After 13 years, NASCAR has finally returned to the "Chase" postseason format, and it all starts today with Darlington Raceway's Cook Out Southern 500.
The points have been reset ahead of the 10-race playoffs, and unlike under the old "win and in", knockout-style format, there are no playoff rounds and thus no more points resets from now until the end of the season.
23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick, who won at the four-turn, 1.366-mile (2.198-kilometer) egg-shaped Darlington, South Carolina oval back in March, took the pole position for Sunday's 367-lap crown jewel after Saturday's qualifying session was rained out.
Spire Motorsports' Daniel Suarez, another playoff driver, joined him on the front row, as the full 38-car starting lineup was determined by the qualifying metric.
Follow along with our Cook Out Southern 500 race updates from Darlington. The start time was notably bumped up due to the increased threat of inclement weather as the evening progresses.
NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington: Cook Out Southern 500 Stage 1 results
1 - Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
2 - Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
3 - Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
4 - Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
5 - Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
6 - Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
7 - Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
8 - Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
9 - William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
10 - Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington: Cook Out Southern 500 Stage 2 results
1 - Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
2 - Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
3 - Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
4 - Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
5 - Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
6 - Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
7 - Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
8 - William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
9 - Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
10 - Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington: Full Cook Out Southern 500 results
Order | Driver |
|---|---|
1 | Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
2 | Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
3 | Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota |
4 | Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford |
5 | Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
6 | Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
7 | Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford |
8 | Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota |
9 | Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford |
10 | Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford |
11 | Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
12 | Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
13 | Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford |
14 | Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
15 | Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
16 | Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
17 | Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
18 | Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
19 | Corey Heim, No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota |
20 | Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford |
21 | Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
22 | A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
23 | Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford |
24 | John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
25 | Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
26 | Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
27 | Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
28 | Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
29 | Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
30 | Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota |
31 | Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
32 | Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
33 | Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet |
34 | Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
35 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet |
36 | Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet |
37 | William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
38 | Chad Finchum, No. 66 Garage 66 Ford |
World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway is scheduled to host the second race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs on Sunday, September 13, with live coverage of the Enjoy Illinois 300 set to begin on USA Network at 3:00 p.m. ET.
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