On an early Saturday morning the Cup Series takes to the track at Darlington Raceway for practice and qualifying before running the Cook Out Southern 500 on Sunday night.
The Southern 500 marks the beginning of the 2025 playoffs for the Cup Series.
A near full field of 38 teams brought cars to Darlington for one of NASCAR’s biggest races.
The drivers have been divided into two groups for a 25 minute practice session.
The first driver on the track to make a qualifying run is Riley Herbst with a time of 29.225 seconds.
The first driver to break the 29 second mark is Bubba Wallace with a time of 28,985 seconds.
With a time of 28.694 seconds Denny Hamlin put his number eleven car on the pole. Teammate Chase Briscoe will start alongside on the front row.
The starting lineup for the Cook Out Southern 500:
Denny Hamlin – playoffs
Chase Briscoe – playoffs
Josh Berry – playoffs
Tyler Reddick – playoffs
Ross Chastain – playoffs
Christopher Bell – playoffs
Bubba Wallace – playoffs
Austin Dillon – playoffs
Austin Cindric – playoffs
William Byron – playoffs
Ryan Blaney – playoffs
Justin Haley
Chase Elliott – playoffs
Joey Logano – playoffs
Chris Buescher
Ty Gibbs
Daniel Suarez
Cole Custer
Erik Jones
Shane van Gisbergen – playoffs
Chase Elliott – playoffs
AJ Allmendinger
Kyle Busch
Zane Smith
Michael McDowell
Carson Hocevar
Ryan Preece
Todd Gilliland
Alex Bowman – playoffs
John Hunter Nemechek
Ty Dillon
Brad Keselowski
Riley Herbst
Noah Gragson
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Cody Ware
Derek Kraus
Timmy Hill
Stages one and two are 115 laps each with stage three lasting 137 for a total of 367 laps around the 1.36 miles track.
Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with teammate Chase Briscoe alongside. Josh Berry brings out the caution flag on lap one that caught up several drivers. Berry spun out after he got loose causing significant damage to the car. Tyler Reddick, Kyle Busch, Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez, and Alex Bowman were all involved in the melee.
Chase Briscoe brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap seven.
The top five are Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick, and Kyle Larson.
Lap nine, Bubba Wallace passes Kyle Larson for fifth.
Tyler Reddick reports that things “don’t feel right” in his car; reporting that the car is free.
Josh Berry has taken his car to the garage for repairs.
Lap 14, Chase Briscoe has a lead of over half a second on Denny Hamlin; Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Lap 16, Christopher Bell passes Tyler Reddick for fifth.
Lap 18 Bubba Wallace passes Ross Chastain for third. This is race start number 250 for Chastain.
Lap 26, Chase Briscoe has a near one second lead on Denny Hamlin; Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.
Lap 33, Denny Hamlin has closed the gap on leader Chase Briscoe to just half a second; Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.
Lap 34, Bubba Wallace passes bossman Denny Hamlin for second.
Alex Bowman brings his car down pit road.
Lap 35, leader Chase Brisoce comes down pit road for a green flag pit stop as the cycle begins. Bubba Wallace leads the race.
Kyle Larson had to get a push to get started when the command to crank engines came because he is having issues with his starter. If he gets stopped on the track on stalls on pit road, it could become an issue.
Tyler Reddick had a slow stop.
Zane Smith was charged with a penalty on his pit stop, he will have to serve a passthrough penalty.
Lap 41, green flag pit stops continue with just 13 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 44, leader Bubba Wallace brings his car down pit road for service. John Hunter Nemechek is the new leader.
Brad Keselowski was charged with pitting outside the pit box and will have to serve a passthrough penalty. He stopped in a different pit box to tighten a wheel.
Lapp 48, the top five are John Hunter Nemechek, Michael McDowell, Chase Briscoe, Ross Chaistain, and Kyle Larson. There are 24 cars on the lead lap.
John Hunter Nemechek and Michael McDowell are the only drivers who have not made a pit stop. Once they stop, Chase Briscoe will retake the lead.
