RELATED: Full race results | Series standings | Chase Grid standings
Below is a breakdown of how the full 43-car field fared at Darlington Raceway
1. Carl Edwards, No. 19 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing: Edwards battled back from an early pit road miscue, flat tire and track position two laps down to take the checkered in the longest race of the season thus far. His No. 19 pit crew was his saving grace, as the team performed a dynamic 12-second pit stop that won Edwards the race off pit road for the night’s final restart. | RELATED: Edwards discusses winning the Southern 500
2. Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Ford, Team Penske: Pole-sitter Keselowski was blisteringly fast through the night, leading a race-high 196 laps around the storied raceway, wheeling the race’s fastest lap of 176.587 mph and contending for the win. But his crew didn’t match his speed, as Keselowski came up .902 seconds behind Edwards in the final race off pit road. | RELATED: Keselowski breaks down his night
3. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing: The trend of strong pit crews for Joe Gibbs Racing held strong with Hamlin, as he consistently gained multiple spots on pit road throughout the night, helping him pace the field for 57 laps.
4. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford, Team Penske: Pacing the field twice for 29 laps, Logano earned his first top-five result at the “Track Too Tough to Tame” in his seven starts.
5. Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing: Pacing the field for 44 laps, Harvick was a heavy contender for the win throughout the night, fighting Edwards and Keselowski for the checked in the final laps.
6. Kurt Busch, No. 41 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing: Busch overcame a setback at Lap 307, when Martin Truex Jr. accidently hit his No. 41 Chevrolet from behind, sending it spinning across the track.
7. Kyle Busch, No. 18 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing: Persevering through a late-race collision with Greg Biffle, Busch’s seventh-place finish allowed him to officially clinch a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. | RELATED: Busch makes the Chase
8. Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports: Junior’s post-race description of Sunday’s race as “challenging” but “very rewarding” was fitting, as the No. 88 team took a while to find their groove throughout the weekend, eventually finishing 18 spots ahead of their 26th-place starting position.
9. Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Chevrolet, Furniture Row Racing: Truex Jr. earned his 17th top-10 finish of the season at Darlington, setting a record with his Furniture Row Racing team for its most top-10s in a season.
10. Kyle Larson, No. 42 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates: Wheeling the fan-favorite Kyle Petty throwback car, Larson ran with NASCAR’s elite throughout the evening, earning a second-straight top 10 in his sophomore year at the “Lady in Black.” | RELATED: See all the throwback paint schemes
11. Aric Almirola, No. 43 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports: Sitting precariously on one of the Chase bubble positions, Almirola’s steady 11th-place result shaved off six points in the standings from Clint Bowyer — the last driver in the Chase Grid as of today. | RELATED: Who is on the Chase bubble?
12. Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports: Crew chief Keith Rodden rolled the dice early with a speedy two-tire stop that allowed Kahne to gain 13 positions and pace the field for two laps before getting passed by cars with four fresh Goodyears.
13. Ryan Newman, No. 31 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing After going completely sideways early in the race, Newman’s No. 31 had minimal damage, which allowed him to finish in the top 15 for the fourth consecutive race.
14. Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates: The No. 1 crew fought radio communication troubles through the night, forcing the team to communicate in three-word spurts with McMurray.
15. Tony Stewart, No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing: “Smoke” stayed on the track during a cycle of yellow-flag pit stops to lead 10 laps on older tires after beating Larson on the restart at Lap 212.
16. Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports: Equipped with a car that was better handling in the shorter runs, the frequent cautions allowed Gordon to run in the top 10 for much of the night.
17. Clint Bowyer, No. 15 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing: Spotter Brett Griffin advised Bowyer during the race to “just race the track and stay out of that (expletive) wall” — which he accomplished, but still earned his worst result at Darlington since 2011.
18. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing: A flat right-front tire and collision with Kyle Busch provided plenty of typical Darlington obstacles for Biffle, whose 18th-place finish was somewhat disappointing after his impressive practice speeds.
19. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports: Called out by teammate Gordon over the radio, Johnson was issued a warning after accelerating too quickly prior to entering pit road at Lap 128 – but the “Lady in Black” awarded the No. 48 a penalty of her own less than five laps later when Johnson spun out after making contact with Logano. | RELATED: Gordon calls out Johnson
20. Landon Cassill, No. 40 Chevrolet, Hillman Smith Motorsports: Wheeling the “Proud to be an American” scheme driven by Sterling Martin, Cassill earned his best finish since Pocono in August.
21. Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing: The “Lady in Black” proved she shows mercy to no one, even an established driver like Kenseth, who smacked the wall at Lap 20 and damaged his No. 20 ride.
22. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing: His throwback Chevy sporting a Darlington stripe that was earned in opening practice, Dillon was the first driver to pilot the No. 3 ride on Labor Day weekend at Darlington since Dale Earnhardt did in 2000.
23. AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Chevrolet, JTG Daugherty Racing: From a collision with Justin Allgaier early in the race to a penalty for jumping the restart at Lap 124, Allmendinger’s 23rd-place finish on Sunday didn’t come easy.
24. Alex Bowman, No. 7 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing: Bowman overcame an early brush with the wall, flat left rear and right rear tires and a collision with T.J. Bell for a career-best finish at Darlington.
25. Matt DiBenedetto, No. 83 Toyota, BK Racing: Making his first Sprint Cup Series start at the “Lady in Black,” DiBenedetto’s 25th-place result earned him the Sunoco Rookie of the Race award.
26. Paul Menard, No. 27 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing: Aggressive driving caused Menard to hit the back of David Ragan at Lap 279, sending the No. 55 spinning and leaving Menard still without a career top-10 finish at Darlington. | RELATED: See the contact
27. David Gilliland, No. 38 Ford, Front Row Motorsports: Gilliland took the wave around to lead Lap 303, managing to end the race on the lead lap.
28. Sam Hornish Jr., No. 9 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports: Turning laps in a Mark Martin-themed throwback car, Hornish Jr. spun at Lap 299, but saved it and continued racing.
29. Casey Mears, No. 13 Chevrolet, Germain Racing: His car sporting a pink decal honoring team owner Bob Germain’s late wife, Gracie, and her battle with breast cancer, Mears faced string of issues — vibration, no second or third gear and low volts — at the “Track Too Tough to Tame.”
30. Ryan Blaney, No. 21 Ford, Wood Brothers Racing: In his first Sprint Cup Series start at Darlington, Blaney earned his initiation-style stripes at Lap 95 when he hit the wall while running 16th.
31. Jeb Burton, No. 23 Toyota, BK Racing: Burton brought out the record-setting 18th caution in Sunday night’s Southern 500, when his No. 23 Toyota spun out between Turns 1 and 2.
32. Mike Bliss, No. 33 Chevrolet, Circle Sport: After bringing out the fifth caution at Lap 120 following a brush with the wall, a collision between Bliss’ No. 33 and J.J. Yeley’s No. 26 signaled another caution just five laps later.
33. Justin Allgaier, No. 51 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports: Shortly after a radio conversation with his team where Allgaier said, “The 47 is all over us,” he and AJ Allmendinger collided, sending the No. 51 limping down pit road with heavy right-side damage.
34. J.J. Yeley, No. 26 Toyota, BK Racing: A wreck at Lap 125 with Bliss and Michael Annett sent the No. 26 to the garage for repairs.
35. Trevor Bayne, No. 6 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing: Bayne went for a spin at Lap 166 only to spin out again at Lap 247, sending him to the garage for repairs.
36. Brett Moffitt, No. 34 Ford, Front Row Motorsports: The No. 34 incurred early damage and made an early trip the garage, when it was caught up in a wreck with Chase Elliott and Cole Whitt at Lap 7.
37. T.J. Bell, No. 98 Ford, Premium Motorsports: As the caution flag flew for Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s spin at Lap 198, Bell and Bowman made contact, leaving both vehicles with plenty of damage.
38. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing: While racing hard with Bowyer, Stenhouse Jr. hit the fronstretch wall hard at Lap 198, forcing his No. 17 to the garage momentarily for repairs.
39. Michael Annett, No. 46 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports: The No. 46 incurred heavy left-side damage that required garage-time, after getting caught up in a wreck between Yeley and Bliss at Lap 125.
40. David Ragan, No. 55 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing: A pair of back-to-back cautions brought out by the No. 55 car marred Ragan’s day, as his Michael Waltrip Racing ride ultimately went up in flames — and to the garage. | RELATED: Contact leads to hard hit for Ragan
41. Chase Elliott, No. 25 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports: Making his fifth and final Sprint Cup Series start of 2015, Elliott battled from an early-race incident with Cole Whitt to race inside the top 20. Unfortunately, the Hendrick Motorsports part-time rookie went for a hard spin at Lap 228, his No. 25 ride suffering day-ending damage. | RELATED: Early damage for Elliott
42. Danica Patrick, No. 10 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing: “Sorry, I just got loose,” Patrick speculated via her team radio following heavy contact with the wall at Lap 189 that sent her No. 10 down pit road for extensive repairs. She returned to the track later in the race, but left soon after with a smoking car. | RELATED: Tough night for Danica
43. Cole Whitt, No. 35 Ford, Front Row Motorsports: Whitt’s third Sprint Cup Series start at Darlington came to a close early in the race, when his No. 35 ride was collected in Brett Moffitt‘s brush with the wall and did not return to the track.
