# 2017 Bojangles' Southern 500

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 1.366-mile (2.198 km) egg-shaped oval, it was the 25th race of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

## 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

| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Sponsor or 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 | M&M's Caramel |
| 19 | Daniel Suárez (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | Arris |
| 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 | Monster Energy/Haas Automation |
| 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 | CrashClaimsR.US |
| 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 | Champion Machinery |
| 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 season |
| Official 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 173.064 mph (278.520 km/h).
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 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 | 172.584 |
| Official 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 173.320 mph (278.932 km/h).
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 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 | 172.990 |
| Official final practice results |||||||

## Qualifying

Kevin Harvick scored the pole for the race with a time of 27.669 and a speed of 177.730 mph (286.029 km/h).

### Qualifying results

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | R1 | R2 | R3 |
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 27.598 | 27.703 | 27.669 |
| 2 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 27.806 | 27.875 | 27.771 |
| 3 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.884 | 27.796 | 27.833 |
| 4 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 27.920 | 27.780 | 27.851 |
| 5 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 27.794 | 27.769 | 27.874 |
| 6 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 27.932 | 27.811 | 27.924 |
| 7 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 27.767 | 27.856 | 27.935 |
| 8 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 27.874 | 27.892 | 27.940 |
| 9 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.985 | 27.824 | 27.954 |
| 10 | 77 | Erik Jones (R) | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 27.868 | 27.758 | 28.036 |
| 11 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.753 | 27.952 | 28.041 |
| 12 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 27.972 | 27.918 | 28.097 |
| 13 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 27.816 | 27.968 | — |
| 14 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 27.852 | 28.038 | — |
| 15 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 27.989 | 28.048 | — |
| 16 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 28.032 | 28.054 | — |
| 17 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 27.958 | 28.091 | — |
| 18 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.996 | 28.097 | — |
| 19 | 19 | Daniel Suárez (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.041 | 28.109 | — |
| 20 | 24 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.911 | 28.115 | — |
| 21 | 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.017 | 28.155 | — |
| 22 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.054 | 28.162 | — |
| 23 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.000 | 28.261 | — |
| 24 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 28.112 | 28.309 | — |
| 25 | 13 | Ty Dillon (R) | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 28.132 | — | — |
| 26 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 28.146 | — | — |
| 27 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 28.172 | — | — |
| 28 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 28.184 | — | — |
| 29 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 28.301 | — | — |
| 30 | 95 | Michael McDowell | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 28.310 | — | — |
| 31 | 34 | Landon Cassill | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 28.429 | — | — |
| 32 | 15 | Reed Sorenson | Premium Motorsports | Toyota | 28.620 | — | — |
| 33 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 28.631 | — | — |
| 34 | 72 | Cole Whitt | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.681 | — | — |
| 35 | 23 | Corey LaJoie (R) | BK Racing | Toyota | 28.684 | — | — |
| 36 | 83 | Gray Gaulding (R) | BK Racing | Toyota | 28.765 | — | — |
| 37 | 33 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group | Chevrolet | 28.876 | — | — |
| 38 | 55 | Derrike Cope | Premium Motorsports | Toyota | 29.372 | — | — |
| 39 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 29.566 | — | — |
| 40 | 66 | Carl Long (i) | MBM Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.697 | — | — |
| Official qualifying results ||||||||

## Race
### Race results
#### Stage results

Stage 1 Laps: 100
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 77 | Erik Jones (R) | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage one results ||||||
Stage 2 Laps: 100
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
| Official stage two results ||||||

