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NASCAR: Erik Jones outduels Hamlin to win Southern 500

Posted by AR1 staff

In a race that had more twists and turns than a Victorian melodrama, Erik Jones put the vaunted No. 43 Chevrolet back in Victory Lane for the first time since 2014.

In the season’s first NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race, Jones held off Denny Hamlin in a 20-lap run to the finish to win the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway for the second time.

The Sunday night race took its toll on more than a handful of playoff drivers, as Jones became the first non-playoff driver to win the first postseason event since NASCAR introduced the elimination format in 2014.

Erik Jones Celebrates after the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on September 04, 2022 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

The victory was Jones’ first of the season, the third of his career, and the first for Petty GMS Racing since that organization was formed by merger before the 2022 campaign. The win was No. 200 for the 43 car number, which NASCAR Hall of Famer and car owner Richard Petty drove to seven series championships.

“Richard hasn’t been to Victory Lane at Darlington probably since he last won here,” said Jones, referencing Petty’s 1967 victory in the Southern 500. “It’s just awesome. Just so proud of these guys, Petty GMS and (sponsor) FOCUSFactor crew.

“We’ve been so close all year, and I didn’t think today was going to be the day. It was going to be a tough one to win, I knew, but no better fitting place. I love this track. I love this race. On that trophy twice, man. I was pumped to be on it once, but to have it on there twice — pretty cool.”

The victory was the first in the Cup Series for crew chief Dave Elenz. Jones won his first Southern 500 in 2019 driving for Joe Gibbs Racing but was released after the 2020 season in favor of Christopher Bell. On Sunday night, Jones held off a former teammate in Hamlin, who ran out of time in his pursuit of Jones and finished in the runner-up spot, 0.252 seconds behind the race winner.

Erik Jones, driver of the #43 FOCUSfactor Chevrolet, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on September 04, 2022 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)

“Well, I mean, I never lost any belief in myself through any of it,” Jones said. “I knew I could still do it, and I just knew we needed to grow the program to do it, and we have. We’ve brought on a lot of great people in the last year. Dave Elenz called a great race today. His first Cup win — that’s pretty cool for him.

“I’m excited, man. We’ve been talking about this day a long time, and it is redemption in a lot of ways. Very fitting that it’s here at this race again. I felt like this was the race that saved my job the first time around, and coming back here with this win, I guess it puts you back on the map.”

Tyler Reddick ran third, followed by pole winner Joey Logano, who vaulted to the top of the playoff standings, six points clear of second-place William Byron, who finished eighth on Sunday.

Jones got his chance at the front of the field when Kyle Busch, who had led a race-high 155 laps, suffered a blown engine as he prepared for the final restart. Busch had inherited the top spot when his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Martin Truex Jr., suffered a similar failure on Lap 333 of 367.

But those retirements barely scratched the surface of the drama that unfolded throughout the race. Disaster befell Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick. Kyle Larson and his team accomplished an amazing salvage job.

And the playoff picture remained just as uncertain as it had been entering the grueling 500-mile contest at “The Lady in Black.”

After a catastrophic playoff opener, Elliott, the Regular Season Champion, is the series leader no more.

Elliott spun sideways in Turn 2 on Lap 113 — two laps short of the end of Stage 1 — cracked the back of his No. 9 Chevrolet and slid down the track into the path of Chase Briscoe, who couldn’t avoid the collision.

Elliott nursed his car to pit road where his team tried in vain to repair the damage, but with the right-rear toe link and upper and lower control arms broken, the task was hopeless. The 10-minute time allotment under NASCAR’s damaged vehicle policy ran out, and Elliott retired from the race in last place (36th).

The 15-point advantage Elliott carried into the playoffs was gone. Elliott scored the minimum one point for his efforts at Darlington and fell to ninth in the playoff standings, 14 points ahead of 16th-place finisher Austin Cindric in 13th.

“I just hit the wall in (Turns) 1 and 2 and broke something in the right-rear,” Elliott said succinctly. And how would he approach the next playoff race at Kansas Speedway? “A lot better than we did today.”

