# 2013 Bojangles' Southern 500

The 2013 Bojangles' Southern 500, the 64th running of the event, was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on May 11, 2013, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, United States. The race was contested over 367 laps on the 1.366–mile (2.198 km) oval, it was the eleventh race of the 2013 Sprint Cup Series championship. Matt Kenseth of Joe Gibbs Racing won the race, his third win of the 2013 season, while his teammate Denny Hamlin finished second. Jeff Gordon grabbed his 300th top 5 finish in his 700th Sprint Cup start, while Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top five.
There were five cautions for 25 laps and nine lead changes between four different drivers throughout the course of the race. The result moved Kenseth to the third position in the Drivers' Championship, 59 points behind Jimmie Johnson in first and five ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr. in fourth. Chevrolet maintained its lead in the Manufacturers' Championship, two points ahead of Toyota and 18 ahead of Ford, with 25 races remaining in the season.

## Report
### Background

Darlington Raceway is a four-turn 1.366 mi (2.198 km) oval. The track's first two turns are banked at twenty-five degrees, while the final two turns are banked two degrees lower at twenty-three degrees. The front stretch (the location of the finish line) and the back stretch is banked at six degrees. Darlington Raceway can seat up to 60,000 people. Jimmie Johnson was the defending race winner after winning the event during the 2012 race.
Before the race, Johnson was leading the Drivers' Championship with 383 points, while Carl Edwards stood in second with 342 points. Dale Earnhardt Jr. followed in the third with 324, seven ahead of Matt Kenseth in fourth, and eight ahead of Clint Bowyer in fifth. Brad Keselowski, with 314, was in sixth; fifteen points ahead of Kasey Kahne. Eighth-placed Aric Almirola was three points ahead of Paul Menard and eight ahead of Kyle Busch in ninth and tenth. Greg Biffle was eleventh with 280, while Kevin Harvick completed the first twelve positions with 279 points. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 68 points, five points ahead of Toyota. Ford was third after recording only 52 points during the first ten races.

### Entry list

(R) - Denotes rookie driver.
(i) - Denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Sponsor |
| 1 | Jamie McMurray | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | McDonald's |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski | Penske Racing | Ford | Miller Lite |
| 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Time Warner Cable |
| 7 | Dave Blaney | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | SANY |
| 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | Stanley Tools / DeWalt |
| 10 | Danica Patrick (R) | Stewart–Haas Racing | Chevrolet | GoDaddy.com |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | Sport Clips |
| 13 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Ford | GEICO |
| 14 | Tony Stewart | Stewart–Haas Racing | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Mobil 1 |
| 15 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | KFC Boneless |
| 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | Meguiar's |
| 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (R) | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | Zest |
| 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | Doublemint |
| 19 | Mike Bliss (i) | Humphrey Smith Racing | Toyota | Plinker Tactical |
| 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | The Home Depot / Husky Tools |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Penske Racing | Ford | Shell / Pennzoil |
| 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Cromax Pro |
| 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | Pittsburgh Paints / Menards |
| 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | Budweiser |
| 30 | David Stremme | Swan Racing | Toyota | Swan Energy |
| 31 | Jeff Burton | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | Caterpillar |
| 32 | Timmy Hill (R) | FAS Lane Racing | Ford | OXY Water |
| 33 | Landon Cassill | Circle Sport | Chevrolet | Little Joe's Autos |
| 34 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | Peanut Patch Boiled Peanuts |
| 35 | Josh Wise (i) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | MDS Transport |
| 36 | J. J. Yeley | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | Tommy Baldwin Racing |
| 38 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | Long John Silver's |
| 39 | Ryan Newman | Stewart–Haas Racing | Chevrolet | Quicken Loans |
| 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | Target |
| 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | Smithfield |
| 47 | Bobby Labonte | JTG Daugherty Racing | Toyota | Kingsford Charcoal |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Lowe's Emerald Green |
| 51 | Regan Smith (i) | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet | HendrickCars.com |
| 55 | Mark Martin | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | Aaron's Dream Machine |
| 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | NAPA Auto Parts |
| 78 | Kurt Busch | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | Furniture Row / Serta |
| 83 | David Reutimann | BK Racing | Toyota | Burger King / Dr Pepper |
| 87 | Joe Nemechek (i) | NEMCO-Jay Robinson Racing | Toyota | RoyalTeakCollection.com |
| 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | National Guard |
| 93 | Travis Kvapil | BK Racing | Toyota | Burger King / Dr Pepper |
| 95 | Scott Speed | Leavine Family Racing | Ford | Leavine Family Racing |
| 98 | Michael McDowell | Phil Parsons Racing | Ford | Curb Records |
| 99 | Carl Edwards | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | Geek Squad |
| Official entry list |||||

