2023 Cook Out Southern 500 NASCAR Cup Series race
Motor car race
The 2023 Cook Out Southern 500 , the 74th running of the event , was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on September 3, 2023, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina . Contested over 367 laps on the 1.366-mile (2.198 km) egg-shaped oval, it was the 27th race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, the first race of the 2023 NASCAR playoffs , and the first race of the Round of 16.
Report
Background
Darlington Raceway where the race was held.Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina . It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that is effective at both ends.
Entry list
(R) denotes rookie driver.(i) denotes the driver ineligible for series driver points.(P) denotes playoff driver.(OP) denotes owner’s playoffs car.
Practice
Christopher Bell was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 29.197 seconds and a speed of 168.428 mph (271.059 km/h).[ 10]
Practice results
Qualifying
Christopher Bell scored the pole for the race with a time of 29.065 and a speed of 169.193 mph (272.290 km/h).[ 11]
Qualifying results
Race
Race results
Stage results
Stage One
Laps: 115
Pos
Driver
Team
Manufacturer
Points
1
11
Denny Hamlin (P)
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota
10
2
45
Tyler Reddick (P)
23XI Racing
Toyota
9
3
5
Kyle Larson (P)
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
8
4
4
Kevin Harvick (P)
Stewart-Haas Racing
Ford
7
5
12
Ryan Blaney (P)
Team Penske
Ford
6
6
6
Brad Keselowski (P)
RFK Racing
Ford
5
7
9
Chase Elliott (OP)
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
4
8
20
Christopher Bell (P)
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota
3
9
17
Chris Buescher (P)
RFK Racing
Ford
2
10
10
Aric Almirola
Stewart-Haas Racing
Ford
1
Official stage one results
Stage Two
Laps: 115
Pos
Driver
Team
Manufacturer
Points
1
11
Denny Hamlin (P)
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota
10
2
5
Kyle Larson (P)
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
9
3
43
Erik Jones
Legacy Motor Club
Chevrolet
8
4
45
Tyler Reddick (P)
23XI Racing
Toyota
7
5
24
William Byron (P)
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
6
6
8
Kyle Busch (P)
Richard Childress Racing
Chevrolet
5
7
12
Ryan Blaney (P)
Team Penske
Ford
4
8
3
Austin Dillon
Richard Childress Racing
Chevrolet
3
9
6
Brad Keselowski (P)
RFK Racing
Ford
2
10
47
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (P)
JTG Daugherty Racing
Chevrolet
1
Official stage two results
Final Stage results
Stage Three
Laps: 137
Pos
Grid
Driver
Team
Manufacturer
Laps
Points
1
18
5
Kyle Larson (P)
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
367
57
2
3
45
Tyler Reddick (P)
23XI Racing
Toyota
367
51
3
8
17
Chris Buescher (P)
RFK Racing
Ford
367
36
4
23
24
William Byron (P)
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
367
39
5
27
1
Ross Chastain (P)
Trackhouse Racing
Chevrolet
367
32
6
5
6
Brad Keselowski (P)
RFK Racing
Ford
367
38
7
19
23
Bubba Wallace (P)
23XI Racing
Toyota
367
30
8
13
9
Chase Elliott (OP)
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
367
33
9
4
12
Ryan Blaney (P)
Team Penske
Ford
367
38
10
20
43
Erik Jones
Legacy Motor Club
Chevrolet
367
35
11
11
8
Kyle Busch (P)
Richard Childress Racing
Chevrolet
367
31
12
6
22
Joey Logano (P)
Team Penske
Ford
367
25
13
16
16
A. J. Allmendinger
Kaulig Racing
Chevrolet
367
24
14
10
10
Aric Almirola
Stewart-Haas Racing
Ford
367
24
15
12
14
Chase Briscoe
Stewart-Haas Racing
Ford
367
22
16
25
47
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (P)
JTG Daugherty Racing
Chevrolet
367
22
17
15
42
Carson Hocevar (i)
Legacy Motor Club
Chevrolet
367
0
18
31
19
Martin Truex Jr. (P)
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota
367
19
19
7
4
Kevin Harvick (P)
Stewart-Haas Racing
Ford
367
25
20
28
3
Austin Dillon
Richard Childress Racing
Chevrolet
367
20
21
17
54
Ty Gibbs (R)
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota
367
16
22
22
7
Corey LaJoie
Spire Motorsports
Chevrolet
367
15
23
1
20
Christopher Bell (P)
