Following Ryan Blaney's thrilling drive from 13th to first in the closing laps at Daytona, the NASCAR Cup Series is at Darlington Raceway on Sunday for the running of the Cook Out Southern 500. This will be the playoff opener, officially kicking off the 10-race postseason stretch to crown a champion.
Regular-season champion William Byron and Kyle Larson (+26) are tied atop the standings with Hamlin (+23) and Blaney (+20) having a decent cushion to begin the playoffs. Josh Berry (-1), Tyler Reddick (-1), Austin Dillon (-2) and Alex Bowman (-5) are the four drivers below the cutline entering Darlington. With the tightest playoff field in history, there is not much breathing room for any driver heading to The Lady in Black.
So, let's dive right into the Cook Out Southern 500 with the starting lineup as well as all the info about the TV broadcast, start time and more that fans need to know ahead of the green flag.
Cook Out Southern 500 starting lineup: Full NASCAR Cup Series qualifying results
Here's a look at the NASCAR Cup Series qualifying results at Darlington Raceway and the starting lineup as a result:
Cook Out Southern 500 Starting Position | NASCAR Cup Series Driver |
|---|---|
1st | Denny Hamlin |
2nd | Chase Briscoe |
3rd | Josh Berry |
4th | Tyler Reddick |
5th | Kyle Larson |
6th | Ross Chastain |
7th | Christopher Bell |
8th | Bubba Wallace |
9th | Austin Dillon |
10th | Austin Cindric |
11th | William Byron |
12th | Ryan Blaney |
13th | Justin Haley |
14th | Joey Logano |
15th | Chris Buescher |
16th | Ty Gibbs |
17th | Daniel Suarez |
18th | Cole Custer |
19th | Erik Jones |
20th | Shane van Gisbergen |
21st | Chase Elliott |
22nd | AJ Allmendinger |
23rd | Kyle Busch |
24th | Zane Smith |
25th | Michael McDowell |
26th | Carson Hocevar |
27th | Ryan Preece |
28th | Todd Gilliland |
29th | Alex Bowman |
30th | John Hunter Nemechek |
31st | Ty Dillon |
32nd | Brad Keselowski |
33rd | Riley Herbst |
34th | Noah Gragson |
35th | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
36th | Cody Ware |
37th | Derek Kraus |
38th | Timmy Hill |
With a time of 28.694 seconds (171.381 mph), Hamlin is on the pole at Darlington. It is Hamlin's second pole at Darlington, his second of the 2025 season and the 45th of his career. He is also the first driver to reach 40 poles in a Toyota.
Hamlin edged out his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe for the top spot by 0.021 seconds, preventing him from becoming the first driver to win the pole for all four of NASCAR's crown jewels in a single season. Rounding out the top 10 are Berry, Reddick, Larson, Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, Austin Dillon and Austin Cindric. Playoff drivers outside the top 10 include Byron (11th), Blaney (12th), Joey Logano (14th), Shane van Gisbergen (20th), Chase Elliott (21st) and Bowman (29th).
NASCAR race start time: When does the Cook Out Southern 500 green flag wave?
Sunday's Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway is scheduled to begin shortly after 6 p.m. ET. According to AccuWeather, the temperature is forecasted to reach 80 degrees during the day, dropping to around 70 degrees by the end of the race with clear conditions.
Cook Out Southern 500 stages explained
Cook Out Southern 500 Stage | Lap Number When Points Awarded |
|---|---|
Stage 1 | 115 |
Stage 2 | 230 |
Final Stage | 367 |
For those who don't know, most of the points for the season-long NASCAR Cup Series standings will be awarded for the final stage. Stages 1 and 2, though, give teams two additional opportunities to score points, as well as extra breaks for pit stops (and for the TV product, commercial breaks).
Ten points go to the stage winners, and the remainder of the top 10 receive points in decreasing order with the 10th-place finisher getting one point. The stage victories and additional points will continue to prove valuable, especially in a tight playoff field where points will be at a premium.
Cook Out Southern 500 TV channel, broadcast and streaming info
The NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway on Sunday will be broadcast on USA Network with the pre-race coverage of the Cook Out Southern 500 beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET. Fans can also catch the race on MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App and streaming on HBO Max.