The 2017 Bojangles' Southern 500, the 68th running of the event, was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on September 3, 2017 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Contested over 367 laps on the egg-shaped oval, it was the 25th race of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

Entry list Driver Team Manufacturer throwback 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet McDonald's David Pearson's 1980 CRC Chemicals Rebel 500 winning car 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford Miller Genuine Draft Rusty Wallace's 1991–1995 car 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet American Ethanol Dale Earnhardt's 1987 Southern 500 winning car 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 1980s Busch Beer design, based on the “Head for the Mountains” commercials 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Great Clips Geoff Bodine's 1985 car 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford AdvoCare Mark Martin's Winston Cup Series car in 1988 and 1989 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford Ford Credit Dale Jarrett's 1999 championship-winning car 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Sport Clips Ray Hendrick-inspired car 13 Ty Dillon (R) Germain Racing Chevrolet GEICO Smokey Yunick's car that was driven by Johnny Rutherford in 1963 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford Mark Martin's Busch Series car between 1988 and 1991 15 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Toyota Brett Bodine's 1989 car 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fifth Third Bank Darrell Waltrip's 1997 car 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Daniel Suárez (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Retro-inspired Circle K car 21 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford Ford Motorcraft Kyle Petty's 1987 Coca-Cola 600 winning car 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford Shell/Pennzoil - Jimmy Vasser's 2002 IndyCar scheme 23 Corey LaJoie (R) BK Racing Toyota Dr. Pepper Davey Allison's 1984 car 24 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet NAPA Auto Parts Father Bill Elliott's 1976 Rockingham car, when Elliott made his first Winston Cup Series start 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Retro-inspired Dutch Boy Paint car 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt's 1987 Southern 500 winning car 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford Bobby Allison's 1988 Daytona 500 winning car 33 Jeffrey Earnhardt Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt's 1989 Busch Series car 34 Landon Cassill Front Row Motorsports Ford Inspired by the first Love's Travel Stop opened in 1981 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet Patty Moise's 1988 Busch Series car 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford Camping World/Good Sam Club 1960s Good Sam Club design 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Credit One Bank Kyle Petty's 1995 car 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford STP Richard Petty's 1984 car when he won his record-setting 200th race 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet Terry Labonte's 1986 car 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Lowe's based on the delivery trucks from 1986 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet Kyle Petty's 1991–1994 and Days of Thunder protagonist Cole Trickle's Mello Yello/Pray for Texas paint schemes 55 Derrike Cope Premium Motorsports Toyota Mane 'n Tail Shampoo and Conditioner based on Cope's 1994 car 66 Carl Long (i) MBM Motorsports Chevrolet 72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet Grandfather Jim Whitt's 1972–73 car, known as the “Lime Green Machine”, when he won the Cajon Speedway Track Championship 77 Erik Jones (R) Furniture Row Racing Toyota 5-Hour Energy Special paint scheme that pays tribute to the Cup Rookie of the Year award winners from 1984 to 1989 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota Bass Pro Shops 40th Anniversary 83 Gray Gaulding (R) BK Racing Toyota 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Nationwide Insurance Based on Dale Jr's 1998–1999 Busch Series car 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet Alan Kulwicki's 1986 car from his rookie seasonOfficial entry list

Practice

First practice Kyle Larson was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 28.415 seconds and a speed of .

Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 28.415 173.064 2 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.484 172.644 3 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 28.494 172.584Official first practice results

Final practice Kyle Busch was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 28.373 seconds and a speed of .

Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.373 173.320 2 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 28.414 173.070 3 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 28.427 172.990Official final practice results

Qualifying

Kevin Harvick scored the pole for the race with a time of 27.669 and a speed of .

Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 14 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas RacingFord 27.598 27.703 27.669 278 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 27.806 27.875 27.771 318 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.884 27.796 27.833 442 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 27.920 27.780 27.851 51 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 27.794 27.769 27.874 62 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 27.932 27.811 27.924 741 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas RacingFord 27.767 27.856 27.935 822 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 27.874 27.892 27.940 911 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.985 27.824 27.954 1077 Erik Jones (R) Furniture Row Racing Toyota 27.868 27.758 28.036 1120 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.753 27.952 28.041 1221 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 27.972 27.918 28.097 133 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 27.816 27.968 — 1417 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 27.852 28.038 — 1543 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 27.989 28.048 — 1614 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas RacingFord 28.032 28.054 — 1731 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 27.958 28.091 — 1848 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.996 28.097 — 1919 Daniel Suárez (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.041 28.109 — 2024 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.911 28.115 — 2127 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.017 28.155 — 2288 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.054 28.162 — 235 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.000 28.261 — 246 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.112 28.309 — 2513 Ty Dillon (R) Germain Racing Chevrolet 28.132 — — 2638 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 28.146 — — 2737 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 28.172 — — 2832 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 28.184 — — 2947 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 28.301 — — 3095 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 28.310 — — 3134 Landon Cassill Front Row Motorsports Ford 28.429 — — 3215 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Toyota 28.620 — — 3310 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas RacingFord 28.631 — — 3472 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 28.681 — — 3523 Corey LaJoie (R) BK Racing Toyota 28.684 — — 3683 Gray Gaulding (R) BK Racing Toyota 28.765 — — 3733 Jeffrey Earnhardt Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 28.876 — — 3855 Derrike Cope Premium Motorsports Toyota 29.372 — — 3951 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 29.566 — — 4066 Carl Long (i) MBM Motorsports Chevrolet 29.697 — —Official qualifying results

Race

Race results Stage results

Stage 1 Laps: 100

Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 102 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 93 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 84 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 75 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 66 77 Erik Jones (R) Furniture Row Racing Toyota 57 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 48 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 39 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 210 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 1Official stage one results

Stage 2 Laps: 100

Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 102 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 93 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 84 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 75 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 66 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 57 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 48 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 39 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 210 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1Official stage two results

Final stage results

Stage 3 Laps: 167

Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 9 11 Denny Hamlin† Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 367 322 3 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 367 433 7 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 367 384 13 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 367 365 10 77 Erik Jones (R) Furniture Row Racing Toyota 367 376 11 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 367 327 17 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 367 308 2 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 367 499 1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 366 4310 5 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 366 3411 20 24 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 366 2612 18 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 366 2513 25 13 Ty Dillon (R) Germain Racing Chevrolet 366 2414 4 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 366 3915 6 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 366 3316 21 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 366 2117 27 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 366 2018 8 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 366 2219 30 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 365 1820 15 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 365 1721 31 34 Landon Cassill Front Row Motorsports Ford 365 1622 22 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 365 1523 34 72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 364 1424 23 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 364 1325 26 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 363 1226 33 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 363 1127 28 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 362 1028 35 23 Corey LaJoie (R) BK Racing Toyota 360 929 14 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 358 830 37 33 Jeffrey Earnhardt Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 356 731 12 21 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 356 632 38 55 Derrike Cope Premium Motorsports Toyota 351 533 40 66 Carl Long (i) MBM Motorsports Chevrolet 350 034 29 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 340 335 24 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 336 236 36 83 Gray Gaulding (R) BK Racing Toyota 202 137 39 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 144 138 19 19 Daniel Suárez (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 125 139 32 15 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Toyota 104 140 16 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 18 1Official race results

† Denny Hamlin was penalized 25 points and the win is encumbered due to a rear suspension infraction post-race.

Race statistics Lead changes: 8 among different drivers Cautions/Laps: 8 for 38 Red flags: 0 Time of race: 3 hours, 46 minutes and 34 seconds Average speed:

Media

Television NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, two–time Darlington winner Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte had the call in the booth for the race. As part of the throwback weekend, Ken Squier, Ned Jarrett and Dale Jarrett also called a portion of the race. Dave Burns, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race.

NBCSNBooth announcersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Rick Allen and Ken SquierColor-commentator: Jeff Burton and Ned JarrettColor-commentator: Steve Letarte and Dale Jarrett Dave BurnsMarty SniderKelli Stavast

Radio