The Chase begins as the Cup Series drivers take on the track that is “Too Tough to Tame” – Darlington Raceway – for The Cookout Southern 500.

The points have been reset with Denny Hamlin leading the 16 driver field for the race to the championship.

Lucas Oil has announced in tribute to Kyle Busch they will be retiring the blue and white colour scheme and replacing it with a red and white scheme.

While the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series had no issues outside the heat, but the Cup Series, while the skies are blue, is under a lightning hold.

Steve Letarte noted that he was looking forward to practice with two walls just waiting to reach out and grab some cars.

Mellon Man Ross Chastain said that he wants a new set of tires and his car was just moved out to pit road.  Tire wear is a major issue at Darlington.

After a 20 minute delay, the engines have fired in preparation for getting out on the track for a 50 minute practice session.  The teams have two sets of tires for practice.

Ryan Blaney’s car has failed inspection twice; as a result his car chief has been ejected and NASCAR will assign his pit stall.

Just as the drivers begin getting out on the track, the red flag came out for another lightning hold.  There is a 30 minute hold once a lightning strike is observed.  The skies must be clear of lightning for those 30 minutes before track activities can resume.

Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano are the only drivers who participated in the original “Chase” format.  Logano points out that while they have the same name, this Chase is much different than the original.

Daniel Suarez is currently on official baby watch.  While the “official” due date is in about 10 days – during Bristol – babies often have their own calendar for when they choose to arrive.

Due to continued weather delays, NASCAR has cancelled Cup Series practice and qualifying.  The field has been set by the NASCAR metric which puts Tyler Reddick on the pole with Daniel Suarez alongside on the front row.

The starting lineup for the Cook Out Southern 500:
Tyler Reddick
Daniel Suarez
Ryan Preece
Denny Hamlin
Michael McDowell
Austin Cindric
Chase Briscoe
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Austin Dillon
Alex Bowman
Christopher Bell
Brad Keselowski
Joey Logano
Josh Berry
Riley Herbst
Cole Custer
Riley Herbst
Cole Custer
Bubba Wallace
Chase Elliott
John Hunter Nemechek
William Byron
Todd Gilliland
Corey Heim
Ross Chastain
Ryan Blaney
Kyle Larson
Shane van Gisbergen
Ty Dillon
Ty Gibbs
Noah Gragson
AJ Allmendinger
Connor Zilisch
Austin Hill
Zane Smith
Carson Hocevar
Chris Buescher
Erik Jones
Cody Ware
Chad Finchum

Stages one and two of the race are 115 laps each with stage three lasting 137 for a total of 367 laps around the 1.366 mile track.

Earlier this summer, NASCAR lost one of its legends with the death of Ned Jarrett.  Not only did he get to call his son Dale’s winning of the Daytona 500 from the broadcast booth; Ned Jarrett holds a record that will likely never be broken – in 1965, Ned Jarrett won the Southern 500 by 14 laps!

After no practice or qualifying due to lightning issues, NASCAR is calling for a competition caution on lap 35.

Tyler Reddick brings the field down for the green flag start of the 77th annual Southern 500!  Reddick kand Daniel Suarez go side by side before Suarez takes the lead with Denny Hamlin taking second.

Lap two, the top five are Daniel suarez, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Preece, and Austin Cindric.

Lap three Denny Hamlin passes Daniel Suarez on the inside to take the lead.

Carson Hocevar has advanced five spots in four laps.

Lap five, Tyler Reddick passes Daniel Suarez for second with Denny Hamlin one second out in front of the field.

Lap eight, Denny Hamlin has a lead of over a second on Tyler Reddick; Daniel Suarez, Ryan Preece, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.

Lap eleven, Denny Hamlin has pulled out to a second and a half lead on Tyler Reddick; Ryan Preece, Austin Cindric, and Daniel Suarez round out the top five.

Lap 18, Carson Hocevar has advanced 14 spots since the start of the race.

Denny Hamlin’s lead is down to under a second on Tyler Reddick; Ryan Preece, Austin Cindric, and Christopher Bell.

Lap 25, Denny Hamlin’s lead is now under half a second on Tyler Reddick; Ryan Preece, Austin Cindric, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

Lap 29, Tyler Reddick passes Denny Hamlin for the lead.

Lap 33, Tyler Reddick has a lead of over half a second on Denny Hamlin; Ryan Preece, Austin Cindric, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

Lap 36, NASCAR throws the caution flag for a competition caution for crews to check the cars after no practice.

Drivers come down pit road for service with Tyler Reddick just edging out Denny Hamlin to win the race off of pit road.