### Practice and qualifying

Two practice sessions were held in preparation for the race; both on Friday, May 10, 2013. The first session lasted for 120 minutes, while second session was 45 minutes long. During the first practice session, Menard, for the Richard Childress Racing team, was quickest ahead of Bowyer in second and McMurray in third. Earnhardt Jr. was scored fourth, and Edwards managed fifth. Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Juan Pablo Montoya, Kenseth, and Biffle rounded out the top ten quickest drivers in the session.
Montoya was quickest in the second and final practice session, ahead of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in second and Edwards in third. Jeff Burton was fourth quickest, and Kurt Busch took fifth. Biffle, Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, Truex Jr., and Kyle Busch followed in the top ten.
During qualifying, forty-three cars were entered. Kurt Busch clinched his first pole position of the season, with a record time of 27.032 seconds. After his qualifying run, Kurt Busch commented, "Wow, what an incredible lap. The way the team gave me the confidence right when we first unloaded, the team deserves all the credit. This gives me a great shot to stay ahead of the field and win by two-thousandths of a second this time." He was joined on the front row of the grid by Johnson. Kyle Busch qualified third, Kahne took fourth, and Truex Jr. started fifth. Denny Hamlin, Kenseth, Gordon, Biffle, and Harvick completed the first ten positions on the grid.

### Race

Kurt Busch started on Pole in the #78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet and would lead the early laps until his younger brother Kyle Busch took the lead from him.
In a rather dominate effort, Kyle would lead a majority of the race until around 50 to go Kasey Kahne would challenge him. While racing for the lead Kahne would make contact with the wall ending his chances at victory with 20 to go.
After Kahne’s misfortune it appeared to be Kyle Busch’s race to lose until his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Matt Kenseth started charging hard in the last 20 laps. Kenseth would catch Busch and quickly pass him going onto win his 3rd race of the 2013 season, his first season with Joe Gibbs Racing.

## Results
### Qualifying

| Grid | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 78 | Kurt Busch | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | 27.032 | 181.918 |
| 2 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.173 | 180.974 |
| 3 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.181 | 180.920 |
| 4 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.208 | 180.741 |
| 5 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 27.277 | 180.284 |
| 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.296 | 180.158 |
| 7 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.303 | 180.112 |
| 8 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.304 | 180.105 |
| 9 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 27.320 | 180.000 |
| 10 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 27.355 | 179.770 |
| 11 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 27.368 | 179.684 |
| 12 | 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 27.376 | 179.632 |
| 13 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 27.381 | 179.599 |
| 14 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 27.394 | 179.514 |
| 15 | 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 27.401 | 179.468 |
| 16 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.410 | 179.409 |
| 17 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 27.472 | 179.004 |
| 18 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 27.500 | 178.822 |
| 19 | 13 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Ford | 27.501 | 178.815 |
| 20 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 27.511 | 178.750 |
| 21 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 27.550 | 178.497 |
| 22 | 55 | Mark Martin | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 27.578 | 178.316 |
| 23 | 47 | Bobby Labonte | JTG Daugherty Racing | Toyota | 27.593 | 178.219 |
| 24 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 27.630 | 177.980 |
| 25 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 27.631 | 177.974 |
| 26 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Penske Racing | Ford | 27.633 | 177.961 |
| 27 | 51 | Regan Smith | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet | 27.635 | 177.948 |
| 28 | 93 | Travis Kvapil | BK Racing | Toyota | 27.669 | 177.730 |
| 29 | 38 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 27.676 | 177.685 |
| 30 | 22 | Joey Logano | Penske Racing | Ford | 27.681 | 177.653 |
| 31 | 34 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 27.682 | 177.646 |
| 32 | 33 | Landon Cassill | Circle Sport | Chevrolet | 27.736 | 177.300 |
| 33 | 83 | David Reutimann | BK Racing | Toyota | 27.775 | 177.051 |
| 34 | 35 | Josh Wise | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 27.835 | 176.670 |
| 35 | 98 | Michael McDowell | Phil Parsons Racing | Ford | 27.837 | 176.657 |
| 36 | 95 | Scott Speed | Leavine Family Racing | Ford | 27.884 | 176.359 |
| 37 | 7 | Dave Blaney | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 27.954 | 175.918 |
| 38 | 19 | Mike Bliss | Humphrey Smith Motorsports | Toyota | 27.961 | 175.874 |
| 39 | 30 | David Stremme | Swan Racing | Toyota | 27.981 | 175.748 |
| 40 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 28.014 | 175.541 |
| 41 | 32 | Timmy Hill | FAS Lane Racing | Ford | 28.080 | 175.128 |
| 42 | 36 | J. J. Yeley | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 28.083 | 175.109 |
| 43 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | NEMCO-Jay Robinson Racing | Toyota | 28.315 | 173.675 |
| Source: |||||||

