NASCAR at Darlington 2018 Results: Brad Keselowski Earns Win over Kyle Larson

Kyle Larson led for 284 laps during Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, but Brad Keselowski led when it counted—when the checkered flag flew.

Keselowski won the penultimate race before the playoffs start on Sept. 16 in Las Vegas by seizing the lead on a restart off pit road and holding off Larson and Joey Logano for an impressive comeback victory.

It was his first career Cup Series win at the Bojangles' Southern 500 and a testament to his perseverance despite Larson's otherwise dominant performance.

The biggest moment of the race came when he took the lead for good coming off pit road, which was largely due to the showing from his crew:

Larson couldn't even finish in second, as Logano passed him down the stretch. Here is a look at Keselowski, Logano and the rest of the top 10, per NASCAR.com:

1. Brad Keselowski

2. Joey Logano

3. Kyle Larson

4. Kevin Harvick

5. Chase Elliott

6. Kurt Busch

7. Kyle Busch

8. Erik Jones

9. Jamie McMurray

10. Denny Hamlin

Sunday's race featured more than a battle for playoff positioning, as many of the cars in the field were adorned with throwback paint schemes to honor drivers of the past.

It was the battle for the 16-driver playoff field that took center stage, though, asMike Hembree of USA Today noted Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Austin Dillon, Logano, Chase Elliott, Erik Jones, Ryan Blaney, Keselowski and Larson were the 12 drivers who already clinched a spot entering Darlington.

A new race winner would change the picture, but Denny Hamlin, Aric Almirola, Jimmie Johnson and Alex Bowman held the final four spots before Sunday's race, even though Hamlin and Johnson are winless this season.

Hamlin and Almirola did enough to clinch a playoff spot Sunday, per Bob Pockrass of ESPN, meaning there are only two spots up for grabs in the field.

Hamlin was in the ideal location to change his winless season considering he captured pole position Saturday and has an extensive history of success at Darlington. The Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com) noted Hamlin finished in the top 10 in all but two of his previous 12 Cup starts at the raceway and even has five victories there in the Xfinity circuit.

That success didn't help him hold off Larson out of the gates, as the No. 42 car passed him by on the 13th lap and quickly added some breathing room in front of the rest of the field.

Larson cruised to the first-stage victory, coming in ahead of Jones, Truex, Logano and Keselowski and lapping all but 14 cars in the field. He also didn't have to worry about Johnson in the early going since he was forced to serve a pass-through for a commitment-line violation.

Larson also won the second stage, although it was much more challenging than the first.

Truex took the lead off pit road and then battled with Harvick throughout the middle portion of the stage before Larson fought back and blew past both of them. That wasn't the end of Truex's worries, as he was penalized in the second half of the stage for an uncontrolled tire and fell a lap off the pace.

Jones was also penalized for an uncontrolled tire, but his came in the first few laps of the stage and allowed him enough time to fight back into the top 10.

The biggest development in the third and final stage outside of Keselowski's ability to outmaneuver Larson and Logano out of pit road came with Johnson's car. He went to the garage with oil issues and dropped out of the race, continuing a pattern of recent disappointments and putting his season in doubt.

Elsewhere, Bowyer appeared not to realize Ryan Newman was pitting and slammed into the back of his car. Bowyer retired and Newman was unable to overcome the damage to realistically challenge after the race's most notable wreck.

Attention now turns to next week's Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. There are two playoff spots up for grabs, and Johnson's tenuous position is sure to make headlines.

It was Keselowski who made the headlines Sunday, though, beating out Larson at the end of what appeared to be a straightforward victory for No. 42.