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The 2022 Cook Out Southern 500, the 73rd running of the event, was a NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on September 4, 2022, 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 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, the first race of the 2022 NASCAR playoffs, and the first race of the Round of 16.
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 27 of 36 in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 The 2022 Cook Out Southern 500 program cover, featuring Chase Elliott, Dale Earnhardt, David Pearson, and Herb Thomas' Hudson Hornet. | |||
| Date | September 4, 2022 | ||
| Location | Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.366 mi (2.198 km) | ||
| Distance | 367 laps, 501.322 mi (806.666 km) | ||
| Average speed | 120.406 miles per hour (193.775 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Team Penske | ||
| Time | 29.181 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 155 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 43 | Erik Jones | Petty GMS Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | USA | ||
| 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) | ||
Erik Jones won, the first race win for Petty GMS Motorsports, in dramatic fashion after inheriting the lead from Kyle Busch, whose Toyota's engine failed on Lap 344 as the field was preparing for the restart.
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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.[8]
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
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Austin Cindric was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 29.324 seconds and a speed of 167.699 mph (269.885 km/h).[10]
Practice results
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Austin Cindric (R) | Team Penske | Ford | 29.324 | 167.699 |
| 2 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.536 | 166.495 |
| 3 | 43 | Erik Jones | Petty GMS Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.538 | 166.484 |
| Official practice results | ||||||
For the first time since 2003, the lineal Southern 500 held time trials.
Joey Logano scored the pole for the race with a time of 29.181 and a speed of 168.521 mph (271.208 km/h).[11]
Qualifying results
Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 115
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 43 | Erik Jones | Petty GMS Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 45 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 1 |
| Official stage one results | |||||
Stage Two Laps: 115
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 43 | Erik Jones | Petty GMS Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage two results | |||||
Final Stage Results
Stage Three Laps: 137
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 | 43 | Erik Jones | Petty GMS Motorsports | Chevrolet | 367 | 45 |
| 2 | 11 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 367 | 44 |
| 3 | 4 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 367 | 38 |
| 4 | 1 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 367 | 40 |
| 5 | 2 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 367 | 44 |
| 6 | 10 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 367 | 32 |
| 7 | 25 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 367 | 30 |
| 8 | 3 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 367 | 45 |
| 9 | 8 | 45 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 367 | 29 |
| 10 | 16 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 367 | 31 |
| 11 | 22 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 367 | 26 |
| 12 | 7 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 367 | 25 |
| 13 | 9 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 367 | 34 |
| 14 | 30 | 41 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 367 | 23 |
| 15 | 21 | 23 | Ty Gibbs (i) | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 367 | 0 |
| 16 | 6 | 2 | Austin Cindric (R) | Team Penske | Ford | 367 | 21 |
| 17 | 13 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 367 | 20 |
| 18 | 36 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 367 | 22 |
| 19 | 14 | 31 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 366 | 18 |
| 20 | 12 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 366 | 22 |
| 21 | 28 | 21 | Harrison Burton (R) | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 366 | 16 |
| 22 | 29 | 42 | Ty Dillon | Petty GMS Motorsports | Chevrolet | 366 | 15 |
| 23 | 24 | 16 | Daniel Hemric (i) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 365 | 0 |
| 24 | 34 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 365 | 13 |
| 25 | 26 | 77 | Landon Cassill (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 365 | 0 |
| 26 | 27 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 365 | 11 |
| 27 | 19 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 363 | 10 |
| 28 | 31 | 38 | Todd Gilliland (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 363 | 9 |
| 29 | 35 | 78 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford | 361 | 0 |
| 30 | 5 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 345 | 25 |
| 31 | 17 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 336 | 21 |
| 32 | 32 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 331 | 5 |
| 33 | 18 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 274 | 4 |
| 34 | 33 | 15 | J. J. Yeley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 236 | 0 |
| 35 | 20 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 164 | 2 |
| 36 | 23 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 113 | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
- Lead changes: 21 among 11 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 9 for 58
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 4 hours, 9 minutes and 49 seconds
- Average speed: 120.406 miles per hour (193.775 km/h)
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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, Parker Kligerman and Marty Snider handled the pit road duties from pit lane.
| USA | |
|---|---|
| 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 Kim Coon 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 Dillon Welch Chris Wilner Jason Toy |
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- Kurt Busch's medical suspension from the Pocono Q2 crash (concussion) has not been lifted and has withdrawn from the drivers' championship playoff participation as of August 25, 2022.
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