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Dale Earnhardt Jr placed fifth in the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 at Darlington Raceway on Saturday.

It’s Earnhardt’s first top-five finish of the season.

Cole Custer brought home the win in the race, with Tyler Reddick finishing second, and Ryan Blaney crossing the finish line third.

Reddick picked up 10 bonus points by winning Stage 1, and Blaney took Stage 2.

Earnhardt did not collect any playoff points Saturday and still is seeking his first playoff points of the season.

The 23-year driver qualified in 14th position at 166.964 mph.

Earnhardt has tallied 24 career victories, 69 top-five finishes and has placed in the top 10 in 93 races.

Earnhardt battled 37 other cars in the field and the race saw five cautions and 23 caution laps. There were five lead changes before the checkered flag.

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Alex Labbe crossed the finish line 17th in the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 at Darlington Raceway on Saturday.

Cole Custer brought home the win in the race, with Tyler Reddick following in second, and Ryan Blaney placing third. Christopher Bell took fourth place, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr in the No. 5 spot.

Reddick picked up 10 bonus points by winning Stage 1, and Blaney took Stage 2 to pad his totals for the weekend.

Labbe earned 20 points over the weekend, increasing his total to 92 on the year. He ranks No. 38 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series points standings. Labbe did not pick up any playoff points Saturday and still is seeking his first playoff points of the season.

The fourth-year driver qualified in 17th position at 165.431 mph.

Labbe has yet to secure his first NASCAR win but has placed in the top 10 in one race.

Labbe battled 37 other cars in the field and the race endured five cautions and 23 caution laps. There were five lead changes before the checkered flag.

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Aric Almirola placed 17th in the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday.

Erik Jones brought home the win in the race, with Kyle Larson finishing second, and Kyle Busch crossing the finish line third. Kevin Harvick took fourth place, followed by Brad Keselowski in the No. 5 spot.

Kurt Busch picked up 10 bonus points by winning Stage 1, and Kyle Busch took Stage 2 to pad his totals for the weekend.

Almirola earned 20 points over the weekend, giving him 674 on the season. He ranks No. 14 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series overall standings. Almirola did not collect any playoff points and remains at one for the season.

The 12-year driver qualified in 30th position at 168.244 mph.

Almirola has tallied two career victories, 16 top-five finishes and has placed in the top 10 in 59 races.

There were 39 cars in the field and the race endured seven cautions and 35 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag, there were 13 lead changes.

Aric Almirola Driver Page | Get Aric Almirola Gear | Race Center

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Chris Buescher crossed the finish line 12th in the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday.

Erik Jones brought home the win in the race, with Kyle Larson taking second, and Kyle Busch crossing the finish line third. Kevin Harvick brought home fourth place, followed by Brad Keselowski in the No. 5 spot.

Kurt Busch picked up 10 bonus points by winning Stage 1, and Kyle Busch took Stage 2 to pad his totals for the weekend.

Buescher earned 25 points over the weekend, giving him 531 on the season. He ranks No. 20 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series overall points standings. Buescher did not collect any playoff points Sunday and still is seeking his first playoff points of the season.

The fifth-year driver qualified in 12th position at 170.578 mph.

Buescher has tallied one career victory, four top-five finishes and has placed in the top 10 in 12 races.

Buescher battled 38 other cars in the field and the race saw seven cautions and 35 caution laps. There were 13 lead changes before the checkered flag.

Chris Buescher Driver Page | Get Chris Buescher Gear | Race Center

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Paul Menard placed ninth in the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday. It’s Menard’s third top-10 finish of the season.

Erik Jones took the checkered flag in the race, with Kyle Larson following in second, and Kyle Busch placing third. Kevin Harvick brought home fourth place, followed by Brad Keselowski to round out the top five.

Kurt Busch picked up 10 bonus points by winning Stage 1, and Kyle Busch finished out front in Stage 2.

Menard earned 28 points over the weekend, giving him 548 on the year. He ranks No. 19 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series points standings. Menard did not grab any playoff points Sunday and still is seeking his first playoff points of the season.

The 16-year driver qualified in 17th position at 170.324 mph.

