Darlington Raceway's Cook Out Southern 500 is set to kick off the 10-race NASCAR Cup Series postseason, which is set to utilize the "Chase" format, rather than the old "win and in", knockout-style format, for the first time since 2013.
While the focus is on the 16 drivers who qualified for the playoffs and have a chance to win the championship following the post-regular season points reset, and, depending on who you are, the battle for 17th, there were several changes to the entry list from this past weekend's regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway, and all relate to the part-time non-chartered (open) cars.
The Coke Zero Sugar 400 produced just the third non-Daytona 500 Cup Series DNQ since November 2018, as there were five open cars on the entry list battling for the final four spots in the 40-car field.
23XI Racing's Corey Heim qualified comfortably, and he is set to be back in the No. 67 Toyota this weekend, marking the only unchanged open car from Daytona to Darlington.
4 lineup changes confirmed for NASCAR Cup race at Darlington
But the No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet, driven by Joey Gase at Daytona, is not entered at Darlington, and neither are the No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet or the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet. Casey Mears drove the No. 62 car and Daniel Dye drove the No. 78 car at Daytona.
The other change is a straight-up driver change. Gray Gaulding made his first Cup Series appearance since June 2023 at Daytona, ending a 118-race absence, but in his first appearance for Garage 66 in the No. 66 Ford, he was the only driver who failed to qualify. This weekend, it's Chad Finchum who is set to make his seventh start of the year in the No. 66 car.
With the only open cars on this weekend's entry list being the No. 66 Ford and the No. 67 Toyota, both are locked into the 38-car field for Sunday's 367-lap race around the four-turn, 1.366-mile (2.198-kilometer) egg-shaped Darlington, South Carolina oval.
The Cook Out Southern 500 is scheduled for Sunday, September 6 at 5:00 p.m. ET, with live coverage set to be provided by USA Network from the track "Too Tough To Tame" beginning at 5:00 p.m. ET. Catch all of the action from the first official "Chase" postseason race since 2013!
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