For the first time in eight years, Richard Petty’s famous No. 43 is back in victory lane.
Sunday (Sept. 4) Petty GMS Motorsports’ Erik Jones led the final 20 laps to win the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at the legendary Darlington Raceway. It is Jones’s first Cup win of 2022, the third of his career and his second in NASCAR’s oldest and most storied speedway race. He becomes only the second driver in the elimination-playoff era to win a playoff race without being a part of the original 16-driver field.
Under a late caution for Cody Ware’s crash, a quick stop from the No. 43 crew let Jones jump Tyler Reddick for second place, capping off what would have been a strong, if quiet, top-five run.
Then, unbelievably, with 23 laps to go, under caution, from the lead, the dominant No.18 car of Kyle Busch erupted in smoke.
That left Jones in the lead of the Southern 500.
For the next 20 laps, “that Jones boy” held off four-time Darlington winner and playoff contender Denny Hamlin, taking the checkered flag by only a few car lengths.
Reddick backed up a second-place run in Darlington’s spring race to finish third, followed by fellow playoff competitors Joey Logano and Christopher Bell. Michael McDowell, Brad Keselowski, William Byron, Bubba Wallace and Alex Bowman rounded out an unlikely top 10.
After missing the playoffs a week ago by only three points, Martin Truex Jr. entered the Southern 500 weekend determined to be a spoiler. For much of the evening, it looked like he would.
Martin’s making more moves!
He regains the lead at @TooToughToTame. pic.twitter.com/oj8dUTCJyQ
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 5, 2022
On three separate occasions, Truex drove up and passed his playoff-eligible teammate Busch for the race lead, and held a commanding lead of over four seconds inside of 40 laps to go.
But suddenly, heartbreak: Truex radioed to his team that the No. 19 Camry had lost power steering and the temperature gauge was creeping over 300. He lost his four-second lead in just two laps and on lap 32 he took the car behind the wall. The 2017 champion finished the night outside the top 30.
An eventful first stage saw a caution for rain on lap 6 and trouble for Kyle Larson, before a crash between playoff competitors Chase Elliott and Chase Briscoe ended the stage under yellow with three laps to go. Elliott was eliminated with damage.
Chase Elliott spins and collects Chase Briscoe!
Not how either driver wanted their #NASCARPlayoffs…
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