Nick GrayNashville Tennessean
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The NASCAR Cup Series regular season ends Sunday with the Cook Out Southern 500 at the Darlington Raceway.
Follow along with our live race updates, with green flag set for after 5 p.m. CT at Darlington.
SOUTHERN 500 PICKS: NASCAR Darlington predictions 2024: Expert picks for Cup Series race
THE GREAT AMERICAN BOOK:Celebrate a fast-paced history of the Daytona 500 with new book; foreword by Richard Petty
NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington: Live updates, highlights, live leaderboard for the Southern 500
LIVE LEADERBOARD:Full field leaderboard of NASCAR Cup Series Southern 500 at Darlington
NASCAR Darlington news, stories
RESULTS: Who won NASCAR Cup race in Darlington? Winner is Chase Briscoe, plus full results
WHO IS IN? NASCAR Cup Series playoffs: Which 16 drivers made NASCAR Cup playoff field
PLAYOFF PICTURE: NASCAR Cup Series points standings after Darlington
TRUEX IN: Martin Truex Jr. clinches NASCAR playoff spot in final season despite early Darlington wreck
BUBBA OUT: Bubba Wallace misses NASCAR playoff spot after late wreck; Chase Briscoe wins Darlington
Tyler Reddick wins regular season championship by one point
Kyle Larson finishes 4th, while Tyler Reddick finishes in 10th. Reddick uses up all of the seven-point cushion and wins the regular-season title by one point over Larson. Reddick gets the 15 playoff points. What a dramatic finish all over the grid on Sunday.
No doubt that Larson's decision to race the Indy 500 over the Coca-Cola 600 is the biggest empirical factor in costing him the regular season title, but there's a point here and there in nearly every race.
Chase Briscoe wins! He's in the Cup Series playoffs!
Chase Briscoe holds off Kyle Busch by a car-length or two to win the Southern 500 and make the playoffs!
Busch will have two bitter runner-up finishes in the final two regular season races to consider. Unbelievable drama in these post-break races.
"I love you guys!" Briscoe wails on the radio.
Ty Gibbs is in the playoffs on the final wild card berth. Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain are out the playoffs.
Buescher misses out by six points.
Lap 357: Chase Briscoe managing the lead
Chase Briscoe continues to lead by about 0.3 seconds over Kyle Busch. Winner is in the playoffs!
Lap 350: Here comes Kyle Busch on new tires!
Kyle Busch rockets through the top 10 on new tires. He settles in within a second of leader Chase Briscoe in second.
Lap 345: Bubba Wallace, Ty Gibbs in multi-car crash
Josh Berry, Denny Hamlin and William Byron end up three-wide into turn 1, and that doesn't work in Darlington. Berry and Byron spin, collecting Bubba Wallace, Ty Gibbs, Austin Dillon, Noah Gragson and more.
That could be it for Wallace, though he is able to keep moving and is on the lead lap.
Ross Chastain and Kyle Busch are among those who pit.
Lap 342: Chase Briscoe to the lead!
Ross Chastain is the only car on old tires, so he leads the restart. He only makes it to the third turn before Kyle Larson looks below....and Chase Briscoe dives below both of them to take the lead! Wow!
Lap 337: Bubba Wallace fading, but caution might save him
Bubba Wallace, on older tires, fades to 13th on this run. Kyle Larson continues to feel the heat from Chase Briscoe for the lead.
Wallace is not happy on the radio with the current predicament. But, the caution is out for Carson Hocevar in the wall. Big issue with the right-front tire.
Surely everyone comes in this time?
Lap 321: Todd Gilliland turned by Chris Buescher
Chris Buescher turns Todd Gilliland after some physical racing down the backstretch. Buescher comes in to pit along with several others. Bubba Wallace stays out and might lose positions.
Lap 315: Carson Hocevar spins, caution is out
Carson Hocevar spins off of turn 4 as Ross Chastain comes down pit road. Chastain will end up a lap down and will have to take the wave-around. Not good for his chances.
Lap 310: Chris Buescher fading late in runs
Again Chris Buescher is fading late in a tire run, sliding back to 16th with the final stop looming in 10-12 laps. Bubba Wallace is in 7th. Buescher led Wallace by 11 points coming into the final stage.
Buescher tells his team they need to be a little tighter.
Lap 300: Denny Hamlin to P2
Denny Hamlin, on newer tires, has made quick work of the top 10, passing Chase Briscoe for second. Hamlin is 3 seconds off of leader Kyle Larson.