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota
366
17
24
29
31
Justin Haley
Kaulig Racing
Chevrolet
366
13
25
2
11
Denny Hamlin (P)
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota
366
32
26
30
38
Todd Gilliland
Front Row Motorsports
Ford
366
11
27
35
51
Ryan Newman
Rick Ware Racing
Ford
365
10
28
34
41
Ryan Preece
Stewart-Haas Racing
Ford
364
9
29
26
77
Ty Dillon
Spire Motorsports
Chevrolet
364
8
30
33
15
J. J. Yeley (i)
Rick Ware Racing
Ford
362
0
31
14
2
Austin Cindric
Team Penske
Ford
361
6
32
9
34
Michael McDowell (P)
Front Row Motorsports
Ford
329
5
33
24
48
Alex Bowman
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
322
4
34
21
99
Daniel Suárez
Trackhouse Racing
Chevrolet
320
3
35
32
21
Harrison Burton
Wood Brothers Racing
Ford
318
2
36
36
78
B. J. McLeod
Live Fast Motorsports
Chevrolet
210
1
Official race results
Race statistics
Lead changes: 13 among 7 different drivers
Cautions/Laps: 8 for 51 laps
Red flags: 1 for 10 minutes
Time of race: 4 hours, 8 minutes, and 47 seconds
Average speed: 120.906 miles per hour (194.579 km/h)
Television
USA covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen , two–time Darlington winner Jeff Burton , Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. called Stages 1 and 3 of the race from the broadcast booth. Earnhardt Jr., Dale Jarrett and Kyle Petty called Stage 2 of the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns , Kim Coon and Marty Snider handled the pit road duties from pit lane.
Radio
MRN had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio .
MRN Radio
Booth announcers
Turn announcers
Pit reporters
Lead announcer: Alex HaydenAnnouncer: Jeff StriegleAnnouncer: Todd Gordon Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody Turns 3 & 4: Jason ToySteve PostBrienne Pedigo
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings
Pos
Driver
Points
1
William Byron
2,075
2
Kyle Larson
2,074 (–1)
3
Tyler Reddick
2,060 (–15)
4
Chris Buescher
2,057 (–18)
5
Denny Hamlin
2,057 (–18)
6
Martin Truex Jr.
2,055 (–20)
7
Kyle Busch
2,050 (–25)
8
Brad Keselowski
2,048 (–27)
9
Ryan Blaney
2,046 (–29)
10
Ross Chastain
2,043 (–32)
11
Joey Logano
2,033 (–42)
12
Christopher Bell
2,031 (–44)
13
Bubba Wallace
2,030 (–45)
14
Kevin Harvick
2,029 (–46)
15
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
2,027 (–48)
16
Michael McDowell
2,012 (–63)
Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Note : Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.
References
^ "2023 schedule" . Jayski.com . Jayski's Silly Season Site . Retrieved October 10, 2022 .^ "Darlington Raceway" . NASCAR.com . NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Archived from the original on April 30, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2022 .^ Taranto, Steven (September 14, 2022). "NASCAR releases 2023 Cup Series schedule highlighted by new Chicago, All-Star race stops" . CBS Broadcasting Inc. Retrieved March 29, 2023 . ^ "NASCAR unveils 2023 schedule for its national series" . National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC. September 14, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2023 .^ "Entry List" (PDF) . Jayski.com . Jayski's Silly Season Site . August 28, 2023. Retrieved August 28, 2023 .^ "Practice Results" . NASCAR.com . NASCAR Media Group, LLC. September 2, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2023 .^ "Qualifying Results" . NASCAR.com . NASCAR Media Group, LLC. September 2, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2023 .^ "Cook Out Southern 500 Results" . NASCAR.com . NASCAR . September 3, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2023 .^ "Points standings" (PDF) . Jayski.com . Jayski's Silly Season Site . September 3, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2023 .^ Utter, Jim (September 2, 2023). "Christopher Bell leads Darlington Cup practice" . Motorsport.com Darlington, South Carolina : Motorsport Network . Retrieved September 2, 2023 . ^ Utter, Jim (September 2, 2023). "JGR locks out front row for Southern 500 with Bell on pole" . Motorsport.com Darlington, South Carolina : Motorsport Network . Retrieved September 2, 2023 .
