By Matt Marr
Christopher Bell started from the pole to start the first round of the playoffs. Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin started alongside him on the front row.
On lap 34, Bell had a very slow pit stop under green and lost the lead. JGR had swapped the pit crews of Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell for the playoffs, so unfamiliarity may have played a role.
Stage 1 ran caution-free, with Denny Hamlin taking the stage win just as Bubba Wallace spun off of turn four.
After pit stops, Hamlin and Tyler Reddick led the field to start the second stage.
The caution came out at lap 180 for a lack of visibility due to the inside track lights being turned off in turns three and four. The red flag was eventually thrown until they could get the lights turned on.
Hamlin stayed up front to win Stage 2.
Hamlin and Erik Jones brought the field to the green to start the final stage of the Southern 500.
It was proving to be a dominant performance for the 11 team, but Hamlin had to pit with what he felt was a loose wheel, ending his chances of winning. Over the radio, Hamlin’s team noted that they couldn’t find evidence of anything loose, but the damage was done.
With 37 laps remaining, several playoff contenders including Michael McDowell, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin got involved in a pile-up, bringing out the eighth caution of the night.
With a hard-charging Tyler Reddick behind him, Kyle Larson managed to lead the final 30 laps to win the Cook Out Southern 500 - his first career win at Darlington.
Cook Out Southern 500 top 5:
1. Kyle Larson
2. Tyler Reddick
3. Chris Buescher
4. William Byron
5. Ross Chastain
Notables:
7. Bubba Wallace
10. Erik Jones
13. AJ Allmendinger
17. Carson Hocevar