Lap 56, Chase Briscoe leads the race with John Hunter Nemechek in second; Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson pass Ross Chastain to put the Melon Man in sixth.
Lap 60, John Hunter Nemechek makes his pit stop; Bubba Wallace is now in second, five seconds back.
Lap 63, there are 27 cars on the lead lap. All drivers have made their green flag pit stops.
Lap 65, Chase Briscoe has a near five second lead on Bubba Wallace; Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.
Lap 68, Alex Bowman makes his second green flag pit stop. He has a slow stop after the tire changer had an issue with the air gun. It was a 40 second pit stop.
Lap 74, a second round of green flag pit stops begins.
Lap 76, leader Chase Briscoe makes his green flag pit stop and gives the lead over to Bubba Wallace.
Lap 77, Bubba Wallace comes down pit road and gives the lead over to Kyle Larson.
Zane Smith and Bubba Wallace nearly crash on pit road.
Lap 80, as green flag pit stops continues, Shane van Gisbergen leads the race with John Hunter Nemechek in second; Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
A frustrated Shane van Gisbergen reports that the car “just won’t turn”.
Lap 84, Chase Briscoe passes John Hunter Nemechek to retake the lead; Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.
Lap 90, Chase Briscoe has a near two second lead on Denny Hamlin; John Hunter Nemechek, Tyler Reddick, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.
Lap 96, there are 25 cars on the lead lap; Alex Bowman and Shane van Gisbergen are among the drivers one lap down.
Lap 98, Chase Briscoe is just one second in front of Denny Hamlin; Tyler Reddick, Ross Chastain, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.
Lap 105, third place driver Tyler Reddick is running some of the fastest laps on the track after the crew made repairs from the lap one crash.
With six laps remaining in stage one, Todd Gilliland is behind leader Chase Briscoe trying to get his lap back.
Tyler Reddicp passes boss Denny Hamlin for second place.
With a lead of two seconds, Chase Briscoe wins stage one.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Chase Briscoe
Tyler Reddick
Denny Hamlin
Ross Chastain
Bubba Wallce
Kyle Larson
Chrisotpher Bell
Austin Cindric
John Hunter Nemechek
Ryan Blaney
Shane van Gisbergen is the “lucky dog”.
Drivers come down pit road for service with Chase Briscoe winning the race off of pit road.
Chase Briscoe brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Denny Hamlin alongside on lap 123. Hamlin and Briscoe go side by side with Hamlin getting out in front.
The top five are Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.
Chase Elliott and Carson Hocevar make contact in a battle for the same spot.
Lap 129, Denny Hamlin leads the race but only by a tenth of a second on Chase Briscoe. The battle for the lead begins.
Josh Berry has returned to the track 119 laps down.
Lap 132, Chase Briscoe retakes the lead. Denny Hamlin reports that he has some damage to his car. He also reports that his clutch is very easy to push and is having some shifting issues.
Lap 134, after taking the wave around, Alex Bowman brings his car down pit road for service.
Tyler Reddick is reporting smoke in the cockpit but reports everything is fine.
Lap 139, Chase Briscoe leads the race with Denny Hamlin in second; Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.
Lap 143, Ross Chastain passes Denny Hamlin for second.
Lap 144, Tyler Reddick passes Denny Hamlin for third.
Lap 145, Chase Briscoe has a near two second lead on Ross Chastain; Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.
Joey Logano reports that his car is plowing like a dump truck.
Lap 150, nearly halfway through the race, the track is starting the transition from day to night.
The caution flag comes out on lap 151 when Carson Hocevar spins out in a single car incident. Hocevar reports that the car is undrivable.
Drivers come down pit road for service. Denny Hamlin has a slow stop when the team had jack issues.
Christopher Bell and Carson Hocevar make contact on pit road spinning Hocevar around and causing damage to Bell’s car. Ryan Blaney was blocked in his pit stall.
Bubba Wallace also had a slow pit stop.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Todd Gilliland were caught speeding on pit road and will have to restart the race from the back of the field.
