NASCAR

NASCAR at Darlington: Schedule, watch info, favorites for Southern 500

The NASCAR regular season will conclude with the fourth and final crown jewel event of 2024, set for Sunday at Darlington Raceway on USA Network.

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The first race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season kicks off Feb. 18. Here are the keys dates for the upcoming season.v

It all comes down to this.

The 2024 NASCAR regular season will conclude this weekend with one of the sport’s crown jewel events at Darlington Raceway.

For the 75th time, man and machine will be tested at “The Track Too Tough to Tame” with the running of the Southern 500. The egg-shaped oval has been the site of many historic NASCAR races, from Jeff Gordon’s record six wins to Kyle Larson’s first triumph last year.

So, who is racing at Darlington? What’s the schedule for TV and streaming? And which drivers could contend for the win? Here’s everything you need to know for 2024 Cook Out Southern 500:

NASCAR Southern 500 entry list, drivers

Thirty-seven drivers will race in Darlington – the 34 full-timers, plus three others.

Shane van Gisbergen, who was recently announced as a full-time Cup driver next season, will make his sixth start of this year for Kaulig Racing. Elsewhere, Kaz Grala is back in the No. 15 car for Rick Ware Racing and Timmy Hill will drive the No. 66 for MBM Motorsports.

Here’s the full entry list for Darlington:

Car numberDriverTeamSponsor
1Ross ChastainTrackhouse RacingBusch Beer
2Austin CindricTeam PenskeDiscount Tire
3Austin DillonRichard Childress RacingToys for Tots
4Josh BerryStewart-Haas RacingOverstock
5Kyle LarsonHendrick MotorsportsHendrickCars.com
6Brad KeselowskiRFK RacingSolomon Plumbing
7Corey LaJoieSpire MotorsportsChili's
8Kyle BuschRichard Childress RacingMorgan & Morgan
9Chase ElliottHendrick MotorsportsNAPA Auto Parts
10Noah GragsonStewart-Haas RacingBass Pro Shops
11Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingSport Clips
12Ryan BlaneyTeam PenskeMenards
14Chase BriscoeStewart-Haas RacingHighPoint.com
15Kaz GralaRick Ware RacingMeat N' Bone
16Shane van GisbergenKaulig RacingAcceptance Insurance
17Chris BuescherRFK RacingBuildSubmarines.com
19Martin Truex Jr.Joe Gibbs RacingBass Pro Shops
20Christopher BellJoe Gibbs RacingRheem
21Harrison BurtonWood Brothers RacingMotorcraft
22Joey LoganoTeam PenskeShell/Pennzoil
23Bubba Wallace23XI RacingU.S. Air Force
24William ByronHendrick MotorsportsLiberty University
31Daniel HemricKaulig RacingCirkul
34Michael McDowellFront Row MotorsportsColortech
38Todd GillilandFront Row MotorsportsLong John Silver's
41Ryan PreeceStewart-Haas RacingHaas Tooling
42John Hunter NemechekLegacy Motor ClubMobil 1
43Erik JonesLegacy Motor ClubDollar Tree
45Tyler Reddick23XI RacingUpper Deck
47Ricky Stenhouse Jr.JTG Daugherty RacingKroger
48Alex BowmanHendrick MotorsportsAlly
51Justin HaleyRick Ware RacingNC Fraternal Order of Police
54Ty GibbsJoe Gibbs RacingMonster Energy
66Timmy HillMBM MotorsportsW
71Zane SmithSpire MotorsportsFocused Health
77Carson HocevarSpire MotorsportsBon Secours/Swamp Rabbits
99Daniel SuarezTrackhouse RacingFreeway Insurance
2024 Cook Out Southern 500 entry list

When is the NASCAR race in Darlington?

The Cook Out Southern 500 is set for Sunday, Sept. 1, at 6 p.m. ET.

Before the race, there will be practice and qualifying sessions on Saturday. The 37 drivers will be split into two groups (found here) with each group getting 20 minutes of free practice.

