Kyle Larson opens the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs with a Win at Darlington Raceway in the Cookoff Southern 500 on Sunday evening.
The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs kicked off Sunday afternoon with a 500-mile test at Darlington Raceway. This race is the true test of endurance and discipline as it ends under the lights. In the first race of the playoffs, teams can fold under pressure costing them a solid finish. Darlington Raceway is one of NASCAR’s toughest tracks making it a perfect venue to open up the playoff Round of 16.
The Polesitter Christopher Bell Leads the Field to the Green Flag
Christopher Bell opened the race with the lead, and he led the first 32 laps of the race before coming down pit road for service. His team had a slow stop which gave up the lead to Tyler Reddick after the pitting cycle ended.
Denny Hamlin chased down Tyler Reddick and was able to complete the pass for the lead with 52 laps remaining. Hamlin led all of the remaining laps to win the first stage.
Denny Hamlin Gets the Second Stage Started
Continuing as the leader of the pack Denny Hamlin gets the second stage underway. The caution flag flew halfway through the stage as the track lights went out in the third and fourth turns. After a long red flag break, the race restarted with thirty-eight laps to go.
The second segment ended in a frenzy as BJ McLeod brought out one caution after he came to a stop on the backstretch. Shortly after this incident, Austin Cindric and Ty Gibbs spun each other out forcing the race into a one-lap shootout to end the stage.
Denny Hamlin battled hard to stay in the lead on each restart and he ended the stage as he started it with the lead.
Tyler Reddick Takes the Lead to Start the Third Stage
Denny Hamlin’s dominant run came to an end in the final stage. After the first green flag pitting cycle finished, he had to give up his lead to come down pit road a second time. This was due to a loose wheel, and Tyler Reddick took over as race leader.
Kevin Harvick was closing in on Tyler Reddick and decided to come to pit road to leapfrog Reddick. Right before Harvick made it to pit road, the caution came out with Ryan Newman spinning around. Kevin Harvick decided to pit anyway and was penalized because, with the caution, pit road was closed before he entered.
Kyle Larson cycled into the lead after everyone came down pit road under the caution. Kyle Larson led through two more cautions with one involving Alex Bowman and Daniel Suarez. The second caution came out on the following restart after Todd Gilliland spun around.
Kyle Larson Opens the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs with a Win at Darlington
Kyle Larson closed out the final thirty laps leading cleanly to win the Cookout Southern 500, clinching himself a spot in the next round of the playoffs.
Sunday night’s race had multiple storylines to it. The first was Denny Hamlin’s issue on pit road. Hamlin was in control all night and looked as if he was the man to win the race. After giving up the lead to fix his loose wheel, Kevin Harvick looked as if he was going to battle Tyler Reddick the rest of the way. Harvick decided to pit as pit road was closing. That decision dropped him out of contention.
The Cookout Southern 500 Results
The NASCAR Cup Series Point Standings
Kyle Larson moved into the lead after a great stop on pit road, and that was all she wrote. Tyler Reddick gave Larson a good run to close out the race, but Larson was dialed in. Kyle Larson calmly guided his car around the high side and brought it home to victory lane.
A clutch performance that granted Kyle Larson a spot in the next round of the playoffs.