NASCAR: 2017 Southern 500 Race Results – Hamlin Sweeps Weekend
By Alex Herbst
Denny Hamlin is married to the Lady in Black now. For the second time in his career, he swept the Southern 500 weekend at Darlington Raceway.
The Southern 500 is one of the crowned jewel races on the NASCAR calendar. Add to that the throwback weekend that Darlington Raceway has created around the race, and it is a Labor Day Weekend delight for fans and race teams alike. On Sunday night, the Cup Series turned back the clock, and Denny Hamlin took the flying #11 car to Victory Lane at the Lady in Black.
Hamlin, who also won Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Darlington, swept the Southern 500 race weekend for the second time in his career. It is the only track that Denny Hamlin has swept the weekend races at. However, were it not for some misfortune, he would not have earned the victory. It took a blown tire by Martin Truex Jr. with just a handful of laps to go for Hamlin to take the #11 Toyota back to the top.
Earlier in the race, Hamlin appeared to take himself out of contention for the Southern 500 victory. By missing pit road when pitting under green from the lead, he cost himself over ten seconds on the track, and was forced to make up that time with raw speed. The Toyotas of Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin were the class of the field on Sunday night, with Truex losing out due to the high level of tire wear at the track Too Tough to Tame.
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Darlington did come out a bite quite a few drivers other than Truex throughout the night. Clint Bowyer was one of the first victims, after engine issues in the first stage. Ryan Blaney found the wall early, damaging his chances of victory severely. Brad Keselowski too, a former Cup Series champion, even found his way into the wall.
Following Denny Hamlin home across the finish line was his teammate Kyle Busch in 2nd. Kurt Busch, Austin Dillon, and Erik Jones would round out the top 5. Truex Jr. would come home in 8th after blowing a tire late, and would lock up the regular season points leader title, earning an extra 15 points for the playoffs.
Here are the full race results from the Bojangles Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway:
- Denny Hamlin, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
- Kyle Busch, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
- Kurt Busch, Ford, Stewart-Haas Racing
- Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
- Erik Jones, Toyota, Furniture Row Racing
- Matt Kenseth, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
- Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
- Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, Furniture Row Racing
- Kevin Harvick, Ford, Stewart-Haas Racing
- Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing
- Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
- Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
- Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, Germain Racing
- Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing
- Brad Keselowski, Ford, Team Penske
- Paul Menard, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
- Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, JTG-Daugherty Racing
- Joey Logano, Ford, Team Penske
- Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, Leavine Family Racing
- Aric Almirola, Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports
- Landon Cassill, Ford, Front Row Motorsports
- Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
- Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, TriStar Motorsports
- Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
- David Ragan, Ford, Front Row Motorsports
- Danica Patrick, Ford, Stewart-Haas Racing
- Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, Go Fas Racing
- Corey LaJoie, Toyota, BK Racing
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, Roush-Fenway Racing
- Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, TMG-Circle Sport Racing
- Ryan Blaney, Ford, Wood Brothers Racing
- Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, Premium Motorsports
- Carl Long, Chevrolet, MBM Racing
- A.J. Allmendinger, Chevrolet, JTG-Daugherty Racing
- Trevor Bayne, Ford, Roush-Fenway Racing
- Gray Gaulding, Toyota, BK Racing
- Cody Ware, Chevrolet, Rick Ware Racing
- Daniel Suarez, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
- Reed Sorenson, Toyota, Premium Motorsports
- Clint Bowyer, Ford, Stewart-Haas Racing
Next: Looking Back at the Darlington Throwback Weekend Schemes
The next race for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is the final race before the playoffs begin. One last chance to lock in a spot in the championship fight. Who will be the final sixteen drivers to race in the ten-race playoffs? Coverage of the Federated Auto Parts 400 from Richmond Raceway on Saturday night, September 9 can be seen on NBCSN.