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DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Martin Truex Jr. has already won two of NASCARs most coveted races. Now, hes seeking a much bigger honor.Truex led the final 28 laps and held off Kevin Harvicks powerhouse car to win the Southern 500, closing the summer season with a second of Sprint Cups crown jewel races on Labor Day weekend. He began things by winning at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend.Truex stamped himself as a contender to be reckoned with when the Sprint Cup playoffs start in two weeks.Were hungry. Were working hard, Truex said. This is just the beginning for us, I think.Many others think that, too, especially after Truex patiently stayed in the top 10 throughout and pounced when the opportunity struck, moving past leader Ryan Newman and never surrendering the top spot.It was Truexs fifth NASCAR win and first in 11 career Darlington races.Crew chief Cole Pearn said winning two crown jewel races in a season is something special, but the teams focus is on the championship Chase that starts at Chicagoland Speedway in two weeks.Youve got to take the highs when theyre here and then get back to work, he said.Truex pulled up to the inside wall to greet his crew after the win, then taking off for some celebration donuts at the track Too Tough To Tame.Harvick, who led 214 of 367 laps, had some words for his crew, too -- much angrier and pointed about its poor performance in the pits. During one 16.6-second stop, Harvick fell from first to 12th, and while he got to back to second, correctly said on the radio after that stop, Its pretty much over at this point.The 2014 Sprint Cup champion said it was time for the crew to perform. Im over being a cheerleader. Those guys get paid a lot of money to perform on pit road and cheerleading really hasnt been working, he said. Youve got to get after it on pit road and do your job.Last weeks winner at Michigan, Kyle Larson, finished third and Denny Hamlin was fourth. Joey Logano was fifth, followed by Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, Newman, Brad Keselowski and Chase Elliott.Its the second time in the past six Southern 500s that single-car Furniture Row Racing wound up in victory lane. Regan Smith stunned the Sprint Cup garage in 2011 with his win here.Truex, among the four finalists in last years championship Chase, is locked in again this year and has stamped himself a significant contender for the Sprint Cup crown.It was definitely worth the wait, he said.WHOS HOT: Larson followed up his win at Michigan last week with a third-place at Darlington. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver led 45 laps and felt good about running up front for a second straight race.WHOS NOT: Jimmie Johnson had his troubles at Darlington where hes won three times. He was called pass-through penalty after his crew made a modification on pit road NASCAR didnt like, then fell two laps down. On lap 214, Johnson spun out and slid into the inside wall. His crew brought the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports machine behind the wall. It was Johnsons ninth finish outside the top 10 in his last 12 races, not the form his team hoped to have in chasing a seventh Sprint Cup title.THEY SAID IT: Its kind of like an out of body experience, Tony Stewart on the radio while watching his old, Home Depot-style paint scheme being driven by Carl Edwards in the Southern 500.THE BIG ONE: That involved Stewart, too. The three-time series champ making his final run at Darlington was trying to get out lapped car Brian Scott. When that didnt work at first, Stewart looked like he nudged Scotts bumper and sent him spinning. Scott thought Stewart was mad at him and ran into him on purpose. Im not sure if he thought I was trying to hold him up. I wasnt, Scott said. The move also piqued NASCARs interest. Officials called Stewart and crew chief Mike Bugarewicz to their hauler at the end. When told of NASCARs demand, Stewart said, Hey man, made it 25 races, Id say thats pretty good.UP NEXT: Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, Virginia, Sept. 10. Matt Kenseth is the defending champion.Boog Powell Jersey . -- Tony Stewart is 20 pounds lighter and has a titanium rod in his surgically repaired right leg. Tom Candiotti Jersey .R. Smith realized how easily basketball can be taken from him, and he wasnt going to take his place in the NBA for granted anymore. https://www.cheapindiansonline.com/2668u-tyler-olson-jersey-indians.html . Spiller left Week 3s 27-20 loss to the New York Jets with a thigh injury, but fully practiced with the team all week and expects to be ready to go on Sunday. David Justice Jersey . Boucher previously coached the Tampa Bay Lightning and had a 97-78-20 record over two-plus seasons. He was dismissed by the team last March after the Lightning struggled in the lockout-shortened season with a 13-18-1 record. Luis Tiant Indians Jersey . Kiriasis and brakeman Franziska Fritz finished two runs in one minute 55.41 seconds -- a mere 0.01 seconds ahead of Meyers and Lolo Jones, who likely bolstered her Olympic hopes by helping give USA-1 a huge push in the second heat.Phil Mickelson, Matt Kuchar, Paul Casey and defending champion Emiliano Grillo will be among the 144-player field on Thursday when the PGA Tour opens its 2016-17 schedule with the Safeway Open at the Silverado Resort & Spas North course in Napa, Calif.But much of the talk for the past few weeks surrounding the Safeway Open centered on Tiger Woods, who committed to playing in the event last week before withdrawing Monday.Not even four days in the California wine country and a $6 million purse could entice Woods back from his 14-month injury sabbatical.My health is good, and I feel strong, but my game is vulnerable and not where it needs to be, Woods wrote on his website Monday. When I announced last week I was going to Safeway, I had every intention of playing or I wouldnt have committed. I practiced the last several days in California, but after a lot of soul searching and honest reflection, I know that I am not yet ready to play on the PGA Tour.Just the notion of having Woods play the first two days, and his Thursday and Friday pairing with Mickelson, doubled ticket sales. Those that will tee it up for 72 holes of stroke play through Sunday will give those golf fans plenty to enjoy.Mickelson said he was still on an emotional high from being part of the winning United States team in the Ryder Cup two weeeks ago.ddddddddddddThe tournament here is so well run and the course is such fun that I cant wait to get the season started, Mickelson said.Grillo won here last season in his first PGA Tour event, becoming the first player to do so since Russell Henley at the 2013 Sony Open in Hawaii.On Wednesday, Grillo was named the tour rookie of the year based on that victory and two additional top-10 finishes the rest of the season (a tie for second at The Barclays and a tie for 10th at the season-ending Tour Championship during the FedExCup playoffs). He also finished tied for eighth in the mens Olympic golf competition in Rio.This is the fourth year for the PGA Tours wraparound schedule that bridges two years with 47 events. Seven events will be played during the fall of 2016, all of which will award FedExCup points. After a seven-week break, the season will resume in January with the traditional swing through Hawaii before moving to the West Coast.Four of the seven winners from the fall portion of the 2015-16 season (Grillo, Justin Thomas, Russell Knox and Kevin Kisner) qualified for the Tour Championship and two others (Smylie Kaufman and Graeme McDowell) finished inside the top 50. ' ' '