Chase Briscoe brings the field down for the green flag restart with Ross Chastain alongside on lap 158. Chastain takes the lead but the battle is not over. Briscoe gets back out in front; Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.
There are 26 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 163, Chase Briscoe has pulled out to a near two second lead on Ross Chastain; Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.
Erik Jones battles with Ross Chastain for second.
Lap 167 is over two and a half seconds in front of Ross Chastain.
Christopher Bell is reporting a very loose condition in his car.
Lap 172, Tyler Reddick passes Ross Chastain for third; Erik Jones is in second.
With 175 laps completed, all 38 drivers are still on the track with 26 of them on the lead lap.
Lap 179, Chase Briscoe has pulled out to a near five second lead on Erik Jones; Tyler Reddick, Ross Chastain, and Kyle Larson rounding out the top five.
William Byron calls his car a “plow box”.
Lap 184, Erik Jones has closed the gap on leader Chase Briscoe to just over three seconds; Tyler Reddick, Ross Chastain, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.
Leader Chase Briscoe is reporting some voltage issues.
Lap 187, Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson begin the cycle of green flag pit stops.
Lap 189, leader Chase Briscoe makes his green flag pit stop and gives the lead over to Chase Elliott.
Erik Jones has a slow pit stop.
Lap 195, leader Chase Elliott make his green flag pit stop and gives the lead back to Chase Briscoe.
Lap 200, Chase Briscoe leads the race with Tyler Reddick in second; Erik Jones, Kyle Larson, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.
Lap 202, the caution flag comes out when Cody Ware gets into the wall and is stopped on the track.
Drivers come down pit road for service, adjustments, and repairs.
Chase Briscoe reports continued voltage issues and has had to turn off his cool suit and a/c unit. The crew has fresh batteries if the issue continues to get worse.
Chase Briscoe brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 209 with Tyler Reddick alongside. Reddick and Briscoe go side by side; Erik Jones makes it a three way battle briefly.
Ryan Blaney spins out to bring out the caution flag on lap 210. Kyle Busch got loose and checked up, causing Blaney to check up; Blaney spins out but keeps the car off the wall.
Kyle Larson has been having radio issues; especially during the green flag laps.
Chase Briscoe brings the field down for the green flag restart with Tyler Reddick alongside on lap 214. Reddick and Briscoe are side by side in a battle for the lead; Kyle Larson, Erik Jones, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.
Lap 215, Chase Briscoe edges out for the lead.
Ten laps remain in stage two, Chase Briscoe has pulled out to a one second lead on Tyler Reddick; Erik Jones, Kyle Larson, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.
Six laps remain in stage two, Chase Briscoe has a near second and a half lead on Tyler Reddick.
Chase Briscoe wins stage two for the stage sweep.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Chase Briscoe
Tyler Reddick
Erik Jones
Kyle Larson
AJ Allmendinger
Ross Chastain
Bubba Wallace
John Hunter Nemechek
Ryan Preece
William Byron
Chase Briscoe has led 182 laps so far.
Alex Bowman is the “lucky dog”.
Drivers come down pit road for service with Chase Briscoe winning the race off of pit road.
Chase Briscoe brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with Tyler Reddick alongside on lap 238. Tyler Reddick gets out in front for the lead with Chase Briscoe in second.
NASCAR is reviewing the restart.
The top five are Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe, Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, and John Hunter Nemechek.
The race start is good.
Lap 240, Chase Briscoe retakes the lead after Tyler Reddick brushes the wall.
23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan is at the track tonight.
Lap 247, Chase Briscoe has a near two second lead on Tyler Reddick; Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, and John Hunter Nemechek round out the top five.
Lap 252, leader Chase Briscoe has led 200 laps so far; but still has voltage issues with cooling equipment turned off.
Lap 257, Chase Briscoe has a near two second lead on Tyler Reddick; bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, and John Hunter Nemechek round out the top five.
Cody Ware has taken his car to the garage with mechanical issues.
Lap 258, Tyler Reddick has closed the gap on leader Chase Briscoe to under a second and a half.