Then, the field will compete in two-round qualifying. Here’s how it works:

  • The two practice groups will remain the same for qualifying.
  • Each driver will make one lap in the first round, with the five fastest drivers in each group advancing.
  • In the final round, the remaining drivers each get one lap to set the top 10 starting order. The fastest driver overall will start on the pole, the fastest driver in the other group will start second.
  • Positions 3 through 10 are set on final round times – Group A filling the even-numbered positions (4th, 6th, 8th, 10th), Group B filling the odd-numbered positions (3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th).
  • Positions 11 through 37 are set based on first round times – Group A filling the even-numbered positions, Group B filling the odd-numbered positions.

What is the NASCAR TV schedule this weekend?

Leigh Diffey (play-by-play), Jeff Burton (analyst) and Steve Letarte (analyst) will be on the call for NBC Sports all weekend. Here’s the full TV and streaming schedule:

Saturday, Aug. 30 (USA Network and streaming)

Sunday, Sept. 1 (USA Network and streaming)

NASCAR playoff standings entering Darlington

There are still three playoff spots up for grabs entering the final regular season race, with 13 spots being filled by winners this season:

RankDriver2024 race wins
1.Kyle Larson4
2.William Byron3
3.Christopher Bell3
4.Denny Hamlin3
5.Tyler Reddick2
6.Ryan Blaney2
7.Chase Elliott1
8.Brad Keselowski1
9.Alex Bowman1
10.Joey Logano1
11.Daniel Suarez1
12.Austin Cindric1
13.Harrison Burton1

The final three spots will be filled by any driver who can win at Darlington. Since there won’t be 16 different winners in the regular season, the remaining spots will be filled based on points. Here’s how the points stack up for winless drivers:

RankDriverPoints above/below cutline
14.Martin Truex Jr.+58 points
15.Ty Gibbs+39 points
16.Chris Buescher+21 points
17.Bubba Wallace-21 points
18.Ross Chastain-27 points

A driver can make up a maximum of 54 points in a race without winning (second-place finish and two stage wins is 55 points, last-place is one point), so the following drivers are too far back to make the playoffs on points. Here are the drivers facing a must-win situation:

RankDriver
19.Kyle Busch
20.Chase Briscoe
21.Todd Gilliland
22.Carson Hocevar
23.Michael McDowell
24.Josh Berry
25.Noah Gragson
26.Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
27.Erik Jones
28.Ryan Preece
29.Daniel Hemric
30.Austin Dillon
31.Justin Haley
32.John Hunter Nemechek
33.Corey LaJoie
34.Zane Smith

NASCAR Darlington winners list, race history

Eight of the 37 drivers in the field are past winners at Darlington.

Hamlin leads the way with four victories in South Carolina, including three Southern 500 trophies. Truex (2016, 2021), Jones (2019, 2022) and Keselowski (2018, 2024) are the other drivers with multiple Darlington wins.

Drivers with one Darlington win include Busch (2008), Logano (2022), Byron (2023) and Larson (2023), who won the Southern 500 last year.

Darlington predictions, picks, favorites

It takes a special combination to win at Darlington – from driver skill to car handling and even a little bit of luck.

With all that being said, the best of the best usually prevail in this crown jewel event. In 14 of the last 17 Southern 500 races, the winner has had at least 25 career victories – typically a benchmark to making the Hall of Fame.

So, who does that leave us with? Hamlin (54 career wins) will surely be a factor, as he typically is when the series rolls into Darlington. His 8.3 average finish over 24 career starts at Darlington leads all active drivers by nearly three spots.

Keselowski, who won at Darlington in May and has 36 career victories, also figures to be a contender. He owns a 10.9 average finish in 21 starts at the track, second only to Hamlin.

Other challengers could include Larson (defending winner, 27 career wins), Reddick (264 laps led over the last two Darlington races) and Truex (34 career wins, making his final Darlington start before retirement).

Some longshots to monitor are Jones, who has two Southern 500 wins but is driving for the struggling Legacy Motor Club, and Gibbs, who finished second to Keselowski in May.

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