Winners and losers from Labor Day weekend at Darlington Raceway.
CHECKERED FLAGS
Denny Hamlin
Hamlin’s winless season came to an end in Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500. It was his 45th career Cup Series triumph and advanced him to the Round of 12 in the playoffs.
Ross Chastain
Chastain’s impressive late-season performance continued at Darlington with a third-placed finish. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver scored his third top-five finish of the season — all coming in the last 14 races of 2021.
Martin Truex Jr.
He came back from all sorts of challenges on Sunday, including a late race pit road speeding violation, to finish fourth in the Cook Out Southern 500.
Noah Gragson
Gragson put his first Xfinity Series victory of the season on the board only days after announcing a contract extension to remain with JR Motorports in 2022.
Sheldon Creed
No better way to start the Camping World Truck Series Playoffs than with back-to-back victories, which is exactly what Creed has done with wins at Gateway and Darlington.
BLACK FLAGS
Kyle Busch
His frustration with crashing out of the race boiled over. Busch dangerously drove back to his garage area before expressing himself with an expletive-laden response on national television.
Michael McDowell
The Daytona 500 winner’s playoff chances took a major hit when McDowell crashed early in Sunday’s race. He was credited with a last-place finish.
Hendrick Motorsports
Kyle Larson finished second Sunday for the good news. But the rest of the Hendrick stable all suffered through a tough night at the track “Too Tough to Tame” with Chase Elliott, William Byron and Alex Bowman posting subpar results.
Rick Ware Racing
For the second straight week the RWR stable was involved in an accident that impacted multiple cars from the organization.
Derek Kraus
His Camping World Truck Series season has been punctuated by aggressive driving and in the view of Lawless Allen in Sunday’s case as going over the line.
