DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) — Kyle Larson took control of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs on Sunday night with a win in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. The win makes him the first driver to be locked into the Round of 12 with two races left to the first cutoff mark.
Larson didn't have the fastest car at the Southern 500, just one that got out front at the right time while other contenders fell away.
For much of the evening, it looked like it would be another driver that would make the first big move in the Playoffs.
Denny Hamlin led a race-best 177 of 367 laps and looked headed for the win before he felt vibrations for what he told his crew was a loose wheel and had to pit on consecutive laps.
Hamlin's day went from bad to worse when he was caught up in a late race crash.
“We controlled the race until we had some trouble,” said Hamlin, who won the first two stages. “That's just part of it.”
Tyler Reddick led 90 laps, yet lost the lead to Larson coming off pit road. Kevin Harvick, seeking the first victory of his final season, challenged Harvick for the lead with less than 60 laps remaining, but was penalized when he could not avoid entering the pits moments after they were closed by NASCAR after a caution came out.
Harvick was penalized and couldn't recover. He said he didn’t have time to get back on the track before the commitment line.
Playoff drivers took the first seven spots. Reddick was second, followed by Chris Buescher, William Byron, Chastain, Brad Keselowski and Bubba Wallace.
Harvick ended 19th and Hamlin 25th. The rest of the playoff field was Kyle Busch in 11th, Joey Logano in 12th, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. in 16th, Martin Truex, Jr. in 18th, pole-sitter Christopher Bell in 23rd and Michael McDowell in 32nd.
The point standings have Bell as 12th on the playoff grid on the second-round playoff bubble. Those drivers on the outside of the next round after this week are Wallace, Harvick, Stenhouse and McDowell.
Ryan Preece, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver who endured a frightening crash at Daytona last week yet walked away largely unharmed, finished 28th at Darlington in his return to Cup racing.
FAREWELL, COMMANDER
Darlington fans, drivers and personnel said goodbye to track president Kerry Tharp, who announced his retirement after nearly two decades with NASCAR earlier this summer. Signs celebrating Tharp's eight-year tenure in charge of Darlington were both inside and outside the facility. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster also awarded Tharp the Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian honor governors can give.
POWER OUTAGE
NASCAR halted the race for seven minutes when some lights in turn three and four would not come on as the event moved from day to night. A caution came out when teams noticed the lights off and NASCAR tried to fix the problem under caution. Fans at the sold-out venue cheered when the lights came on and cars were soon rolling again. The problem came from a transfer switch that was not getting enough voltage to fire. The issue did not present itself during the track's lighting test before race weekend.
UP NEXT
The second of opening-round three races in the NASCAR playoffs takes place at Kansas Speedway on Sept. 10. Wallace took this event a year ago, while Denny Hamlin won there in May.