Lap 271, the top five are Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick, John Hunter Nemechek, Ross Chastain, and Erik Jones.
Lap 273, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney are the first drivers to make their green flag pit stops.
Chase Briscoe is one of several drivers to come down pit road and gives the lead over to Ross Chastain.
Ross Chastain makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Denny Hamlin.
Lap 280, Denny Hamlin makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Shane van Gisbergen.
Lap 282, Chase Briscoe passes Shane van Gisbergen for the lead. Tyler Reddick passes SVG for second.
Lap 288, Chase Briscoe has a two second lead on Tyler Reddick; John Hunter Nemechek, Erik Jones, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.
Chris Buescher bounces off the wall but he saves the car and the track stays green.
With 70 lap remaining in the race, the top five drivers are in Toyotas with Chase Briscoe leading the way; Tyler Reddick, John Hunter Nemechek, Erik Jones, and Bubba Wallace.
Falling through the field, Shane van Gisbergen has yet to make his pit stop; he is looking to complete stage three on one pit stop.
Lap 302, Shane van Gisbergen finally comes down pit road for his green flag stop.
Lap 310, Chase Briscoes has a lead of under a second on Tyler Reddick; John Hunter Nemechek, Erik Jones, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.
The caution flag comes out on lap 313 for Derek Kraus whose car is on fire and smoking heavily.
Ryan Blaney was on pit road when the caution flag came out.
Pit road is very busy with drivers getting service. Chase Briscoe wins the race off of pit road. The top five came off of pit road, the way they came on.
Chase Briscoe brings the field down for the green flag restart with Tyler Reddick alongside on lap 319. Briscoe edges out for the lead.
With 46 laps remaining in the race, Chase Briscoe has a lead of over half a second on Tyler Reddick; Erik Jones, John Hunter Nemechek, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.
There are 27 cars on the lead lap.
Just 38 laps to go, Chase Briscoe has a near second and a half lead on Tyler Reddick; Erik Jones, John Hunter Nemechek, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.
Ross Chastain’s team reports that they are two laps short of fuel to make it to the end of the race.
Christopher Bell comes down pit road with 33 laps to go.
Just 31 laps to go, there are 24 cars on the lead lap.
With 27 laps to go, Chase Briscoe continues to dominate the race and is less than one second on Tyler Reddick; Erik Jones, John Hunter Nemechek, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.
With 23 laps to go, Tyler Reddick is less than half a second behind leader Chase Briscoe.
Twenty to go, The top three drivers are separated by less than a second with Chase Briscoe in the lead; Tyler Reddick, Erik Jones, John Hunter Nemechek, and AJ Allmendinger rounding out the top five.
With 15 to go, leader Chase Briscoe passes Shane van Gisbergen to put him two laps down.
Ten to go, Chase Briscoe has dominated the race all night; he holds a half second lead on Tyler Reddick.
Just six more laps, Chase Briscoe holds on to the lead.
Chase Briscoe takes the white flag!
After leading over 300 laps, Chase Briscoe holds off Tyler Reddick to go back-to-back for the win.
Chase Briscoe becomes the first driver to move on to the next round of the playoffs.
The unofficial results of the Cook Out Southern 500:
Chase Briscoe
Tyler Reddick
Erik Jones
John Hunter Nemechek
AJ Allmendinger
Bubba Wallace
Denny Hamlin
Kyle Busch
Carson Hocevar
Chris Buescher
Ross Chastain
Austin Cindric
Zane Smith
Noah Gragson
Brad Keselowski
Ryan Preece
Chase Elliott
Ryan Blaney
Kyle Larson
Joey Logano
William Byron
Ty Gibbs
Austin Dillon
Cole Custer
Daniel Suarez
Todd Gilliland’
Justin Haley
Riley Herbst
Christopher Bell
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Alex Bowman
Shane van Gisbergen
Michael McDowell
Ty Dillon
Timmy Hill
Derek Kraus
Cody Ware
Josh Berry