Menard has tallied one career victory, 20 top-five finishes and has placed in the top 10 in 68 races.

Menard battled 38 other cars in the field and the race saw seven cautions and 35 caution laps. There were 13 lead changes before the checkered flag.

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Clint Bowyer finished sixth in the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday. It’s Bowyer’s 11th top-10 finish of the season.

Erik Jones took the checkered flag in the race, with Kyle Larson following in second, and Kyle Busch crossing the finish line third. Kevin Harvick brought home fourth place, followed by Brad Keselowski in the No. 5 spot.

Kurt Busch picked up 10 bonus points by winning Stage 1, and Kyle Busch took Stage 2 to pad his totals for the weekend.

Bowyer earned 36 points over the weekend, giving him 625 on the year. He ranks No. 15 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings. Bowyer did not collect any playoff points Sunday and remains on the hunt for his first playoff points of the season.

The 15-year driver qualified in 13th position at 170.566 mph. He led for one lap but relinquished the lead for good after Lap 321.

Bowyer has tallied 10 career victories, 78 top-five finishes and has placed in the top 10 in 207 races.

Bowyer battled 38 others cars in the field and the race saw seven cautions and 35 caution laps. There were 13 lead changes before the checkered flag.

Clint Bowyer Driver Page | Get Clint Bowyer Gear | Race Center

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Kyle Larson placed second in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, 4.058 seconds off the winning pace.

Erik Jones finished out front in the race, with Kyle Busch placing third. Kevin Harvick brought home fourth place, followed by Brad Keselowski in the No. 5 spot.

Kurt Busch picked up 10 bonus points by winning Stage 1, and Kyle Busch won Stage 2 to pad his totals for the weekend.

Larson earned 49 points over the weekend, giving him 714 on the season. He ranks No. 9 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings. Larson did not collect any playoff points and remains at four on the season.

The seventh-year driver qualified in the third position at 171.842 mph. He led on two occasions for a total of 44 laps.

Larson has tallied five career victories, 53 top-five finishes and has placed in the top 10 in 93 races.

Larson battled 38 other cars in the field and the race saw seven cautions and 35 caution laps. There were 13 lead changes before the checkered flag.

Kyle Larson Driver Page | Get Kyle Larson Gear | Race Center

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DARLINGTON, S.C. — Good wasn’t good enough. Jimmie Johnson needed to be great.

A 16th-place finish didn’t do the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet any postseason justice Saturday at Darlington Raceway. Nor did it accurately represent Johnson’s overall run in the Bojangles’ Southern 500. Because for a majority of the 367 laps, Johnson did run in the top five or 10.

“Great car. Great stops. Just bad luck,” Johnson said. “I guess I had 15 years of really good luck and the last two or three have been pretty bad.”

RELATED: Darlington results | Championship standings

Especially on Lap 276, when the seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion got caught in a multi-car wreck while running fourth. He never fully recovered after his left front took the brunt of the damage.

There were 86 laps to go when the field returned to green, with Johnson 13th.

“It sucks really bad,” crew chief Cliff Daniels said. “At that point, because the nose wasn’t ripped off the car, I knew we still had a fighting chance to either get a lead-lap finish or a top-20 finish. Our day wasn’t totally over. So, man, we kept fighting.”

Pit stops were the only reason Johnson ever made it back into the top 10. He was scored the leader with 43 laps to go but pitted himself three go-arounds later. Once everyone cycled through, he stayed put in the upper teens – and a lap down.

“It’s not the result we want,” Johnson said, “but we’re definitely going in the right direction.”

Or at least staying stagnant.

Before Darlington, Johnson was ranked 18th in the championship standings – 26 points below the 16-drive cutline. The placement remains the same, but now 18 points separate him and the postseason with one regular-season race left at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“It’s so hard and also unfair to put pressure on this race and the next race,” Johnson said. “We’ve had however many to get here and made a lot of mistakes along the way. It might come down to just a few points. You look at any race this year, we could have strung a few more points together.”

