2021 Cook Out Southern 500
NASCAR Cup Series race
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The 2021 Cook Out Southern 500, the 72nd running of the event, was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on September 5, 2021, 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 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, first race of the Playoffs, and the first race of the Round of 16. Denny Hamlin took his first victory of the season and clinched a spot in the round of 12.
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 27 of 36 in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
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The 2021 Cook Out Southern 500 program cover. | |||
| Date | September 5, 2021 | ||
| Location | Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1.366 miles (2.198 km) | ||
| Distance | 367 laps, 501.322 mi (806.666 km) | ||
| Average speed | 121.279 miles per hour (195.180 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Team Penske | ||
| Grid positions set by competition-based formula | |||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 156 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | NBCSN | ||
| Announcers | Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Dale Jarrett and Kyle Petty | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth announcers | Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace | ||
| Turn announcers | Dave Moody (1 & 2) and Mike Bagley (3 & 4) | ||
Report
Background
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.
Surface issues
Darlington Raceway was last repaved following the May 2007 meeting (from 2005 to 2019, there was only one meeting; the second meeting was reinstated in 2020), and from 2008 to 2019, there was one night race. In 2020, a day race returned to the schedule, and instead of two races (one Xfinity and one Cup) during the entire year, the track hosted six races (three Cup, two Xfinity, and one Truck). The circuit kept repairing the circuit with patches during each summer before the annual Cup race in September. The circuit's narrow Turn 2 rapidly deteriorated with cracks in the tarmac allowing water to seep in the circuit. In July 2021, the circuit repaved a six hundred foot section at the entrance of Turn 2 and ending at the exit of the turn to repair the tarmac and resolve the issue for safety and to reduce the threat of weepers and surface issues in that section of the circuit.[7]
The 2021 race also marked the addition of an athletics event as part of the Southern 500 weekend, the Terrence Carraway Memorial 5K athletics event, held around the circuit. The Darlington Raceway 5k was first held in November for 2018 and 2019 in memory of a local policeman killed in the line of duty. After taking a year off in 2020, the event moved to the Southern 500 weekend for 2021.[8]
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.
Qualifying
Ryan Blaney was awarded the pole for the race as determined by competition-based formula.[4]
Starting lineup
Race
Stage results
Stage One Laps: 115
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 42 | Ross Chastain | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage one results | |||||
Stage Two Laps: 115
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 42 | Ross Chastain | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage two results | |||||
Final stage results
Stage Three Laps: 137
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 367 | 57 |
| 2 | 6 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 367 | 54 |
| 3 | 23 | 42 | Ross Chastain | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 367 | 44 |
| 4 | 10 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 367 | 38 |
| 5 | 9 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 367 | 44 |
| 6 | 3 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 367 | 44 |
| 7 | 16 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 367 | 30 |
| 8 | 11 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 367 | 34 |
| 9 | 34 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 367 | 28 |
| 10 | 21 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 367 | 27 |
| 11 | 31 | 41 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 367 | 26 |
| 12 | 18 | 37 | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 367 | 25 |
| 13 | 26 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 367 | 24 |
| 14 | 19 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 367 | 23 |
| 15 | 25 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 367 | 23 |
| 16 | 8 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 366 | 24 |
| 17 | 29 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 366 | 20 |
| 18 | 7 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 366 | 23 |
| 19 | 24 | 14 | Chase Briscoe (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 366 | 18 |
| 20 | 13 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 366 | 26 |
| 21 | 17 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 366 | 16 |
| 22 | 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 366 | 24 |
| 23 | 30 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 365 | 14 |
| 24 | 32 | 38 | Anthony Alfredo (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 364 | 13 |
| 25 | 20 | 77 | Justin Haley (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 364 | 0 |
| 26 | 5 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 363 | 11 |
| 27 | 27 | 78 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford | 359 | 0 |
| 28 | 28 | 52 | Josh Bilicki | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 359 | 9 |
| 29 | 35 | 15 | Joey Gase (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 357 | 0 |
| 30 | 37 | 00 | Quin Houff | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 355 | 7 |
| 31 | 4 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 327 | 9 |
| 32 | 22 | 43 | Erik Jones | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 264 | 5 |
| 33 | 33 | 51 | Cody Ware (i) | Petty Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 209 | 0 |
| 34 | 14 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 199 | 3 |
| 35 | 12 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 125 | 2 |
| 36 | 36 | 53 | James Davison | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 50 | 1 |
| 37 | 15 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 30 | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
- Lead changes: 18 among 10 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 11 for 52
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 4 hours, 8 minutes and 1 second
- Average speed: 121.279 miles per hour (195.180 km/h)
Media
Television
NBC Sports 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, Parker Kligerman and Marty Snider handled the pit road duties from pit lane.
| NBCSN | |
|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap: Rick Allen Color-commentator: Jeff Burton Color-commentator: Steve Letarte Color-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Throwback commentator: Dale Jarrett Throwback commentator: Kyle Petty | Dave Burns Parker Kligerman Marty Snider |
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 Hayden Announcer: Jeff Striegle Announcer: Rusty Wallace | Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody Turns 3 & 4: Mike Bagley | Steve Post Kim Coon |
Standings after the race
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