The NASCAR Cup Series regular season wraps up Sunday evening at South Carolina's Darlington Raceway with one of the series' crown jewel events, the Cook Out Southern 500. We'll find out who will be crowned regular season champion, who will secure the final playoff spots, and who will join the record books as a Southern 500 winner.
Date: Sunday, September 1
Track: Darlington Raceway (Darlington, South Carolina)
Time: 6 p.m. ET
TV: USA Network
Weekend Schedule
Date | Time | Session | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
Sat., Aug. 31 | 12:35 p.m. ET | Practice | USA Network |
Sat., Aug. 31 | 1:20 p.m. ET | Qualifying | USA Network |
Sun., Sep. 1 | 6 p.m. ET | Cook Out Southern 500 | USA Network |
Southern 500 Sets This Year's Playoff Grid
Typically, the Cook Out Southern 500 serves as the first race of NASCAR's Playoffs, opening the Round of 16. However, this year's shift in the schedule with an Olympic Break makes the Southern 500 the regular season finale.
Following the co*ke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, three spots remain for drivers to make the playoff field on points. Harrison Burton's last-lap pass for the win punched his playoff ticket, earning the 100th NASCAR Cup Series win for Wood Brothers Racing.
Currently, Chris Buescher sits 21 points ahead of Bubba Wallace and 27 points ahead of Ross Chastain for the final playoff spot, which means he'll have to be mindful of keeping that advantage over Wallace and Chastain. However, Buescher must also go on the offensive in the case of a new winner taking another playoff spot.
If that happens, Buescher needs to erase an 18-point deficit to Ty Gibbs in order to make the playoffs. Unless, of course, Buescher can win his way into the playoffs - which he nearly did during the Goodyear 400 at Darlington earlier this year before a late-race scuffle with Tyler Reddick.
Speaking of Reddick, he leads the regular season point standings by 17 points over last year's Southern 500 winner, Kyle Larson. While the regular season championship is often overlooked, it offers a crucial 15 playoff points which could be invaluable towards working your way through the postseason.
As far as popping the playoff bubble with a new winner, there are several drivers who could score the walk-off win. Kyle Busch and Erik Jones are both former Southern 500 winners looking for wins. Ty Gibbs finished second to Brad Keselowski in the Goodyear 400 in May, with Josh Berry finishing third.
A Labor Day Tradition Continues at Darlington
With a history dating back to 1950 when Johnny Mantz won the inaugural Southern 500, the event is one of the most storied in all of NASCAR. From 1950 until 2003, the Southern 500 was a Labor Day fixture on the NASCAR schedule. The event returned to the traditional Labor Day date in 2015, and has remained there ever since.
With Darlington's unique egg-shaped layout, unforgiving racing surface and the demands of 500 miles on Labor Day weekend in South Carolina, the Southern 500 is one of NASCAR's toughest races to win. That is reflected in the list of race winners, with Jeff Gordon (6), Cale Yarborough (5) and Bobby Allison (4) leading the way.
Among active drivers, Denny Hamlin has the most Southern 500 victories. Hamlin won the event in 2010, 2017 and 2021. Erik Jones is a two-time winner, taking the checkered flag in 2019 and 2022.
"Locked-In" Drivers Can Focus On Southern 500 Victory
While teams on the playoff bubble will be carefully calculating every point, the 13 drivers who have wins in the 2024 season can set their sights on winning the Cook Out Southern 500. This will be a relatively new feeling for playoff veterans who have grown accustomed to starting the postseason at "The Track Too Tough to Tame."
Christopher Bell, with three wins to his credit this season, noted this week that he believes moving the Southern 500 out of the playoffs will lead to an even more intense battle for the win. Without the pressure to accrue points to open the postseason, more drivers will be willing to take chances to win a crown jewel event in his estimation.
"It is actually nice to have the Southern 500 out of the Playoffs,"Bell said in a Tuesday Zoom media conference. "The Southern 500 is obviously a really, really big deal. It's a crown jewel event, but with it being the first race of the Playoffs like it was the last couple of years, it did feel like you had to be a little bit cautious racing that event because points are so important. Whereas, now, with it being the regular season finale and not in the Playoffs, I do feel like we can be a little more aggressive and try and go all-out for a race win in a crown jewel."
The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series schedule was unveiled on Thursday, confirming the Southern 500 will return to the playoffs next year. Thus, this will be a one-time chance for drivers who believe like Bell they can go for the win without worrying about points.