A solid run by 2014 series champion Harvick went up in flames on Lap 275. As he lost speed while running ninth, Harvick radioed to his crew, “My rocker panel’s on fire.”

Flames erupted on both sides of the car. Harvick parked the No. 4 Ford on the apron and scrambled from his smoke-filled cockpit. Harvick exited the race in 33rd place and dropped to the bottom rung of the playoff standings, 13 points below the current cut line.

Larson, the reigning series champion, brought his car to pit road on Lap 79, sensing his engine was about to expire. He lost three laps as his team worked under the hood of the No. 5 but returned to the track and the “gremlins” disappeared after a few laps.

Using wave-arounds and his status as beneficiary under caution to advantage, Larson regained the lead lap and finished 12th, averting a major hit in the standings.

Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet at the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on September 04, 2022 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)
NOTE: Post-race technical inspection concluded without issue, confirming Jones as the winner of the event.

Notes: The last driver to win a race in the No. 43 was Aric Almirola, who took the car to Victory Lane on July 6, 2014 at Daytona … Logano led the first 37 laps from the pole and 64 overall, but an issue with the left-front tire cost him valuable time during a green-flag pit stop on Lap 75. He never regained the track position he lost. … Ross Chastain lost a lap when he returned to pit road for an unscheduled stop on Lap 160 to address a loose wheel. He finished 20th, one lap down. … Cindric, Austin Dillon, Briscoe and Harvick are the four drivers below the current cut line with two races left in the Round of 16.

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:

ERIK JONES, NO. 43 FOCUSFACTOR CAMARO ZL1 – Race Winner

Erik Jones does it a second time and puts Petty GMS and the 43 in Victory Lane. How about that? Of all places to do it, Erik, you put the 43 in Victory Lane at Darlington. What does that mean to you to put Richard Petty in Victory Lane tonight?

“I get a hat. He told me I get a hat if I win.

But Richard hasn’t been to Victory Lane at Darlington probably since he last won here. It’s just awesome. Just so proud of these guys, Petty GMS and FOCUSfactor Crew. We’ve been so close all year, and I didn’t think today was going to be the day. It was going to be a tough one to win, but no better fitting place. I love this track; I love this race. On that trophy twice, man. I was pumped to be on it once, but to have it on there twice, pretty cool.”

I’ve got to ask you about the final few laps. How in the world did you hold off Denny Hamlin and how much were you driving out of the rear view mirror or the windshield?

“Man, I was focused forward. Honestly that’s the calmest I’ve been in the race car going for a win ever, really. I think back to the last time winning here and I was driving my guts out; my nerves were pounding, my stomach was hurting, and today it was just business as usual.

Just feel good about this track and knew Denny (Hamlin) would run me clean. I knew it was going to be tough for him to pass. It was tough to pass all day, and we got a good restart there.

But man, so proud of everybody. Just what a dream come true. That’s all you can say.”

What sort of redemption is this for you; let go by Joe Gibbs Racing, these guys took a chance on you and they put you in the 43. Now you’ve put them in Victory Lane.

“Well, I never lost any belief in myself through any of it. I knew I could still do it. I just knew we needed to grow the program to do it and we have. We’ve brought on a lot of great people in the last year. Dave Elenz (crew chief) called a great race today. His Cup win; that’s pretty cool for him.

I’m excited, man. We’ve been talking about this day a long time, and it is redemption in a lot of ways. Very fitting that it’s here at this race again. I felt like this was the race that saved my job the first time around; and coming back here with this win, I guess it puts you back on the map.”

You seem almost like you’re in disbelief yourself.

“Well, we had a lot of good stuff go our way. We got the lead there with the 18 (Kyle Busch) losing a motor. And man, we’ve got a good shot if we can just get clear. We had a good car, we just weren’t quite with the pace of some of those guys up front. And I knew — we took the lead, I’m like 20 laps, I can just run hard, and those last two I was losing the balance a lot. I had been running really hard, but it was just enough. So just really proud.”

Race Results

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