Tyler Reddick brings the field down for the green flag restart with Denny Hamlin alongside on lap 41.  Reddick takes the lead with Denny Hamin in second; Ryan Preece, Chase Briscoe, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

Chase Briscoe is looking to make it three Southern 500 wins in a row.  The only other driver to win three in a row is Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon.

Lap 45, the top seven drivers are Chase drivers.

Lap 45, Denny Hamlin passes Tyler Reddick for the lead.

With Chad Finchum getting the “lucky dog”; all 38 drivers are on the lead lap.

Lap 49, Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe battle for second.

Starting 24th after a Daytona crash, Ryan Blaney has entered the top 10 in eighth place.

Lap 54, Denny Hamlin has a lead of over half a second on Tyler Reddick; Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, and Ryan Preece round out the top five.

Lap 59, Erik Jones has moved up 21 spots since the race start and is now in the top 15 in 14th.

Lap 61, Denny Hamlin has a one second lead on Tyler Reddick; Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, and Ryan Preece.

Lap 64, Denny Hamlin has pulled out to a second and a half lead on Tyler Reddick.

Lap 65, Bubba Wallace is just outside the top five in sixth place.

Lap 67, leader Denny Hamlin has begun lapping slower traffic with Chad Finchum one lap down.

Lap 72, green flag pit stops have begun.  Bubba Wallace is the new leader.

Lap 77 Bubba Wallace makes his pit stop; Chase Elliott is the new leader.

Lap 78, Chase Elliott makes his pit stop; giving the lead over to Carson Hocevar.

Lap 79, Carson Hocevar makes his green flag pit stop with teammate Daniel Suarez; giving the lead back over to Denny Hamlin.

Corey Heim was charged with an uncontrolled tire and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.

Lap 83, Denny Hamlin has a near one second lead on Tyler Reddick; Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

Joey Logano is reporting an “ill handing” car.

Lap 92, Bubba Wallace has entered the top five.  Denny Hamlin has less than half a second lead on Tyler Reddick.

Lap 94, Tyler Reddick passes Denny Hamlin for the lead.

The top five are Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, and Bubba Wallace.

Lap 98, Bubba Wallace passes Christpher Bell for fourth.

Lap 100, Bubba Wallace passes Christopher Bell for third.

With just 10 laps remaining in stage one, Tyler Reddick has pulled out to a two second lead on Denny Hamlin.

Bubba Wallace has just passed the bossman Denny Hamlin for second.

The caution flag comes out on lap 107 when Brad Keselowski spins out after contact with Carson Hocevar.

Under the new rule, stage one is over.

Tyler Reddick wins stage one.

The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Tyler Reddick
Bubba Wallace
Denny Hamlin
Christopher Bell
Ryan Blaney
Chasse Briscoe
Ryan Preece
Austin Cindric
William Byron
Ty Gibbs

Drivers come down pit road for service with Tyler Reddick winning the race off of pit road; followed by Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin.

Ryan Preece had to make a second trip down pit road.

Tyler Reddick brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Denny Hamlin alongside on lap 113.  Reddick takes the lead with teammate Bubba Wallace right behind; Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, and William Byron round out the top five.

After stage one, Tyler Reddick is just 10 points behind Chase leader Denny Hamlin.

Lap 120, Tyler Reddick has a half second lead on Bubba Wallace; Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, and William Byron round out the top five.  The top 12 spots are taken by Chase drivers.

There are 30 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 122, Christopher Bell passes William Byron for fifth.

Noting that the temperatures will be going down during the remainder of the race, Steve Letarte noted that it has gone from “nuclear South Carolina” heat to just “really hot”.

Daniel Suarez reports he has a “disconnected corner” in the car – nothing works right.

Lap 135, Tyler Reddick has pulled out to a lead of nearly a second and a half on Bubba Wallace; Denny Hamlin is nearly four seconds behind Reddick.

Lap 139, the top five are Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, and Christopher Bell.

Tyler Reddick has increased his lead to nearly two seconds on Bubba Wallace.

Lap 142, there are 29 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 143, Ryan Blaney battles with Denny Hamlin for third.

Lap 146, green flag pit stops begin.  Brad Keselowski spins out trying to get to pit road.

Ryan Blaney takes third from Denny Hamlin.

Lap 148, Tyler Reddick has pulled out to a lead of over two seconds on Bubba Wallace.

Ty Gibbs is screaming that he is “plowing”.

Ryan Preece reports that he is “tight”

Bubba Wallace notes that he is “tighter” than teammate Tyler Reddick.

Lap 152, Tyler Reddick makes his green flag pit stop; Ryan Blaney is the new leader.

