How every NASCAR Cup playoff driver fared at Darlington’s Southern 500 race

NASCAR ran just over 500 miles Sunday for its first Cup playoff race at Darlington Raceway, the Cook Out Southern 500, and 16 drivers battled for a first-place finish in the opening playoff race of the season.

The regular season champion, Kevin Harvick, continued right on his roll, winning again at Darlington. Austin Dillon finished in second place and Joey Logano finished in third.

Here’s how the 16 playoff drivers fared Sunday:

No. 4 Kevin Harvick (winner)

Harvick started eighth and quietly crept to the lead by Stage 2. He finished the first stage in 10th place, then made an early pit stop in the second stage to take first as the rest of the leaders pitted. But slow pit stops set Harvick back early, and Martin Truex Jr. got past him on pit road to reclaim the lead in Stage 2. Truex stayed out front, while Harvick fell down to fourth behind Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin halfway through the last stage. Harvick got back to the lead with pit strategy again in the final stage, and settled into third place with 10 laps remaining. Then, Harvick caught a break. Late leaders Chase Elliott and Truex made contact. Truex pitted as Elliott fell back, and Harvick cycled to the lead for the checkered flag.

“Leaders got tangled up there and next thing you know, we were racing for the win,” Harvick said on NBCSN.

No. 11 Denny Hamlin (13th)

Hamlin started second and held his place in the top-three throughout the evening. He had speed all night, finishing fourth and second in the first two stages. Hamlin pitted with the pack in all stages and drove a clean race, but he suffered damage to the right rear and dropped to 15th late in the final stage. Hamlin finished in 13th for a disappointing end to an otherwise solid night of racing.

No. 2 Brad Keselowski (11th)

Keselowski started fifth, but struggled early when he was forced to make an unplanned pit stop for repairs to his damaged No. 2 Ford. The stop put Keselowski a lap down in the first stage and he finished in 31st before racing back to 18th to close Stage 2 thanks to an earlier well-timed caution to get him back on the lead lap. Keselowski was up to the top-20 by the third stage, but he couldn’t recover from the rough start and gained no stage points at Darlington, but finished in 11th.

No. 22 Joey Logano (3rd)

Logano started in 13th and finished in seventh in the first stage for points. He fell back to 18th to close the second stage but fared much better than his Penske teammates. Logano, who largely looked out of contention early, raced within the top-10 in the last stage and was able to net significant points through the evening with a third-place finish.

No. 9 Chase Elliott (20th)

Elliott started on the pole and led all laps until over halfway through the first stage. Truex got ahead of Elliott on pit road, though. Then Truex went on a long, long run in first place, winning the first two stages as Elliott dropped to third place to close the first stage. He finished out of the top-10 in Stage 2, but Elliott got back to the lead with under 50 laps to go, making a pass of then-leader Harvick. The No. 9 stayed out front until Truex got into Elliott while attempting a pass, sending Elliott from the lead all the way down to 20th at the flag.

No. 19 Martin Truex Jr. (22nd)

Truex started in sixth and quickly raced up to second early in the first stage. Fast pit stops gave Truex an advantage throughout the evening, as he picked up the lead spot through multiple pit road passes. He swept both stages of the race and led the most laps, but a late move and close pass of Elliott put both drivers into the wall, and Truex was forced to pit in the closing laps. He finished in 22nd.

No. 12 Ryan Blaney (24th)

Blaney had arguably the roughest night of any playoff driver. Blaney’s struggles started before the race began when his team was issued a 10-point penalty for an improperly mounted ballast and his car failed pre-race technical inspection. Blaney’s crew chief, Todd Gordon, was also suspended one race as part of the penalty. After the first stage Blaney, who got up to 14th, stayed on pit road as the race went green with tire trouble, which put him a lap down. Then in Stage 2, as Blaney was on pit road, a caution was called and kept him a lap down. He finished the race in 24th and with a point deficit. He dropped to 16th in points standings.

No. 88 Alex Bowman (6th)

Bowman ran a solid race, starting in fourth, finishing the first two stages in sixth and fourth place, respectively, then remained in the top-10 throughout the final stage. He finished in sixth place at Darlington and put himself ahead of Truex Jr. in the points standings after the race. He moved into fifth place, 19 points about the cutoff.

No. 24 William Byron (5th)

Byron started in third and held onto a top spot with the Hendrick Chevys early, finishing the first stage in eighth. He finished out of the top-10 in stage two, but made it to fifth to close the race. He moves into ninth place, nine points above the cutoffs, after Truex moved behind Bowman, Ryan Blaney dropped back and Austin Dillon moved up the ladder.

No. 3 Austin Dillon (3rd)

Dillon started in 12th and was forced to pit around lap 70 with right flat right rear, which put him down. The No. 3 stayed aggressive and raced up to an impressive 15th place finish to close Stage 1. By Stage 2, Dillon was able to close Stage 2 with a top-10 finish in eighth and by the close of the race, put himself in fifth, then raced to third with the leaders dropping out. The points put him in eighth place, 10 points above the cutoff.

No. 41 Cole Custer (12th)

Custer started in 14th and held his own, but wasn’t able to put up the points he needed. Custer finished out of the top-10 in each of the three stages, suffering a speeding penalty on pit road in the final stage to send him further back in the field. He finished in 12th.

No. 10 Aric Almirola (9th)

Almirola ended his night in the top-10, in ninth place, following an 18th and 11th place finish to close the first two stages. His race finish should give Almirola the points he needs to stay steady in the middle of the playoff pack, but the No. 10 is still searching for a win.

No. 14 Clint Bowyer (10th)

Bowyer finished in 10th place after racing from out of the top 10 in Stage 1 to ninth in Stage 2. It was a solid night for the No. 14, who held on for points in the close.

No. 18 Kyle Busch (7th)

Busch was into the top-three in the last stage and in a promising position to make a late run after a relatively quiet night, in which the No. 18 driver finished in seventh. But the timing of late pit stops and the team’s speed didn’t quite put them in position to make the final run. Busch gained points in the first stages, with ninth- and sixth-place finishes, but it wasn’t quite the stage and race wins Busch was seeking to break his streak. He’s still winless in 2020.

No. 1 Kurt Busch (8th)

Busch hung on throughout the 500 miles, coming up from the lowest start of any playoff drivers (excluding Blaney). He raced up to fifth place to close Stage 1 and held onto a top-10 finish in Stage 2. The elder Busch closed the race in eighth.

No. 21 Matt DiBenedetto (21st)

DiBenedetto struggled through green flag pit stops with car equipment issues, putting him a lap down to close the second stage. He also finished out of the top 10 in Stage 1 and at the checkered flag (21st place). Darlington didn’t help DiBenedetto gain any of the necessary points he’ll need to point his way to the next round.

NASCAR at Darlington race results

This story was originally published September 6, 2020 at 10:55 PM with the headline "How every NASCAR Cup playoff driver fared at Darlington’s Southern 500 race."

Alexandra Andrejev

The Charlotte Observer

NASCAR and Charlotte FC beat reporter Alex Andrejev joined The Observer in January 2020 following an internship at The Washington Post. She is a two-time APSE award winner for her NASCAR beat coverage and National Motorsports Press Association award winner. She is the host of McClatchy’s podcast “Payback” about women’s soccer. Support my work with a digital subscription