Take 5: Dissecting Darlington after an eventful Southern 500

The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs have officially begun with another chapter added to the long history of venerable Darlington Raceway. Nine races remain to crown a champion, but there's plenty to digest from Sunday's Cook Out Southern 500. Here are five story lines to unpack.

PERFECT 10 IN SIGHT: Kevin Harvick opened his postseason pursuit in a familiar place, putting the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Ford in Victory Lane for the eighth time this season and adding another winner sticker to his already crowded C-post. It's put him on the verge of reaching 10 wins, a single-season mark that hasn't been achieved since Jimmie Johnson's 10-win title campaign in 2007. "Yeah, you know, I try not to look and think about things like that just because I don't want the karma train to hit me in the back and splat me," Harvick said. "But I think right now we just have to keep doing what we're doing." Harvick has reached eight wins in a season before, piling up that many triumphs in 2018. This year, he's gone no longer than four races without a victory.

ALL FOR NAUGHT: Martin Truex Jr. and Chase Elliott dominated the leaderboard throughout Sunday's 500-miler, combining to lead 310 of the 367 laps, but their disagreement over Turn 1 real estate with 15 laps remaining cost both a chance at victory. For Truex especially, it was a microcosm of a season in which he's shown sizable speed, but with just one tally in the win column to show for it. He's led the third-most laps in the Cup Series this year, and his 762 laps out front are just 28 behind Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin, a six-time winner in 2020. Sunday night, his streak of eight consecutive top-five finishes ended with a thud in 22nd place.

PITFALLS FOR PENSKE: Joey Logano's No. 22 Ford showed several battle scars after a nearly four-hour bout with Darlington Raceway, but he recovered for an admirable third-place finish. That was the top result after a perilous night for Team Penske and the affiliated Wood Brothers Racing team. Penske's Brad Keselowski rallied to finish 11th after an early scrub of the outside wall. The Wood Brothers' Matt DiBenedetto managed just 21st in the No. 21, and Penske's Ryan Blaney was off in 24th place, tacking a 10-point penalty on after a pre-race inspection issue that forced their car to the rear of the field. A mixed bag, for sure, but Logano's effort was a reminder of the organization's depth. "I feel like our team is a little bit tougher than just getting down after one race," Logano said.

BACK ON THE BUBBLE: It's still early, but the playoff picture already has a handful of hopefuls flirting with playoff elimination. Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Aric Almirola and Clint Bowyer are tied for 12th in the playoff standings, right on the cut line in the opening three-race set. SHR rookie Cole Custer, Matt DiBenedetto and Ryan Blaney rank below them. Bowyer escaped Darlington with 10th place, but left wanting more after a series of miscues -- capped with a loose wheel on his No. 14 Ford down the stretch. "I told you going into this we’ve got to put 10 races together," Bowyer said. "We’ve got to put whole races together. We can’t make these mistakes. If we can clean those up, we’re going to some good tracks for us -- for us all, Aric, Kevin (Harvick) and all of us, we enjoy these short tracks. We’ve got a good short-track program, so looking forward to what’s to come." Those short tracks on the horizon for Bowyer and the rest are Richmond and Bristol, host to the last two races in the opening Round of 16.

KUDOS TO THE OUTSIDERS: Though a grand share of the focus rests on the 16 championship-eligible drivers, there's still pride in performing for the rest of the field. Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson showed strength early, finishing in the top five at both stage breaks before fading to an 18th-place result. Erik Jones fared the best of the non-playoff drivers, though, claiming fourth place -- his best finish since taking third at Pocono Raceway in late June. Jones has now placed among the top 10 in all six starts at Darlington over the course of his Cup Series career, including his victory in the 2019 running of the Southern 500.