Lap 153, Ryan Blaney makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Kyle Larson.

Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick battle with Bubba getting out in front of Tyler.

Lap 155, Kyle Larsson makes his pit stop; Bubba Wallace is the new leader.

Lap 156, the top five are Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe, Joey Logano, and William Byron.  Denny Hamlin is in ninth place.

Prior to making his pit stop, Chris Buescher hit the wall.

Lap 168, Bubba Wallace has a half second lead on Tyler Reddick; Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.  Denny Hamlin has worked his way to sixth place.

Lap 174, there are only 24 cars on the lead lap.

Joey Logano is reporting some handling issues in his car.

Kyle Larsson brushes the wall but the track stays green.

Lap 182, Bubba Wallace holds a lead of over half a second on teammate Tyler Reddick; Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

Lap 188, green flag pit stops begins including the leaders.  Christopher Bell is the new leader.

Tyler Reddick had to back up in his pit stall to get a wheel tightened up.

Lap 192, Christopher Bell makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Kyle Larson.

Lap 194, Kyle Larson makes his pit stop and gives the lead over the Michael McDowell.

Michael McDowell makes his pit stop; Chase Briscoe is the new leader with Bubba Wallace one second back.  Tyler Reddick is back in eighth after his pit road mishap.

Lap 201, The top five are Chase Briscoe, Bubba Wallace, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, and Denny Hamlin.  Tyler Reddick is in ninth place.

There are only 19 cars on the lead lap – just half the field are on the lead lap.

Chase Briscoe’s team reports that they did not get enough fuel in the car during the pit stop.  His team told him to save fuel.

Lap 209, Christopher Bell passes Bubba Wallace for second.

Lap 211, Chase Briscoe has a lead of a second on Christopher Bell; Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.

The sun has begun to set and the track lights are on as the track continues to change.

Chris Buesscher has gotten into the wall again and has a tow link issue.

Kyle Larson passes Denny Hamlin for fourth with 15 laps remaining in stage two.

Christopher Bell passes teammate Chase Briscoe for the lead.

Chad Finchum is off the track.

Just seven laps remain in stage two; Christopher Bell has a near four second lead on Chase Briscoe; Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

Christopher Bell wins stage two for his fifth stage win of the season.

The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Christopher Bell
Kyle Larson
Chase Briscoe
Denny Hamlin
Bubba Wallace
Ryan Blaney
Jossh Berry
William Byron
Tyler Reddick
Austin Cindric

Drivers come down pit road for service with Kyle Larsson winning the race off of pit road; followed by Bubba Wallace.  Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin had slow pit stops.

Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with Bubba Wallace alongside on lap 239.  Larson gets out in front for the lead.

Drivers are getting three wide.

Lap 240, the top five are Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbsss, and Ryan Blaney.

Denny Hamlin has some damage to his car after getting hit from behind by Michael McDowell.  Hamlin reports the tow links are out and is off the pace.

Lap 246, Kyle Larson has a lead of over a second on Bubba Wallace; Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, and Josh Berry round out the top five.

Lap 253, Kyle Larson has a two and a half second lead on Bubba Wallace; Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, and Josh Berry round out the top five as the sun puts on a beautiful display.

Lap 260, Kyle Larson has continued to expand his lead and is now three and a half seconds in front of Bubba Wallace; Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, and Josh Berry round out the top five.

Chad Finchum has returned to the track 49 laps down.

Denny Hamlin has dropped to 20th; the last car on the lead lap.

Lap 265, Kyle Larson has a four second lead on Bubba Wallace; Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, and Josh Berry round out the top five.

Denny Hamlin has led 880 laps this season and has completed all but two laps this season.

Lap 268, Tyler Reddick passes Bubba Wallace for second.

Ty Gibbs and Josh Berry pass Bubba Wallace; putting him in fifth.

Denny Hamlin has just been passed and is now one lap down.

Christopher Bell and Bubba Wallace battle for fifth.

With 95 laps remaining in the race, Kyle Larson has a three and a half second lead on Tyler Reddick; Ty Gibbs, Josh Berry, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

Lap 277, green flag pit stops begin.

Lap 279, Kyle Larson’s lead over Tyler Reddick is now under three seconds as darkness takes over.

Lap 280, Kyle Larson makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Carson Hocevar.

Ryan Blaney is not happy with his car; saying he needs to be freed up big time.

Lap 281, Carson Hocevar makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Todd Gilliland.

Zane Snith spins out in a three wide battle with contact with Michael McDowell to bring out the caution flag.

The teams have 15 sets of tires for the race.

