Regan Smith Wins the Showtime Southern 500 and his 1st Cup race!
Eleven cautions, numerous lead changes, fights and fireworks ... that sums up the Showtime Southern 500 from Darlington Raceway.
Emerging victorious, 27-year-old Regan Smith claims his first Sprint Cup win (ask Regan and he will probably say second, remember Talladega in 2008 when Regan won but Tony Stewart was declared the winner because Smith passed below yellow line), and even more impressive is the fact that Regan held off Carl Edwards for the win. Smith and crew chief Peter Rondeau made the call on the final caution (18 laps to go) to stay out on track while leader Carl Edwards pitted for two tires.
It was a tough night for some. Jimmie Johnson had numerous problems including an encounter with Juan Pablo Montoya resulting in a spin; Johnson kept it off the wall and the damage was minimal. After all his trouble, Johnson finished in 15th.
On lap 138 a caution came out after a wreck between David Ragan and Brian Vickers. Vickers' side panel was torn off his car, spilling the energy-absorbing foam on track. Vickers spent time in the garage for repairs and returned to track with a taped on #83.
In the closing laps, on lap 365 a wreck occurred when Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer were three wide and fighting over the same space. It started after Harvick (who was in the middle of the three-wide pack) got into Bowyer, sending Bowyer into the inside retaining wall and suffering heavy damage to his car. Busch and Harvick then got into each other; Harvick says that Busch "hooked him." The problems spilled out after the race when Busch and Harvick were about to go onto pit road, instead going back on track and then returning to pit road where Busch and Harvick had a brief confrontation. Busch bumped Harvick's unmanned car sending it into the wall of pit road. Both drivers were called to the NASCAR hauler post-race to discuss their actions.
Not to overshadow, Regan Smith in Victory Lane! Smith was congratulated by runner-up Carl Edwards and fellow drivers Greg Biffle and Brad Keselowski just to name a few.
Race Results:
1. Regan Smith
2. Carl Edwards
3. Brad Keselowski
4. Kasey Kahne
5. Ryan Newman
6. Denny Hamlin
7. Tony Stewart
8. Greg Biffle
9. Jamie McMurray
10. Martin Truex Jr
11. Kyle Busch
12. Jeff Gordon
13. Marcos Ambrose
14. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
15. Jimmie Johnson
16. David Reutimann
17. Kevin Harvick
18. Bobby Labonte
19. Mark Martin
20. AJ Allmendinger
21. David Ragan
22. Paul Menard
23. Juan Pablo Montoya
24. Dave Blaney
25. Matt Kenseth
26. Travis Kvapil
27. Kurt Busch
28. Ken Schrader
29. Landon Cassill
30. Casey Mears
31. Clint Bowyer
32. David Gilliland
33. Jeff Burton
34. Brian Vickers
35. Joey Logano
36. Tony Raines
37. Robby Gordon
38. T.J. Bell
39. J.J. Yeley
40. Mike Skinner
41. David Stremme
42. Joe Nemechek
43. Michael McDowell
Regan Smith celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the Showtime Southern 500. Credit Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR |
Emerging victorious, 27-year-old Regan Smith claims his first Sprint Cup win (ask Regan and he will probably say second, remember Talladega in 2008 when Regan won but Tony Stewart was declared the winner because Smith passed below yellow line), and even more impressive is the fact that Regan held off Carl Edwards for the win. Smith and crew chief Peter Rondeau made the call on the final caution (18 laps to go) to stay out on track while leader Carl Edwards pitted for two tires.
It was a tough night for some. Jimmie Johnson had numerous problems including an encounter with Juan Pablo Montoya resulting in a spin; Johnson kept it off the wall and the damage was minimal. After all his trouble, Johnson finished in 15th.
On lap 138 a caution came out after a wreck between David Ragan and Brian Vickers. Vickers' side panel was torn off his car, spilling the energy-absorbing foam on track. Vickers spent time in the garage for repairs and returned to track with a taped on #83.
Hearvick spins after contact from Kyle Busch. Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR |
In the closing laps, on lap 365 a wreck occurred when Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer were three wide and fighting over the same space. It started after Harvick (who was in the middle of the three-wide pack) got into Bowyer, sending Bowyer into the inside retaining wall and suffering heavy damage to his car. Busch and Harvick then got into each other; Harvick says that Busch "hooked him." The problems spilled out after the race when Busch and Harvick were about to go onto pit road, instead going back on track and then returning to pit road where Busch and Harvick had a brief confrontation. Busch bumped Harvick's unmanned car sending it into the wall of pit road. Both drivers were called to the NASCAR hauler post-race to discuss their actions.
Not to overshadow, Regan Smith in Victory Lane! Smith was congratulated by runner-up Carl Edwards and fellow drivers Greg Biffle and Brad Keselowski just to name a few.
The 78 team celebrates their victory! Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR |
1. Regan Smith
2. Carl Edwards
3. Brad Keselowski
4. Kasey Kahne
5. Ryan Newman
6. Denny Hamlin
7. Tony Stewart
8. Greg Biffle
9. Jamie McMurray
10. Martin Truex Jr
11. Kyle Busch
12. Jeff Gordon
13. Marcos Ambrose
14. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
15. Jimmie Johnson
16. David Reutimann
17. Kevin Harvick
18. Bobby Labonte
19. Mark Martin
20. AJ Allmendinger
21. David Ragan
22. Paul Menard
23. Juan Pablo Montoya
24. Dave Blaney
25. Matt Kenseth
26. Travis Kvapil
27. Kurt Busch
28. Ken Schrader
29. Landon Cassill
30. Casey Mears
31. Clint Bowyer
32. David Gilliland
33. Jeff Burton
34. Brian Vickers
35. Joey Logano
36. Tony Raines
37. Robby Gordon
38. T.J. Bell
39. J.J. Yeley
40. Mike Skinner
41. David Stremme
42. Joe Nemechek
43. Michael McDowell
Regan Smith Wins the Showtime Southern 500 and his 1st Cup race!
Reviewed by Unknown
on
Sunday, May 08, 2011
Rating: