Erik Jones battled through the Bojangles’ Southern 500 and held off a hard charging Kyle Busch to win the NASCAR race at Darlington Raceway.

The start of the race was delayed more than three hours due to rain. When the rain stopped and the track was dried the battle was on late into the night Sunday, September 1st.

Kyle made it clear to win the race you would have to beat him as he led a race high 118 laps. However, Erik was around the front of the field most of the 367 lap race to indicate he wanted this win.

Erik was able to take the lead on the final re-start of the race. He held that lead as Kyle Busch raced up to him, but he could not find a way to pass. Erik won his first race of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

Kyle Larson was able to get around Kyle Busch with Larson claiming second place and Busch coming in third. Kevin Harvick claimed fourth place with Brad Keselowski finishing in fifth place. See the complete race results for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 here.

Following the Darlington race the top five in the point standings remain basically the same. Kyle Busch (1st), Joey Logano (2nd) and Denny Hamlin (3rd) all hold steady. Kevin Harvick moves up a spot to fourth place while Martin Truex Jr. slips back a spot to fifth place. See the complete Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series point standings here.

One of the big things Erik Jones accomplished by winning the race was locking himself in the playoffs. Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, William Byron and Aric Almirola all earned enough points at Darlington to clinch their spots in the post-season with a shot at the championship.

That leaves two spots open when NASCAR races this week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the Brickyard 400 Sunday, September 8th.

By: Buck Stevens