A few drivers come down pit road for fresh tires including leader Todd Gilliland who had yet to make a stop.

Kyle Larson retakes the lead of the race.

Denny Hamlin comes down pit road for repairs.

Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 290.  There are 14 cars taking the wave around.  Larsson jumps out in front with Tyler Reddick in second; Josh Berry, Christopher Bell, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

Lap 294, Josh Berry and Christopher Bell battle for third.

Kyle Larsson has a near one second lead on Tyler Reddick.

Lap 298, Christopher Bell passes Tyler Reddick for second.

Lap 300, Kyle Larsson has a lead of over a second and a half on Christopher Bell; Tyler Reddick, Josh Berry, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.

Lap 306, Kyle Larson has a lead of over a second and a half on Christopher Bell; Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe, and Josh Berry round out the top five with 18 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 311, Christopher Bell is very slowly closing the gap on leader Kyle Larson.  Larson’s lead is now down to just over a second.

Lap 314, Christopher Bell is now less than one second behind leader Kyle Larson.

William Byron brings out the caution flag on lap 317 after spinning out and smoking heavily as he slid sideways down the track.

Daniel Suarez is the “lucky dog”.

Drivers come down pit road for service with Christopher Bell winning the race off of pit road.

Smoke is pouring out of the left front of William Byron’s car.  Byron reported that it “just blew up” as he makes his way back to pit road.  William Byron’s team confirmed that the engine has “blown up”.

The expected bad weather has arrived with sprinkles and there are just 44 laps remaining in the race.

Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag restart with just 37 laps remaining in the race.  Teammates Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe battle for the lead.  Ty Gibbs is behind in third.

Chase Briscoe takes the lead with Christopher Bell in second; Ty Gibbs, Kyle Larson, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

William Byron and Chad Finchum are out of the race.

Tyler Reddick passes Chase Elliott for sixth.

The caution flag comes out with 32 laps to go for fluid on the track – possibly rain.

Confirmed rain in the area.

Drivers come down pit road with 30 laps remaining in the race.  NASCAR has red flagged the race.

After a five minute red flag condition, NASCAR has pulled the red flag and displayed the yellow flag as the cars get moving again.  Tyler Reddick is having trouble getting the car started and gets a push from Chase Elliott.  Bubba Wallace also has a starting issue and gets a push from Ryan Blaney.

With 28 laps remaining in the race, pit road is open and about half of the field makes a pit stop for fresh tires.

Chase Elliott almost left his pit stall early thinking they were only changing two tires instead of four.

After staying out on the track, Kyle Larson leads the race and brings the field down for the green flag restart with 24 laps remaining in the race.  Larson launches out in front and pulls away from the field.

The top five are Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs, and Chase Briscoe.

Christopher Bell passes Joey Logano for second.

Tyler Reddick battles with Chase Briscoe for fifth.

Chase Briscoe passes Joey Logano for fourth.

Twenty to go, Kyle Larson leads the race with Christopher Bell in second; Ty Gibbs, Chase Briscoe, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

With 18 to go, Christopher Bell battles with Kyle Larson for the lead.

Just 14 laps to go, the battle between Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell continues.  Larson is on old tires and Bell is on new tires.

Twelve to go, Christopher Bell takes the lead!

Christopher Bell got loose and Kyle Larson is on his bumper; Ty Gibbs on right behind.

Ten to go!  The top five are Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs, Chase Briscoe, and Tyler Reddick.

Ty Gibbs passes Kyle Larson for second.

Chase Briscoe gets into the wall but the track stays green.  Tyler Reddick passes Chase Briscoe for fourth.

Five to go, Christopher Bell has a one second lead on Ty Gibbs; Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

Christopher Bell takes the white flag!

After seven second place finishes, Christopher Bell finally gets a win at the Southern 500!

The unofficial results of the Cook Out Southern 500:
Christopher Bell
Ty Gibbs
Tyler Reddick
Ryan Blaney
Kyle Larson
Chase Briscoe
Josh Berry
Bubba Wallace
Joey Logano
Ryan Preece
Carson Hocevar
Alex Bowman
Austin Cindric
Chase Elliott
Erik Jones
Todd Gilliland
Michael McDowell
Denny Hamlin
Corey Heim
Chris Buescher
Daniel Suarez
AJ Allmendinger
Brad Keselowski
John Hunter Nemechek
Zane Smith
Shane van Gisbergen
Ross Chastain
Austin Hill
Austin Dillon
Riley Herbst
Ty Dillon
Noah Gragson
Cole Custer
Connor Zilisch
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Cody Ware
William Byron
Chad Finchum