Johnson did earn the most stage points among the bubble drivers (Clint Bowyer finished sixth and ranks 15th; Daniel Suarez finished 11th and ranks 16th; Ryan Newman finished 23rd and ranks 17th). The HMS driver wound up with 13, finishing Stage 1 in second and Stage 2 in seventh. Bowyer got five from his sixth-place Stage 2 showing. Newman and Suarez didn’t receive any.

Johnson also earned the second-most points total (34) in that group. Bowyer took the better mark at 36, while Suarez and Newman had 26 and 14, respectively.

RELATED: Johnson’s driver page | Shop Johnson gear

Still, the gap between Johnson and the others was too big to close. Only tighten.

“I know that we actually ended up gaining just a little bit of points in the total picture, whatever that means,” Daniels said. “To be honest, Jimmie and I have had a lot of conversations about it, and we’re just trying to methodically make sure we’re building this team the right way rather than stab and steer and try to go for a Hail Mary. That’s not always the best approach. We’re definitely going to be methodical as we approach Indy, which is exactly what we did for here.”

And it almost worked.

Ten drivers have won a race this season, now including Erik Jones at Darlington. They’re all guaranteed a playoff berth. Kyle Larson, William Byron, Ryan Blaney and Aric Almirola then all clinched on points.

That leaves only two spots open.

“I didn’t even know who won,” Johnson said. “It is what it is. We’re going to keep digging.”

Posted on by Staff Report

The race-winning No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Erik Jones has passed post-race technical inspection at Darlington Raceway with no issues.

The No. 20 was found to be compliant with the 2019 NASCAR Rule Book after Sunday night’s Bojangles’ Southern 500. Additionally, no cars are headed back to the R&D Center after the race. There was one lug nut found to be not secure on the Nos. 24 (William Byron), 42 (Kyle Larson), 88 (Alex Bowman) and 95 (Matt DiBenedetto).

With post-race teardown complete, the race results are official.

RELATED: Full Darlington results | Darlington stage winners

The post-race process is part of a new, more timely approach to inspection for all three NASCAR national series. Competition officials announced in February that thorough post-race inspections would take place shortly after the checkered flag at the track instead of midweek at the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina.

Those inspections come with a stiffer deterrence structure that includes disqualification for significant rules infractions — “a total culture change,” according to Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer. In the past, race-winning teams found in violation of the rules were penalized with post-race fines, points deductions and/or suspensions, but victories were allowed to stand.

Competition officials introduced the quicker post-race inspection timetable in an effort to make the results official on race day, aiming for a 90-minute target time frame to complete their scrutineering. The new post-race inspection process was also designed to deal with potential violations more promptly, avoiding any midweek news that might cloud the previous week’s results or the build-up to the following week’s event.

NASCAR will still inspect cars and parts at the R&D Center as needed, but the more comprehensive at-track inspection will take priority.

According to NASCAR statistical archives, the last time a premier-series driver was disqualified occurred in 1973, when early retiree Buddy Baker was demoted to last place in the National 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The last time an apparent race winner in NASCAR’s top division was disqualified came on April 17, 1960, when Emanuel Zervakis’ victory at Wilson (N.C.) Speedway was thrown out because of an oversized fuel tank on his No. 85 Chevrolet.

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Erik Jones won the Bojangles’ Southern 500 to punch his ticket into the NASCAR Playoffs, while Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, William Byron and Aric Almirola joined the Joe Gibbs Racing driver in the postseason via points.

All told, it was an eventful night in Darlington, South Carolina, where rain delayed the start of the 500-miler to 10 p.m. ET. Racing ended just before 2 a.m.

Those five drivers join the nine winners we’ve seen so far this season already in the field — Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch and Alex Bowman.

MORE: Race results

That means two playoff spots in the 16-driver field are up for grabs in next week’s regular-season finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Currently, Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Clint Bowyer and Daniel Suarez own the final two provisional spots. Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson are just below the cutoff line.

Suarez and Newman technically are tied for the final position, but the driver of the No. 41 Ford owns the tiebreaker.

This is the fourth consecutive year in which Larson has advanced to the postseason, the third for Blaney and second for both Jones and Almirola.

William Byron, 21, qualified for the Monster Energy Series Playoffs for the first time in his second season at NASCAR’s top level, and first with Chad Knaus atop the pit box.