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DARLINGTON, S.C. — 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.

Jones moved in front when JGR star Kyle Busch blew an engine, then outraced another former Gibbs colleague in Denny Hamlin over the final 31 laps to win the Southern 500 on Sunday night. It’s the first time a non-playoff driver won the opener of the 10-race postseason.

Jones won this event in 2019 for the Gibbs organization, where he raced Cup cars from 2017 to 2020. He came out on top once more, this time for Petty GMS Motorsports owned in part by Richard Petty.

“I never lost any belief in myself through any of it,” Jones said. “I knew I could still do it and I knew we needed to grow the program to do it. And we have.”

The celebration continued for the Petty organization, which had not won since Aric Almirola‘s Daytona 500 victory in 2014.

“I know my dad,” Kyle Petty said. “What time is it, 11 [p.m.]? He just opened a bottle of red wine.”

The King went to Twitter shortly after Jones took the checkered flag to congratulate Erik Jones and his team.

Jones just wanted the Hall of Famer to keep his promise.

“He said I’d get a hat if I win,” Jones said, laughing.

Hamlin, seeded sixth in the playoffs, closed in on Jones’ back bumper on the final lap, but couldn’t make the winning pass.

“Erik just did a really great job,” Hamlin said. “Great day for Erik, a great day for our team.”

The third of Jones’ old JGR teammates, Martin Truex Jr. held a substantial lead over Busch when his No. 19 had power steering problems and went off to the garage.

Jones remained in control and in one piece while many of the favored playoff participants couldn’t do the same.

Along with the blow up of Busch, the 11th playoff seed, No. 9 seed Kevin Harvick saw his car catch fire in a scary scene. Harvick scrambled away from his stopped car to safety.

Top-seeded Chase Elliott was gone during the first stage, sliding into the wall, hitting Chase Briscoe as he tore up his suspension and was out of the race. Kyle Larson, the defending series champion seeded fourth, was three laps down in the opening stage after engine problems. Larson finished 12th.

Hamlin was second followed by three more playoff chasers in Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano and Christopher Bell. Michael McDowell was sixth, then Brad Keselowski, William Byron and Bubba Wallace Busch led 155 of 367 laps, the most of anyone. He ended in 30th.

“t’s unfortunate circumstances,” Busch said. “We just had a great car and didn’t come out with anything to show for it. That’s what I hate about it.”

Logano moved into the points lead with Byron second, Hamlin third and Christopher Bell, Jones’ replacement at JGR, in fourth. The four drivers below the 12-team cutoff line for the second round were Austin Cindric in 13th, followed by Austin Dillon, Chase Briscoe and Harvick in 16h.

CHASING PROBLEMS

Chase Elliott was out of the Southern 500 before it got to halfway. Elliott slid in turn one, then collected playoff participant Chase Briscoe. Elliott’s suspension was damaged. His crew could not fix it in the pits and took it to the garage. Elliott finished 36th, last in the field.

His plans going forward: “Run better than we did today.”

FIRE DRILL

The scariest incident came in the final stage when Harvick caught fire on lap 276 as he came down the front stretch. Harvick quickly pulled the car on the grass and jumped out of the car, running to safety.

Moments later during the caution brought out by Harvick, J.J. Yeley’s car headed into the pits on fire. That blaze, too, was extinguished.

Harvick said it’s another safety problem with the Next Gen car NASCAR must fix.

“What a disaster, man,” Harvick said. “No reason … here we are in the pits with a burned up car and we can’t finish the race during the playoff because of unreliable parts.”

QB1

Coastal Carolina quarterback Grayson McCall was also at the track “Too Tough To Tame,” as NASCAR’s first college athlete to receive a name, image and likeness deal with Darlington Raceway. McCall did some promotional work for the track and even had his face on the side of Ryan Vargas’ No. 6 car in the Xfinity Series race here.

McCall was the NCAA record-setter in passing efficiency at 207.6 last season. He threw three TD passes and ran for a fourth as the Chants opened the season with a 38-28 victory over Army on Saturday night.

UP NEXT

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. He gave up his playoff spot because he has not been medically cleared to return to the track.

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Hard-throwing rookie Misiorowski going to ASG

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Hard-throwing rookie Misiorowski going to ASG

Hard-throwing rookie Jacob Misiorowski is a National League All-Star replacement, giving the Milwaukee Brewers right-hander a chance to break Paul Skenes‘ record for the fewest big league appearances before playing in the Midsummer Classic.

Misiorowski was named Friday night to replace Chicago Cubs lefty Matthew Boyd, who will be unavailable for the All-Star Game on Tuesday night in Atlanta because he is scheduled to start Saturday at the New York Yankees.

The 23-year-old Misiorowski has made just five starts for the Brewers, going 4-1 with a 2.81 ERA while averaging 99.3 mph on his fastball, with 89 pitches that have reached 100 mph.

If he pitches at Truist Park, Misiorowski will make it consecutive years for a player to set the mark for fewest big league games before an All-Star showing.

Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander getting ready for his second All-Star appearance, had made 11 starts in the majors when he was chosen as the NL starter for last year’s All-Star Game at Texas. He pitched a scoreless inning.

