Cook Out Southern 500 Tag

DARLINGTON, S.C. – Basketball great Michael Jordan sat on the Darlington (S.C.) Raceway pit wall Sunday night watching his 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace contend for a 2024 Playoff position in the late laps of the regular season finale, Cook Out Southern 500. Jordan had offered philosophical advice for the all-important evening and shown his support for the 30-year-old talent all year. A little farther down pit road, Chris Buescher’s Roush Fenway Keselowski team was equally on edge having rallied and delivered all night for its driver – despite tryingRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C.—Chase Briscoe took the checkered flag in Sunday Night’s Cook Out Southern 500 and simultaneously broke three hearts. Ending a 73-race winless streak for moribund Stewart-Haas Racing, Briscoe foiled Kyle Larson, who led 263 of 367 laps and won the first two stages but finished fourth and lost the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season title to Tyler Reddick by a single point. With the second victory of his career and his first since March 2022 at Phoenix, Briscoe eliminated Chris Buescher from the Playoffs. In aRead More

By Holly Cain and Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C.— The margin between the last driver currently eligible for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs and the first driver out is a mere 21 points. But that could change as quickly as a Cup car can pick up a “Darlington stripe” in Sunday night’s regular-season finale, the Cook Out Southern 500 at historic Darlington Raceway (6 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). At the conclusion of Sunday’s race, 16 drivers will have claimed Playoff spots. Heading into the race, 13 have wonRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C. – Offering up a fist pump and big smile, Bubba Wallace claimed perhaps the most consequential pole position of his young career – turning in the fastest lap in the final round of NASCAR Cup Series qualifying for Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (6 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Wallace’s lap of 167.143 mph in the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota Saturday afternoon puts him out front to start the 500-miler at the historic 1.366-mile Darlington track. And it’sRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C. — Welcome back, Kyle Larson.  The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion held off a desperate charge from fellow Playoff driver Tyler Reddick at sold-out Darlington Raceway to claim victory in Sunday night’s Cook Out Southern 500 and earn an automatic berth in the Round of 12.  Larson entered the Playoff opener with an undistinguished average finish of 17.5 in his previous six races, but he weathered a transmission momentary stuck in neutral and a disconcerting brush with the wall to register hisRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C. – After edging Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin by .026 seconds in Saturday’s time trials, Christopher Bell will lead the field to green in the first NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race of 2023—Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway (6 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).  Bell navigated the venerable 1.366-mile speedway in 29.065 seconds (169.193 mph) to claim his third Busch Light Pole Award in the last eight races and first at the Track Too ToughRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C. – In a race that had more twists and turns than a Victorian melodrama, Erik Jones put the vaunted No. 43 Chevrolet back in Victory Lane for the first time since 2014.   In a remarkable run to the finish in the season’s first NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race, Jones held off Denny Hamlin in a 20-lap run to the finish to win the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway for the second time.   The Sunday night race took its toll onRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Kevin Harvick has had enough. The safety of the Next Gen car in the NASCAR Cup Series has been a common topic during its inaugural season on track and Sunday night at Darlington Raceway, safety was back at the forefront again. Harvick, who was running inside the top-five with less than 100 laps remaining in the Cook Out Southern 500, suddenly had fire erupting from under the right-front wheel well as he ran down the frontstretch. As he drove into Turn 1, the fire grew largerRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C. – Déjà vu will be just fine for Joey Logano.  The driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford won the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series spring event at Darlington Raceway from the pole.  After edging Christopher Bell for the top starting position in Saturday’s time trials, Logano will have a chance to repeat the feat in Sunday’s Playoff opener, the Cook Out Southern 500 (6 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).  In the final round of qualifying, Logano negotiatedRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor After a wild weekend in Daytona to wrap up the regular season and set the 16-driver field for the Playoffs, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to one of the crown jewels on the circuit, Darlington Raceway, for Sunday’s running of the Cook Out Southern 500. A staple of the Cup Series since 1950, there are many elements to Darlington that make it a special track. From the egg-shape of the track that features one end narrower than the other as a result of building the trackRead More