press Associations, as well as the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) group. He’s earned six APSE Top 10 distinctions for his coverage on a variety of topics, from billion-dollar stadium renovations to the small moments of triumph that helped a Panthers kicker defy the steepest odds in sports. Zietlow previously wrote for The Herald in Rock Hill (S.C.) from 2019-22. Support my work with a digital subscription