Erik Jones holds off ex-teammate Denny Hamlin to lifts the action-filled Cook Out Southern 500 title at Darlington..
- Erik Jones gave the No. 43 car a landmark 200th victory — along with maybe a few regrets to his old employers at Joe Gibbs Racing.
When JGR star Kyle Busch's engine blew, Jones took the lead. Over the next 31 laps, he outran Denny Hamlin, another old Gibbs teammate, to win the Southern 500 on Sunday night. A non-playoff driver won the first race of the 10-race postseason for the first time ever.
Jones, who raced Cup cars from 2017 to 20 for the Gibbs organisation, won this competition in 2019. He triumphed once more, this time for Richard Petty-owned Petty GMS Motorsports.
The Petty organisation, which hadn't triumphed since Aric Almirola's Daytona 500 victory in 2014, continued to celebrate.
Sixth-seeded Hamlin attempted to pass Jones on the penultimate lap by getting near to his back bumper but was unable to do so.
What's NEXT NASCAR Playoffs race in 2022 schedule.?
Round one of the playoffs continues at Kansas next Sunday. Kurt Busch, currently recovering from a concussion in a crash at Pocono, won the race there in May.
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