2023 Cook Out Southern 500

Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Race 27 of 36 in the2023 NASCAR Cup Series
Date	September 3, 2023 (2023-09-03)
Location	Darlington Raceway inDarlington, South Carolina
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	1.366 miles (2.198 km)
Distance	367 laps, 501.322 mi (806.666 km)
Average speed	120.906 miles per hour (194.579 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing
Time	29.065
Most laps led
Driver	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps	177
Winner
No. 5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network	USA
Announcers	Rick Allen,Jeff Burton,Steve Letarte,Dale Earnhardt Jr.,Dale Jarrett andKyle Petty
Radio in the United States
Radio	MRN
Booth announcers	Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle andTodd Gordon
Turn announcers	Dave Moody (1–2) and Jason Toy (3–4)

The2023 Cook Out Southern 500, the 74th running of theevent, was aNASCAR Cup Series race held on September 3, 2023, atDarlington Raceway inDarlington, South Carolina. Contested over 367 laps on the 1.366-mile (2.198 km) egg-shaped oval, it was the 27th race of the2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, the first race of the 2023NASCAR playoffs, and the first race of the Round of 16.

Darlington Raceway is arace track built forNASCAR racing located nearDarlington, 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.

• (R) denotes rookie driver.
• (i) denotes the driver ineligible for series driver points.
• (P) denotes playoff driver.
• (OP) denotes owner’s playoffs car.

Christopher Bell was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 29.197 seconds and a speed of 168.428 mph (271.059 km/h).^[10]

Christopher Bell scored the pole for the race with a time of 29.065 and a speed of 169.193 mph (272.290 km/h).^[11]

Stage OneLaps: 115

Stage TwoLaps: 115

Stage ThreeLaps: 137

• Lead changes: 13 among 7 different drivers
• Cautions/Laps: 8 for 51 laps
• Red flags: 1 for 10 minutes
• Time of race: 4 hours, 8 minutes, and 47 seconds
• Average speed: 120.906 miles per hour (194.579 km/h)

USA covered the race on the television side.Rick Allen, two–time Darlington winnerJeff Burton,Steve Letarte andDale Earnhardt Jr. called Stages 1 and 3 of the race from the broadcast booth. Earnhardt Jr.,Dale Jarrett andKyle Petty called Stage 2 of the race from the broadcast booth.Dave Burns, Kim Coon and Marty Snider handled the pit road duties from pit lane.

MRN had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast onSirius XMNASCAR Radio.

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 William Byron 2,075 4 2 Kyle Larson 2,074 (–1) 7 3 Tyler Reddick 2,060 (–15) 4 Chris Buescher 2,057 (–18) 2 5 Denny Hamlin 2,057 (–18) 4 6 Martin Truex Jr. 2,055 (–20) 2 7 Kyle Busch 2,050 (–25) 1 8 Brad Keselowski 2,048 (–27) 1 9 Ryan Blaney 2,046 (–29) 2 10 Ross Chastain 2,043 (–32) 11 Joey Logano 2,033 (–42) 5 12 Christopher Bell 2,031 (–44) 3 13 Bubba Wallace 2,030 (–45) 1 14 Kevin Harvick 2,029 (–46) 1 15 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 2,027 (–48) 3 16 Michael McDowell 2,012 (–63) Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet 1,000 2 Ford 929 (–71) 3 Toyota 927 (–73) Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.

• 2023 NASCAR Cup Series
• NASCAR races at Darlington Raceway
• September 2023 sports events in the United States
• 2023 in sports in South Carolina

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