“I’m speechless,” said a teary-eyed Misiorowski, who said he was given the news a few minutes before the Brewers’ 8-3 victory over Washington. “It’s awesome. It’s very unexpected and it’s an honor.”

Misiorowski is the 30th first-time All-Star and 16th replacement this year. There are now 80 total All-Stars.

“He’s impressive. He’s got some of the best stuff in the game right now, even though he’s a young pitcher,” said Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who is a starting AL outfielder for his seventh All-Star nod. “He’s going to be a special pitcher in this game for a long time so I think he deserved it and it’s going be pretty cool for him and his family.”

Carlos Rodón, Carlos Estévez and Casey Mize were named replacement pitchers on the AL roster.

The New York Yankees‘ Rodón, an All-Star for the third time in five seasons, will replace teammate Max Fried for Tuesday’s game in Atlanta. Fried will be unavailable because he is scheduled to start Saturday against the Chicago Cubs.

In his final start before the All-Star game, Rodón allowed four hits and struck out eight in eight innings in an 11-0 victory over the Cubs.

“This one’s a little special for me,” said Rodón, an All-Star in 2021 and ’22 who was 3-8 in his first season with the Yankees two years ago before rebounding. “I wasn’t good when I first got here, and I just wanted to prove that I wasn’t to going to give up and just put my best foot forward and try to win as many games as I can.”

The Kansas City Royals‘ Estévez replaces Texas’ Jacob deGrom, who is scheduled to start at Houston on Saturday night. Estévez was a 2023 All-Star when he was with the Los Angeles Angels.

Mize takes the spot held by Boston‘s Garrett Crochet, who is scheduled to start Saturday against Tampa Bay. Mize gives the Tigers six All-Stars, most of any team and tied for the franchise record.

Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia will replace Tampa Bay‘s Brandon Lowe, who went on the injured list with left oblique tightness. The additions of Estévez and Garcia give the Royals four All-Stars, matching their 2024 total.

The Seattle Mariners announced center fielder Julio Rodríguez will not participate, and he was replaced by teammate Randy Arozarena. Rodríguez had been voted onto the AL roster via the players’ ballot. The Mariners, who have five All-Stars, said Rodríguez will use the break to “recuperate, rest and prepare for the second half.”

Arozarena is an All-Star for the second time. He started in left field for the AL two years ago, when he was with Tampa Bay. Arozarena was the runner-up to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the 2023 Home Run Derby.

Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen, a first-time All-Star, is replacing Angels left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, who is scheduled to start Saturday night at Arizona. Rasmussen is 7-5 with a 2.82 ERA in 18 starts.

San Diego added a third NL All-Star reliever in lefty Adrián Morejón, who replaces Philadelphia starter Zack Wheeler. The Phillies’ right-hander is scheduled to start at San Diego on Saturday night. Morejón entered the weekend with a 1.71 ERA in 45 appearances.

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Giants’ Devers dealing with disk injury in back

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Giants' Devers dealing with disk injury in back

SAN FRANCISCO — Giants designated hitter Rafael Devers is dealing with a disk injury in his lower back that has limited his production since joining his new club.

Manager Bob Melvin is hopeful Devers won’t require a stint on the injured list given the upcoming time off for the All-Star break.

Devers has begun anti-inflammatory medication for the irritation symptoms he is experiencing and is playing through the issue. He underwent an MRI exam Thursday.

“He went on some medication, feels a little bit better today. We’ll see how he responds to that,” Melvin said Friday. “I’m glad we got the MRI done so we know what’s going on.”

Acquired last month from the Red Sox, Devers entered the series opener Friday against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers batting .245 with 23 strikeouts, four doubles, a home run and six RBIs over his past 14 games dating to June 26. He was hitting .261 with 17 homers and 67 RBIs overall.

The Giants took on Devers’ mega contract when they traded for him June 15 to boost their offense after the slugger made it known he didn’t want to play first base for Boston. But he arrived in the Bay Area insisting he would do anything asked of him to help San Francisco win.

A three-time All-Star, Devers signed a $313.5 million, 10-year contract with the Red Sox in 2023.

On Friday, he was in the lineup as DH batting third. He isn’t ready to play the field, including first base, where he has been doing regular fielding work.

“He feels it mostly running, probably a little bit at the plate, but not as much as when he’s running bases,” Melvin said. “I think with the break hopefully [he’ll be OK]. I think he’s been playing through it for a little bit, basically since he’s been here. It’s the reason he’s not out in the field right now.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Cardinals’ Arenado (sprained finger) exits early

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Cardinals' Arenado (sprained finger) exits early

The St. Louis Cardinals removed star third baseman Nolan Arenado from their 6-5 loss to the visiting Atlanta Braves on Friday night because of a sprained right index finger.

Arenado, who was 1-for-3, was replaced in the seventh inning by Thomas Saggese. While it was unclear how Arenado hurt the finger, it is the same injury that kept him out of two games last week during a series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Arenado has 10 home runs and 42 RBIs in 84 games this season.

Field Level Media contributed to this report.

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