Darlington - Cook Out Southern 500

Sunday, 6 September 2026 · Darlington Raceway, Darlington · 🇺🇸 United States

The Cook Out Southern 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series crown jewel race at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Since its inception in 1950, the event consists of 367 laps and 501 miles. Historically, the race has been held on Labor Day weekend. The Southern 500 is considered one of the crown jewels of the NASCAR calendar and since 2020 is usually the first race of the NASCAR Chase. Darlington is known for its asymmetrical layout with the first two turns having a wider radius than the last two, and due to its highly abrasive surface and asymmetrical shape, the track is often regarded as one of the toughest circuits on the NASCAR schedule and is nicknamed "Track Too Tough to Tame". The unique egg-shaped design came about because a property owner refused to sell land at the west end of the track.

Schedule

Start	Session	Date
05:00	Qualifying	5 Sep 2026	Finished
22:00	Cook Out Southern 500	6 Sep 2026	Finished

Start

Session

Date

05:00

Qualifying

5 Sep 2026

Finished

22:00

Cook Out Southern 500

6 Sep 2026

Finished

All times in Europe/London.

Where to watch

Start: 6 Sep 2026, 22:00 (Europe/London)

Broadcasters usually go on air 15 to 30 minutes before the start.

Sportdigital pay TV 🇩🇪 Germany Rennen live
Motorvision+ subscription 🇩🇪 Germany Rennen live und als Aufzeichnung

Tickets

Offizielle Tickets

Qualifying and starting grid

The qualifying result will appear here as soon as it is available.

Race result

#	Driver	Team	Points
1	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	73
2	Ty Gibbs	Joe Gibbs Racing	36
3	Tyler Reddick	23XI Racing	46
4	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	44
5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	41
6	Chase Briscoe	Joe Gibbs Racing	43
7	Josh Berry	Wood Brothers Racing	34
8	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing	44
9	Joey Logano	Team Penske	28
10	Ryan Preece	RFK Racing	31
11	Carson Hocevar	Spire Motorsports	26
12	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	25
13	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	28
14	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	23
15	Erik Jones	Legacy Motor Club	22
16	Todd Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	21
17	Michael McDowell	Spire Motorsports	20
18	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	35
19	Corey Heim	23XI Racing	0
20	Chris Buescher	RFK Racing	17
21	Daniel Suárez	Spire Motorsports	16
22	AJ Allmendinger	Kaulig Racing	15
23	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	14
24	John H. Nemechek	Legacy Motor Club	13
25	Zane Smith	Front Row Motorsports	12
26	Shane Van Gisbergen	Trackhouse Racing	11
27	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing	10
28	Austin Hill	Richard Childress Racing	0
29	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	8
30	Riley Herbst	23XI Racing	7
31	Ty Dillon	Kaulig Racing	6
32	Noah Gragson	Front Row Motorsports	5
33	Cole Custer	Haas Factory Team	4
34	Connor Zilisch	Trackhouse Racing	3
35	Ricky Stenhouse Jr	HYAK Motorsports	2
36	Cody Ware	Rick Ware Racing	1
37	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	6
38	Chad Finchum	Garage 66	0

Drivers' standings 2026

#	Driver	Team	Points	Wins
1	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	1.233	5
2	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	1.115	3
3	Ty Gibbs	Joe Gibbs Racing	1.026	2
4	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	1.015	3
5	Chase Briscoe	Joe Gibbs Racing	1.011	3
6	Tyler Reddick	23XI Racing	1.010	5
7	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	990	1
8	Joey Logano	Team Penske	884	5
9	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	826	0
10	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	812	2
11	Carson Hocevar	Spire Motorsports	801	1
12	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	799	0
13	Daniel Suárez	Spire Motorsports	787	1
14	Ryan Preece	RFK Racing	783	1
15	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing	777	0
16	Chris Buescher	RFK Racing	769	0
17	Shane Van Gisbergen	Trackhouse Racing	711	2
18	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing	626	0
19	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	624	0
20	Michael McDowell	Spire Motorsports	599	0
21	Todd Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	570	0
22	Erik Jones	Legacy Motor Club	566	0
23	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	541	0
24	AJ Allmendinger	Kaulig Racing	527	0
25	Josh Berry	Wood Brothers Racing	527	0
26	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	492	0
27	Zane Smith	Front Row Motorsports	477	0
28	John H. Nemechek	Legacy Motor Club	465	0
29	Ricky Stenhouse Jr	HYAK Motorsports	458	0
30	Riley Herbst	23XI Racing	443	0
31	Noah Gragson	Front Row Motorsports	392	0
32	Cole Custer	Haas Factory Team	390	0
33	Ty Dillon	Kaulig Racing	338	0
34	Connor Zilisch	Trackhouse Racing	320	0
35	Cody Ware	Rick Ware Racing	221	0
36	Kyle Busch	Richard Childress Racing	188	0
37	Casey Mears	Beard Motorsports	11	0
38	Kevin Magnussen	Trackhouse Racing	11	0
39	Jimmie Johnson	Legacy Motor Club	9	0
40	Katherine Legge	Live Fast Motorsports	8	0

Teams' standings 2026

#	Team	Points	Wins
1	Joe Gibbs Racing	4.260	11
2	Hendrick Motorsports	3.118	5
3	Team Penske	2.825	8
4	23XI Racing	2.230	7
5	Spire Motorsports	2.187	2
6	RFK Racing	2.176	1
7	Trackhouse Racing	1.668	2
8	Front Row Motorsports	1.439	0
9	Legacy Motor Club	1.040	0
10	Kaulig Racing	865	0
11	Richard Childress Racing	729	0
12	Wood Brothers Racing	527	0
13	HYAK Motorsports	458	0
14	Haas Factory Team	390	0
15	Rick Ware Racing	221	0
16	Live Fast Motorsports	11	0
17	Garage 66	6	0
18	Beard Motorsports	5	0
19	NY Racing Team	4	0

Back to the day Official site

About this race

On Sunday, 6 September 2026, Darlington - Cook Out Southern 500 was on the NASCAR Cup Series calendar. It was held at Darlington Raceway.

The circuit is located in Darlington, United States and measures 2.202 kilometres, has 4 corners and opened in 1950.

Darlington Raceway has an asymmetric egg shape caused by a fish pond. Brushing the wall earns drivers the famous Darlington Stripe.

Christopher Bell (Joe Gibbs Racing) took the win ahead of Ty Gibbs. The full result is listed further up this page.

Coverage comes from 2 providers, listed in the broadcast section.

Frequently asked questions

When does Darlington - Cook Out Southern 500 start?

Darlington - Cook Out Southern 500 starts on Sunday, 6 September 2026 at 22:00 central European time.

Where does Darlington - Cook Out Southern 500 take place?

The venue is Darlington Raceway in Darlington.

Where can I watch Darlington - Cook Out Southern 500?

In Germany Sportdigital, Motorvision+ carry the broadcast.

Who won Darlington - Cook Out Southern 500?

Christopher Bell took the win for Joe Gibbs Racing.

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