### Race results

| Pos | Grid | Car | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
| 1 | 7 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 367 | 47 |
| 2 | 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 367 | 42 |
| 3 | 8 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 367 | 42 |
| 4 | 2 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 367 | 40 |
| 5 | 10 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 367 | 39 |
| 6 | 3 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 367 | 40 |
| 7 | 17 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 367 | 37 |
| 8 | 12 | 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 367 | 36 |
| 9 | 16 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 367 | 35 |
| 10 | 21 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 367 | 34 |
| 11 | 13 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 367 | 33 |
| 12 | 5 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 367 | 32 |
| 13 | 9 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 367 | 31 |
| 14 | 1 | 78 | Kurt Busch | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | 367 | 31 |
| 15 | 20 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 367 | 29 |
| 16 | 25 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 367 | 28 |
| 17 | 4 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 367 | 27 |
| 18 | 14 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 366 | 26 |
| 19 | 15 | 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 366 | 25 |
| 20 | 18 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 366 | 24 |
| 21 | 11 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 365 | 23 |
| 22 | 30 | 22 | Joey Logano | Penske Racing | Ford | 365 | 22 |
| 23 | 28 | 93 | Travis Kvapil | BK Racing | Toyota | 364 | 21 |
| 24 | 27 | 51 | Regan Smith | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet | 363 | – |
| 25 | 22 | 55 | Mark Martin | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 363 | 19 |
| 26 | 23 | 47 | Bobby Labonte | JTG Daugherty Racing | Toyota | 363 | 18 |
| 27 | 37 | 7 | Dave Blaney | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 362 | 17 |
| 28 | 40 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 362 | 16 |
| 29 | 29 | 38 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 362 | 15 |
| 30 | 32 | 33 | Landon Cassill | Circle Sport | Chevrolet | 360 | 14 |
| 31 | 43 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | NEMCO-Jay Robinson Racing | Toyota | 359 | – |
| 32 | 26 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Penske Racing | Ford | 358 | 12 |
| 33 | 41 | 32 | Timmy Hill | FAS Lane Racing | Ford | 358 | 11 |
| 34 | 24 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 358 | 10 |
| 35 | 42 | 36 | J. J. Yeley | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 354 | 9 |
| 36 | 33 | 83 | David Reutimann | BK Racing | Toyota | 327 | 8 |
| 37 | 19 | 13 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Ford | 327 | 7 |
| 38 | 34 | 35 | Josh Wise | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 326 | – |
| 39 | 31 | 34 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 318 | 5 |
| 40 | 39 | 30 | David Stremme | Swan Racing | Toyota | 230 | 4 |
| 41 | 36 | 95 | Scott Speed | Leavine Family Racing | Ford | 77 | 3 |
| 42 | 35 | 98 | Michael McDowell | Phil Parsons Racing | Ford | 58 | 2 |
| 43 | 38 | 19 | Mike Bliss | Humphrey Smith Motorsports | Toyota | 18 | – |
| Source: ||||||||

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Jimmie Johnson | 423 |
| | 2 | Carl Edwards | 379 (–44) |
| 1 | 3 | Matt Kenseth | 364 (–59) |
| 1 | 4 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 359 (–64) |
| | 5 | Clint Bowyer | 349 (–74) |
| 1 | 6 | Kasey Kahne | 326 (–97) |
| 1 | 7 | Brad Keselowski | 326 (–97) |
| 2 | 8 | Kyle Busch | 325 (–98) |
| 1 | 9 | Aric Almirola | 317 (–106) |
| 2 | 10 | Kevin Harvick | 315 (–108) |
| 2 | 11 | Paul Menard | 315 (–108) |
| 2 | 12 | Jeff Gordon | 311 (–112) |
| Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | Chevrolet | 74 |
| 2 | Toyota | 72 (–2) |
| 3 | Ford | 56 (–18) |