Jones Tames Darlington

Erik Jones roars and scores his 2^th win of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Season holding off a late charging Kyle Bush to “Tame The Lady in Black”.

 Darlington, S.C. – September 2, 2019 – Anthony Holbrook

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 25th race of the 2019 season located to Darlington Raceway, Sunday Sept 01, 2019 for the Bojangles Southern 500.  A 3 hour inclement weather delay would suspended the scheduled 6:00 event start.

Young Gun – William Byron – Driver of the No. 24 throwback Hendrick Chevrolet adds another Pole Award for his season’s collection and brought the retro theme field to green.

Stage 1

Kurt Bush No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet seizes his 3^rd Stage win of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Series season by leading the final 21 laps of Stage 1 .  NASCAR Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 Hendrick Chevrolet crossed the stripe in 2^nd – 1.7 01 seconds behind the victor.

Stage 1 Results

1. Kurt Busch
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Kyle Larson
4. Kyle Busch
5. Denny Hamlin
6. Chase Elliott
7. Brad Keselowski
8. Joey Logano
9. Martin Truex Jr.
10. Erik Jones 

Stage 2

Kyle Bush– Driver of the Joe Gibbs Racing Driver of the No. 18 Toyota collects his 10^th Season Stage win holding off his elder brother Kurt under a green/white/checkered flag fashion.

Kyle Larson – Pilot of the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevy paced the field early in Stage 2 only to be caught up on a track incident with 40 laps remaining in Stage 2.  Kyle Larson will suffer additional tire issues in closing laps, eliminating  his contention for a Stage 2 win.

Stage 2 Results

1. Kyle Busch
2. Kurt Busch
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Erik Jones
5. Kyle Larson
6. Clint Bowyer
7. Jimmie Johnson
8. William Byron
9. Brad Keselowski
10. Kevin Harvick

Bojangles Southern 500 Final Stage

Erick Jones – Driver of the Gibbs Racing Toyota held off an aggressive teammate to solidity a playoff spot by winning the Bojangles Southern 500 Monday morning.

Erick Jones protected his lines as Kyle Bush advanced in the final segments of the race.   Tire issues would play a factor as the No.18 smacks the wall in the closing laps allowing the Erick Jones No. 20 to drive off for the win.

Kyle Larson’s Chevy would bounce back from early confrontations and finish 2^nd.   A Kyle Bush 3^rd place finish clinches a Regular Season Championship on Points for Kyle Bush.

Bojangles Southern 500 Final results

1. Erik Jones
2. Kyle Larson
3. Kyle Busch
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Brad Keselowski
6. Clint Bowyer
7. Kurt Busch
8. Matt DiBenedetto
9. Paul Menard
10. Austin Dillon
11. Daniel Suarez
12. Chris Buescher
13. Ryan Blaney
14. Joey Logaro
15. Martin Truex Jr.
16. Jimmie Johnson
17. Aric Almirola
18. Alex Bowman
19. Chase Elliott
20. Ty Dillon
21. William Byron
22. Ryan Preece
23. Ryan Newman
24. Bubba Wallace
25. Landon Cassill
26. David Ragan
27. Matt Tifft
28. Ross Chastain
29. Denny Hamlin
30. Reed Sorenson
31. Joe Nemechek
32. JJ Yeley
33. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
34. Joey Gase
35. Garrett Smithley
36. Corey LaJoie
37. Daniel Hemric
38. Michael McDowell
39. B.J. McLeod

Time of Race:

3 Hrs, 44 Mins, 46 Secs.

Average Speed:

133.825 MPH

Margin of Victory:

4.058 Seconds

Caution Flags:

 7 for 35 laps; Laps: 37-40 (Competition Caution [15]); 69-72 (#38 and 54 Incident on the Backstretch [32]); 102-106 (Stage 1 Conclusion [15]); 142-145 (#6 and 41 Incident in Turn 2 [36]); 159-162 (#32 Spin in Turn 2 [6]); 199-206 (#36 and 51 Incident in Turn 1 [38]); 276-281 (#1, 8, 11, 24, 34, 48 Incident in Turn 4 [3]).

Lead Changes:

13 among 8 drivers; W. Byron 0; BStaff Report. Keselowski 1-19; K. Busch 20-69; C. Elliott 70-78; K. Busch 79-103; K. Larson 104-142; K. Busch 143-159; K. Busch 160-277; K. Larson 278-282; E. Jones 283-320; C. Bowyer 321; K. Busch 322-323; J. Johnson 324-326; E. Jones 327-367.

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular season wraps up next Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Big Machine Vodka 400 at The Brickyard (2 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).