Darlington Raceway was shifted from its traditional spot as the NASCAR Cup Series playoff opener, a spot it had held since 2020, last year as a result of NASCAR's schedule being slightly altered due to NBC's commitment to the Summer Olympics in Paris.
After one year of hosting the regular season finale, the four-turn, 1.366-mile (2.198-kilometer) egg-shaped Darlington, South Carolina is back as the host of the playoff opener, even though it is still scheduled to take place on Labor Day Weekend.
The 367-lap Cook Out Southern 500 is one of three races which were moved from the regular season to the playoffs after 2024, with the other two being next weekend's race at World Wide Technology Raceway and next round's race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The changes forced Atlanta Motor Speedway, Watkins Glen International, and Homestead-Miami Speedway back into the regular season, and further changes are on the cards for next year's playoffs.
Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin took the pole position for Sunday's playoff race in Saturday's qualifying session, and teammate Chase Briscoe started beside him on the front row. A full starting lineup can be found here.
Follow along with our race updates from Darlington.
Darlington NASCAR playoff race: Stage 1 results
1st - Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
2nd - Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
3rd - Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
4th - Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
5th - Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
6th - Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
7th - Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
8th - Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
9th - John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
10th - Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
Darlington NASCAR playoff race: Stage 2 results
1st - Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
2nd - Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
3rd - Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
4th - Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
5th - Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
6th - Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
7th - Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
8th - Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
9th - John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
10th - Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
Darlington NASCAR playoff race: Full Cook Out Southern 500 results
1st - Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
2nd - Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
3rd - Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
4th - John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
5th - A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
6th - Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
7th - Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
8th - Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
9th - Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
10th - Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
11th - Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
12th - Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
13th - Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
14th - Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford
15th - Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
16th - Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
17th - Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
18th - Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
19th - Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
20th - Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
21st - William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
22nd - Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
23rd - Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
24th - Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford
25th - Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
26th - Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
27th - Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
28th - Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota
29th - Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
30th - Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet
31st - Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
32nd - Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
33rd - Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
34th - Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
35th - Timmy Hill, No. 66 Garage 66 Ford
36th - Derek Kraus, No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet
37th - Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
38th - Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
The second race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs is the Enjoy Illinois 300, which is set to be shown live on USA Network from World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET next Sunday, September 7. Begin a free trial of FuboTV today and don't miss it!