NASCAR: Results and 3 takeaways from the Cup Series race at Darlington
Brad Keselowski won the NASCAR Southern 500 on Sunday, his first Cup Series win of the season, but there are other implications from the race as well. Here are the three biggest takeaways from Sunday’s race at Darlington Raceway:
1. Another unlucky night for Kyle Larson, who has developed a habit.
You’ve got to feel bad for Larson at this point. The 26-year-old already had four second-place finishes in 2018, including at the last race at Bristol. And then to lead 280-plus laps, only to ... lose a battle off pit road by inches and eventually finish third? It’s impressive the way Larson can consistently handle these disappointments publicly, never getting too down on himself or moping, but this one especially has to hurt. It’s also becoming a trademark of his career of sorts, as even during his four-win 2017 campaign, he finished second nine times.
2. A weight off Keselowski’s shoulders, at last.
When asked what it meant to him to finally have a win in 2018, Keselowski basically answered that the biggest relief was not having to answer that specific question anymore. Look, there’s no denying this has been a tough season on the No. 2 team, who last season qualified for the championship four at Homestead. While there have been moments of glory, on the whole, Keselowski admitted this year has been a struggle. But now? This win won’t single-handedly propel him back to contention in the season finale at Homestead, but it will go a long way as far as his confidence is concerned. Now if only the team can replicate this car ...
3. A slump from the Big 3? Don’t count on it.
Keselowski’s win means that in the past four Cup Series races there has only been one victory from the Big 3 of Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, and Kyle Busch (Harvick at Michigan). So does that mean the most dominant drivers this season are slumping? Hardly. A few off races does nothing to diminish the dominance those three have built up all year. Would they prefer to be winning instead of finishing in the middle of the pack? Absolutely. But to count out any of that trio now would be foolish, especially when you consider that they still own 17 of the 25 victories in 2018.
Brendan Marks: 704-358-5889, @brendanrmarks
Bojangles’ Southern 500
The full race results, from the Associated Press:
At Darlington Raceway
NASCAR Monster Energy Cup
Bojangles’ Southern 500
Darlington, S.C.
Lap length: 1.366 miles
St | Driver | Car | Laps | * | Rating | ||
1 | 13 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 367 | 55 | ||
2 | 8 | Joey Logano | Ford | 367 | 50. | ||
3 | 2 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 367 | 54. | ||
4 | 22 | Kevin Harvick | Ford | 367 | 39. | ||
5 | 11 | Chase Elliott | Chevrolet | 367 | 40. | ||
6 | 9 | Kurt Busch | Ford | 367 | 39. | ||
7 | 5 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 367 | 35. | ||
8 | 7 | Erik Jones | Toyota | 367 | 44. | ||
9 | 31 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | 367 | 30. | ||
10 | 1 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 367 | 31. | ||
11 | 3 | Martin Truex Jr | Toyota | 367 | 34. | ||
12 | 25 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Ford | 367 | 25. | ||
13 | 19 | Chris Buescher | Chevrolet | 367 | 24. | ||
14 | 12 | Aric Almirola | Ford | 367 | 23. | ||
15 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | Ford | 367 | 22. | ||
16 | 18 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 367 | 21. | ||
17 | 14 | Paul Menard | Ford | 366 | 20. | ||
18 | 23 | David Ragan | Ford | 366 | 19. | ||
19 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 366 | 22. | ||
20 | 26 | Michael McDowell | Ford | 365 | 17. | ||
21 | 28 | Ty Dillon | Chevrolet | 365 | 16. | ||
22 | 24 | AJ Allmendinger | Chevrolet | 365 | 15. | ||
23 | 4 | Alex Bowman | Chevrolet | 365 | 14. | ||
24 | 29 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | 364 | 13. | ||
25 | 15 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | 364 | 12. | ||
26 | 27 | Bubba Wallace | Chevrolet | 363 | 11. | ||
27 | 34 | Corey Lajoie | Chevrolet | 360 | 10. | ||
28 | 33 | Ross Chastain | Chevrolet | 360 | 0. | ||
29 | 16 | Daniel Suarez | Toyota | 358 | 8. | ||
30 | 35 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | 357 | 0. | ||
31 | 32 | JJ Yeley | Chevrolet | 350 | 0. | ||
32 | 37 | BJ McLeod | Chevrolet | 347 | 0. | ||
33 | 38 | Derrike Cope | Chevrolet | 346 | 4. | ||
34 | 40 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Toyota | 344 | 3. | ||
35 | 10 | William Byron | Chevrolet | 329 | 1 | 2. | |
36 | 17 | Clint Bowyer | Ford | 309 | 2 | 1. | |
37 | 36 | Timmy Hill | Ford | 268 | 1 | 0. | |
38 | 30 | Matt DiBenedetto | Ford | 254 | 3 | 1. | |
39 | 20 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 227 | 3 | 1. | |
40 | 39 | Joey Gase | Toyota | 120 | 2 | 0. |
*Reason out: 1-engine, 2-accident, 3-garage.
Race Statistics
Average Speed of Race Winner: 131.408 mph.
Time of Race: 3 hours, 48 minutes, 54 seconds.
Margin of Victory: 1.224 seconds.
Caution Flags: 6 for 35 laps.
Lead Changes: 7 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders: D. Hamlin 1-11; K. Larson 12-129; M. Truex Jr. 130-159; K. Larson 160-258; B. Keselowski 259-260; J. Logano 261-278; K. Larson 279-345; B. Keselowski 346-367.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): K. Larson 3 times for 284 laps; M. Truex Jr. 1 time for 30 laps; B. Keselowski 2 times for 24 laps; J. Logano 1 time for 18 laps; D. Hamlin 1 time for 11 laps.
This story was originally published September 3, 2018 at 8:12 AM.