Lap 260: Kyle Larson pulling away
Chase Briscoe is falling back from Kyle Larson, with Briscoe telling his team that his car is as free as its been all day.
"How much longer do I have to go?" Briscoe asks. The 14 team tells him 10-12 laps.
Lap 240: Christopher Bell gets a little more than a Darlington stripe
Christopher Bell slides up against the wall early in the run. He's now back to 9th. Kyle Larson leads Chase Briscoe by a few car-lengths.
NASCAR playoff picture heading into final stage
Kyle Larson made up 10 points on Tyler Reddick for the regular season championship and is now -7. If Larson wins, Reddick must finish third or better to secure the regular season title. Chase Elliott has not been good today, currently a lap down and with no good feel of the car per his radio comments.
Chris Buescher leads Bubba Wallace by 11 points and Ross Chastain by 28 points. Chastain is all but must-win now. Buescher faded late in Stage 2 to miss out on stage points.
Those numbers are regardless of current running position.
Martin Truex Jr. finally locks into the playoffs
Martin Truex Jr. is in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs as the first to lock in via regular season points. He'll need to record much better results in September than in the summer, but he has the speed.
Kyle Larson wins Stage 2
Kyle Larson cruises to the stage victory and a further push for the regular season championship.
The top 10:
- Kyle Larson
- Chase Briscoe
- Denny Hamlin
- William Byron
- Christopher Bell
- Ty Gibbs
- Josh Berry
- Tyler Reddick
- Bubba Wallace
- Brad Keselowski
Lap 193: Kyle Larson continues to use pit cycles to pad lead
Chase Briscoe was within a half-second of Kyle Larson for the lead before the start of the pit cycle. After, his lead is 1.7 seconds.
Lap 173: Updates all across the leaderboard
- Kyle Larson's lead is down to 1.5 seconds ahead of Chase Briscoe.
- Bubba Wallace tells his team he needs grip "in all four corners".
- Ty Gibbs stripes the wall.
- Pit stops will begin again in 10-12 laps.
Lap 157: Pit stop No. 1 in stage 2 is complete
Kyle Larson appears to be in complete control, leading Chase Briscoe by 3.1 seconds. Christopher Bell hopscotches Tyler Reddick for third during the cycle.
Chris Buescher is in 10th, right on the cusp. Bubba Wallace has slipped to seventh, but his radio is silent. Long way to go.
Martin Truex Jr. will clinch playoff spot if Chris Buescher doesn't earn Stage 2 points
Martin Truex Jr. will clinch a playoff spot if Chris Buescher doesn't earn points in Stage 2. Truex leads Buescher in the points standings by 36 points, and only a win would vault Buescher ahead of Truex if Buescher doesn't earn another stage point. Buescher is in anyway with a win, and Truex clears Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain as long as either Wallace or Chastain doesn't win.
Lap 125: Kyle Larson leads Chase Briscoe and Tyler Reddick
Kyle Larson gets the jump, but Chase Briscoe vaults into second and holds off a Tyler Reddick move to the inside into turn 1. Briscoe now wants the lead.
Tyler Reddick is sick
Tyler Reddick tells his team that he is not feeling well, and his team has two bags and a drink to give to him during the next pit stop. He's been complaining since about halfway through the stage. He has Tums and other medicine to take.
Reddick tells his team that he dropped the pills to the floor. The team will prepare a water bottle with the necessary medicine mixed in. He did take the Tums and the smallest pill, but not the others.
Kyle Larson wins Stage 1
Kyle Larson wins Stage 1 as Bubba Wallace keeps Chase Briscoe at arm's length for second. The top 10:
- Kyle Larson
- Bubba Wallace
- Chase Briscoe
- Tyler Reddick
- Christopher Bell
- Denny Hamlin
- Ty Gibbs
- William Byron
- Josh Berry
- Chris Buescher
Buescher passed teammate Brad Keselowski late to pick up that stage point.
Lap 93: Chase Briscoe to P3
Chase Briscoe passes Tyler Reddick for third, and his team tells him to go get Bubba Wallace for second. He has about 1.1 seconds of ground to make up. Briscoe is in a must-win situation, exacerbated by Stewart-Haas Racing not having any driver locked into the playoffs at the moment.
Lap 82: Kyle Larson continues to lead after second round of stops
Kyle Larson is still about 2.5 seconds ahead of Bubba Wallace after the second round of pit stops, with Tyler Reddick in third. Wallace reports a tight race car, though he is OK with how it is driving overall.
