The 2018 Bojangles' Southern 500, the 69th running of the event was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on September 2, 2018, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Contested over 367 laps on the egg-shaped oval, it was the 25th race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. This race marked the final career start for Kasey Kahne.
Report
Background
Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, 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.
Entry list Driver Team Manufacturer Sponsor or Throwback 00 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet StarCom Fiber – Bobby Allison's 1988 Daytona 500 winning car 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet McDonald's – Bill Elliott's 1998 car, scheme dedicated to the 50th anniversary of McDonald's Big Mac 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford Miller Genuine Draft – Rusty Wallace's 1990 car 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet American Ethanol E15 – Dale Earnhardt's 1995 Silver Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race car 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 1996 Busch Beer design 6 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford Oscar Mayer 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet NAPA Auto Parts – Cousin Casey Elliott's 1993 All Pro Series-inspired car. 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford Smithfield Foods Helping Hungry Homes 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota FedEx – Hamlin's first-ever car that he ran in mini stock in 1997 at Langley Speedway and Southside Speedway in Virginia. 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford Duracell – Father Dave Blaney's 2003 car 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet GEICO – 2009–2011 team car 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford Ned Jarrett's 1965 Southern 500 winning car 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet None 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford John Deere – Chad Little's 1997–2000 car 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Skittles – Derrike Cope & Ernie Irvan's 1997–1998 car 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Arris 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Sport Clips – Rick Carelli Camping World Truck Series inspired car 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford Ford Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center – Cale Yarborough's 1968 Southern 500 winning car 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford Pennzoil – Steve Park's 1998 – 2002 car 23 Joey Gase (i) BK Racing Toyota Sparks Energy – Scheme duplicates his father Bob Gase, had when he won the 2003 championship in his modified at Hawkeye Downs Speedway. 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Axalta Coating Systems – Jeff Gordon's iconic 1993–2000 “Rainbow Warriors” car 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Caterpillar Inc. – Neil Bonnett's 1993 car 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford Keen Parts/CorvetteParts.net – Jeff Burton's 2000 car 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores – Scheme pays tribute to Love's first travel stop in Amarillo, Texas in 1981. 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet Scheme dedicated to the 110th anniversary of Bush's Best Beans. 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford Citgo – Dale Jarrett's 1991 Champion Spark Plug 400 winning car, which was his first cup win. 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford Haas Automation – Busch's 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 car, where he was part of one of the closest finishes in NASCAR history at Darlington Raceway. 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet DC Solar – Davey Allison inspired car 43 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet STP – Richard Petty's 1972 car with STP day glo red 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet Kroger – Robert Pressley's 1998 NASCAR Busch Series car 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Lowe's/Kobalt (tools) – Johnson's 2012 Bojangles' Southern 500 winning car 51 B. J. McLeod (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet Jacob Companies – Days of Thunder antagonist Russ Wheeler's Hardee's-themed replica car 52 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet Trading View 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota Rewards.com – Darrell Waltrip's 2000 car. 72 Corey LaJoie TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet Blockchain Terminal – Father Randy LaJoie's 1996–1998 NASCAR Busch Series car 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota Bass Pro Shops/5-hour Energy 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet LLumar 95 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet Dumont Jets – Kahne's 2006 car 96 Jeffrey Earnhardt Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota Xtreme Concepts/Project K9 Hero/Nine Line Apparel – Grandfather Dale Earnhardt's 1978 car 99 Derrike Cope StarCom Racing Chevrolet Bojangles' Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits – Cope's 1993 carOfficial entry list
Practice
First practice Denny Hamlin was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 28.543 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.543 172.287 2 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 28.585 172.034 3 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 28.591 171.998Official first practice results
Final practice Ryan Newman was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 28.641 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.641 171.698 2 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.672 171.512 3 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.754 171.023Official final practice results
Qualifying
Denny Hamlin scored the pole for the race with a time of 28.332 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 111 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.207 28.266 28.332 242 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 27.908 28.217 28.358 378 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 28.381 28.376 28.392 488 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.006 28.161 28.400 518 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.255 28.314 28.415 631 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.215 28.313 28.453 720 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.422 28.344 28.506 822 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 28.219 28.347 28.507 941 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas RacingFord 28.191 28.411 28.535 1024 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.997 28.390 28.550 119 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.116 28.236 28.694 1210 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas RacingFord 28.405 28.420 28.922 132 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 28.360 28.460 — 1421 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 28.250 28.505 — 156 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.299 28.512 — 1619 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.375 28.523 — 1714 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas RacingFord 28.356 28.547 — 183 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.421 28.585 — 1937 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 28.433 28.621 — 2048 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.180 28.635 — 2112 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 28.217 28.663 — 224 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas RacingFord 28.279 28.667 — 2338 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 28.365 28.810 — 2447 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 28.371 28.830 — 2517 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.439 — — 2634 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 28.445 — — 2743 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 28.489 — — 2813 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 28.542 — — 2995 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 28.585 — — 3032 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 28.622 — — 311 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 28.819 — — 3252 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 28.854 — — 3315 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 28.928 — — 3472 Corey LaJoie TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 29.091 — — 3500 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 29.330 — — 3666 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 30.018 — — 3751 B. J. McLeod (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 30.038 — — 3899 Derrike Cope StarCom Racing Chevrolet 30.662 — — 3923 Joey Gase (i) BK Racing Toyota 31.781 — — 4096 Jeffrey Earnhardt Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 0.000 — —Official qualifying results
Race
Stage Results
Stage 1 Laps: 100
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 102 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 93 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 84 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 75 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 66 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 57 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 39 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 210 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1Official stage one results
Stage 2 Laps: 100
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 102 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 93 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 84 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 66 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 57 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 48 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 39 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 210 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 1Official stage two results
Final Stage Results
Stage 3 Laps: 167
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 13 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 367 552 8 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 367 503 2 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 367 544 22 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 367 395 11 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 367 406 9 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 367 397 5 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 367 358 7 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 367 449 31 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 367 3010 1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 367 3111 3 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 367 3412 25 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 367 2513 19 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 367 2414 12 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 367 2315 21 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 367 2216 18 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 367 2117 14 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 366 2018 23 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 366 1919 6 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 366 2220 26 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 365 1721 28 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 365 1622 24 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 365 1523 4 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 365 1424 29 95 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 364 1325 15 6 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 364 1226 27 43 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 363 1127 34 72 Corey LaJoie TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 360 1028 33 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 360 029 16 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 358 830 35 00 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 357 031 32 52 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 350 032 37 51 B. J. McLeod (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 347 033 38 99 Derrike Cope StarCom Racing Chevrolet 346 434 40 96 Jeffrey Earnhardt Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 344 335 10 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 329 236 17 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 309 137 36 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 268 038 30 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 254 139 20 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 227 140 39 23 Joey Gase (i) BK Racing Toyota 120 0Official race results
Race statistics