### Final stage results

Stage 3 Laps: 167
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
| 1 | 9 | 11 | Denny Hamlin† | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 367 | 32 |
| 2 | 3 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 367 | 43 |
| 3 | 7 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 367 | 38 |
| 4 | 13 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 367 | 36 |
| 5 | 10 | 77 | Erik Jones (R) | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 367 | 37 |
| 6 | 11 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 367 | 32 |
| 7 | 17 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 367 | 30 |
| 8 | 2 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 367 | 49 |
| 9 | 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 366 | 43 |
| 10 | 5 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 366 | 34 |
| 11 | 20 | 24 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 366 | 26 |
| 12 | 18 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 366 | 25 |
| 13 | 25 | 13 | Ty Dillon (R) | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 366 | 24 |
| 14 | 4 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 366 | 39 |
| 15 | 6 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 366 | 33 |
| 16 | 21 | 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 366 | 21 |
| 17 | 27 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 366 | 20 |
| 18 | 8 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 366 | 22 |
| 19 | 30 | 95 | Michael McDowell | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 365 | 18 |
| 20 | 15 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 365 | 17 |
| 21 | 31 | 34 | Landon Cassill | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 365 | 16 |
| 22 | 22 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 365 | 15 |
| 23 | 34 | 72 | Cole Whitt | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 364 | 14 |
| 24 | 23 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 364 | 13 |
| 25 | 26 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 363 | 12 |
| 26 | 33 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 363 | 11 |
| 27 | 28 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 362 | 10 |
| 28 | 35 | 23 | Corey LaJoie (R) | BK Racing | Toyota | 360 | 9 |
| 29 | 14 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 358 | 8 |
| 30 | 37 | 33 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group | Chevrolet | 356 | 7 |
| 31 | 12 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 356 | 6 |
| 32 | 38 | 55 | Derrike Cope | Premium Motorsports | Toyota | 351 | 5 |
| 33 | 40 | 66 | Carl Long (i) | MBM Motorsports | Chevrolet | 350 | 0 |
| 34 | 29 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 340 | 3 |
| 35 | 24 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 336 | 2 |
| 36 | 36 | 83 | Gray Gaulding (R) | BK Racing | Toyota | 202 | 1 |
| 37 | 39 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 144 | 1 |
| 38 | 19 | 19 | Daniel Suárez (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 125 | 1 |
| 39 | 32 | 15 | Reed Sorenson | Premium Motorsports | Toyota | 104 | 1 |
| 40 | 16 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 18 | 1 |
| Official 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: 132.761 miles per hour (213.658 km/h)

## 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.
NBCSN :
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap: Rick Allen and Ken Squier Color-commentator: Jeff Burton and Ned Jarrett Color-commentator: Steve Letarte and Dale Jarrett | Dave Burns Marty Snider Kelli Stavast |

### Radio

The Motor Racing Network had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Dave Moody called the race from a billboard outside of turn when the field raced through turns 1 and 2, and Mike Bagley had the call of the race atop of the Darlington Raceway Club outside of turn 3 when the field raced through turns 3 and 4.
MRN :
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Joe Moore Announcer: Jeff Striegle Announcer: Rusty Wallace | Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody Turns 3 & 4: Mike Bagley | Alex Hayden Winston Kelley Steve Post |

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Martin Truex Jr. | 1,000 |
| | 2 | Kyle Busch | 893 (–107) |
| | 3 | Kyle Larson | 884 (–116) |
| | 4 | Kevin Harvick | 867 (–133) |
| | 5 | Denny Hamlin | 810 (–190) |
| | 6 | Brad Keselowski | 761 (–239) |
| | 7 | Chase Elliott | 737 (–263) |
| | 8 | Matt Kenseth | 735 (–265) |
| | 9 | Jamie McMurray | 734 (–266) |
| 1 | 10 | Jimmie Johnson | 653 (–347) |
| 1 | 11 | Clint Bowyer | 643 (–357) |
| | 12 | Ryan Blaney | 629 (–371) |
| | 13 | Kurt Busch | 624 (–376) |
| 2 | 14 | Erik Jones | 611 (–389) |
| 1 | 15 | Joey Logano | 605 (–395) |
| 1 | 16 | Ryan Newman | 604 (–396) |
| Official driver's standings ||||
| | Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| 2 | 1 | Toyota | 879 |
| 1 | 2 | Chevrolet | 878 (–1) |
| 1 | 3 | Ford | 874 (–5) |
| Official manufacturers' standings ||||