Lap 67: Playoff picture update
Regarding the regular-season championship picture, as they run:
- Kyle Larson is 1st
- Tyler Reddick is 3rd
- Chase Elliott is 15th
As for the wild card picture:
- Bubba Wallace: 2nd
- Ty Gibbs: 8th
- Chris Buescher: 11th
- Ross Chastain: 13th
- Martin Truex Jr.: 36th
Pit stop No. 2 of the stage is upcoming.
Lap 50: Kyle Larson is in control after pit stops
Kyle Larson gets the advantage on the first round of green flag stops, leading Bubba Wallace by two seconds. Chase Briscoe appears to have a strong Ford in third.
Lap 42: Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch tease one-stop strategy in the stage but pit
Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch tease a one-stop strategy in the first stage, but it's clear they would have been at risk to lose a lap if the race remained green. The new tire-old tire lap difference is at about 1.5-2 seconds depending on the lap, so the math tracks out.
But Busch and Hamlin do pit at Lap 42. Busch brushed the wall off of turn 2 to earn a Darlington stripe before his stop.
The lone one-stop drive right now? Shane van Gisbergen.
Lap 35: First green flag stops underway
Joey Logano is among the first to come down pit road, and Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson come down a lap later. Several drivers were hoping for new tires on the radio, including Carson Hocevar who had slipped from 4th to 9th and complained about right-side tire wear.
Lap 25: Bubba Wallace continues to lead by a couple car lengths
It continues to be 23XI Racing teammates Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick separated by about three-tenths of a second for the lead. 115 laps in the first stage, so likely looking at a minimum of two stops before stage end.
Denny Hamlin appears to be generally satisfied with his car early. Ross Chastain reports his No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet is loose through the corners.
Couple teams are talking about the merits of one stop vs. two stops in the stage.
Lap 10: Back to green
Bubba Wallace gets clear of Kyle Larson and teammate Tyler Reddick on the restart, but Reddick is on the hunt.
Ryan Blaney tells the TV broadcast that he is OK.
Martin Truex in his post-wreck interview: "It was clearly my fault."
Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney crash!
Martin Truex Jr. slips while racing William Byron, gets on the brake and runs into Ryan Blaney, with both into the wall with significant damage. Wow.
Both cars are out of the race. Truex will leave it up to the results in the next 357 laps as to whether or not he makes the playoffs in his final full season. He entered the day 58 points ahead of 17th in the standings but will finish in 36th.
Two of the Southern 500 favorites are done inside of the first five laps of the event.
Blaney was complaining of pain to his wrist or hand as he exited the car. Something to monitor heading into the playoffs.
Lap 1: Green flag!
Towels are flying in the stands as the green flag waves for the Southern 500. Bubba Wallace clears for the lead, with Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick passing Carson Hocevar.
Engines have fired!
About ready to go at Darlington for the Southern 500. We'll bring updated points totals after each stage based on what the relevant drivers earned in the stage.
There are going to be at least a couple disappointed race teams at the end of the night.
Daniel Suarez fired up late and left pit road at least a pace lap behind, but he will retain his starting position. His team believes the issue is fixed.
Bubba Wallace on the pole; full NASCAR Cup Series Southern 500 in Darlington starting lineup
Bubba Wallace is on the pole after winning the session on Saturday, an important first step toward a much-needed good weekend.
The top 10:
- Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
- Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
- Chase Briscoe, No. 14Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
- Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
- Ryan Blaney, No. 12Team Penske Ford
- William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Christopher Bell, No. 20Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- ChrisBuescher, No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
Find thefull starting lineuphere.
NASCAR race radio coverage: How to listen to NASCAR Cup race at Darlington
The Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway will be aired on the radio by the Motor Racing Network. MRN has affiliates all across the country, and their feed can also be streamed onNASCAR.comas well as the NASCAR app. The race can also be heard on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
NASCAR Cup Series Darlington race TV schedule, start time
- Green Flag Time:Approx. 5 p.m. CT on Sunday, September 1
- TV coverage:USA Network (Watch FREE on Fubo)
- Radio: Motor Racing Network (102.5 FM in Nashville)
- Streaming:FUBO(free trial available); NBC Sports app (subscription required); NASCAR.com and SiriusXM for audio (subscription required).
The Southern 500 will be broadcast nationally on USA Network. Streaming options for the race include the NBC Sports app andFUBO, which offers afree trialto potential subscribers.
Recent NASCAR Cup Series winners at Darlington
- 2024 spring: Brad Keselwoski
- 2023 Southern 500:Kyle Larson
- 2023 spring:William Byron
- 2022 Southern 500:Erik Jones
- 2022 spring:Joey Logano
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