2023 NASCAR Cup Southern 500 at Darlington results

It was Larson’s fourth win of the season and the 23rd of his career. 

“Finally (we executed) from start to finish,” Larson said of the victory. “Going 18th to third in the first stage, I didn’t think that was possible but our race car was really good when the sun was out. Just had to work on it. I messed up once and it got hung in neutral, and I slid and hit the wall, and I think bent the toe link a little bit, so it was kind of a struggle from there. 

“Definitely had to fight it more than I was earlier, but we kept our heads in the game. That was really important. This race is all about keeping your head in it. I’ve been pretty hard on myself here the last couple months, but having a leader like Cliff (Daniels, crew chief), he really is good for my mind.

“What a great way to start the playoffs and hopefully we can keep it going.”

Playoff drivers locked out the entire top-seven positions in the final running order.

Denny Hamlin, who won both Stages 1 and 2, was forced to make an unscheduled pitstop for what he believed was a loose wheel. He ultimately finished 25th after leading the most laps (177).

Bubba Wallace (-1pt), Kevin Harvick (-2pts), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (-4pts), and Michael McDowell (-19pts) leave this race below the cut-line.

Larson’s triumph marks the 299th Cup win for Hendrick Motorsports as an organization, which swept the Darlington races this year with William Byron and Larson.

The race was briefly halted due to a partial power outage.