Kraus Among 38 Entries on NASCAR Cup Series Southern 500 Entry List

Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs are set to begin with Sunday's Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. On Monday afternoon, the sanctioning body revealed a 38-car entry list for the crown jewel event.

There are two part-time "open" entries on the entry list this weekend.

The No. 44 NY Racing Team returns to the track this weekend with 23-year-old Derek Kraus behind the wheel. Joey Gase drove the car last week at Daytona. This will be the second NASCAR Cup Series start of the season for Kraus, who finished 32nd for NY Racing Team in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.

The No. 66 Garage 66 team, which competed last weekend at Daytona with driver Casey Mears, will also return this weekend, this time with Josh Bilicki behind the wheel. Bilicki, 30, will make his sixth start of the season, all of which have come in the No. 66 entry.

Bilicki collected a season-best finish of 21st at the Chicago Street Course in July.

Here is the full entry list for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Race 27 of 36.

Car

Driver

Team

Sponsor

Manufacturer

1

Ross Chastain +

Trackhouse Racing

Busch Light Retro

Chevrolet

2

Austin Cindric +

Team Penske

TBA

Ford

3

Austin Dillon +

Richard Childress Racing

Bass Pro Shops / Winchester Deer Season XP

Chevrolet

4

Noah Gragson

Front Row Motorsports

Long John Silver's

Ford

5

Kyle Larson +

Hendrick Motorsports

HendrickCars.com

Chevrolet

6

Brad Keselowski

RFK Racing

BuildSubmarines.com

Ford

7

Justin Haley

Spire Motorsports

Gainbridge

Chevrolet

8

Kyle Busch

Richard Childress Racing

Morgan & Morgan

Chevrolet

9

Chase Elliott +

Hendrick Motorsports

NAPA Auto Parts

Chevrolet

10

Ty Gibbs

Kaulig Racing

Grizzly Nicotine Pouches

Chevrolet

11

Denny Hamlin +

Joe Gibbs Racing

Sport Clips Haircuts

Toyota

12

Ryan Blaney +

Team Penske

TBA

Ford

16

AJ Allmendinger

Kaulig Racing

Black's Tire

Chevrolet

17

Chris Buescher

RFK Racing

Kroger / Tree Top

Ford

19

Chase Briscoe +

Joe Gibbs Racing

Bass Pro Shops

Toyota

20

Christopher Bell +

Joe Gibbs Racing

Rheem

Toyota

21

Josh Berry +

Wood Brothers Racing

Motorcraft / Quick Lane

Ford

22

Joey Logano +

Team Penske

Shell Pennzoil

Ford

23

Bubba Wallace * +

23XI Racing

U.S. Air Force

Toyota

24

William Byron +

Hendrick Motorsports

All-Pro Auto Reconditioning

Chevrolet

34

Todd Gilliland *

Front Row Motorsports

Grillo's Pickles

Ford

35

Riley Herbst # *

23XI Racing

Chumba Casino

Toyota

38

Zane Smith *

Front Row Motorsports

TitleMax

Ford

41

Cole Custer

Haas Factory Team

Autodesk / HaasTooling Add-In

Ford

42

John Hunter Nemechek

LEGACY MOTOR CLUB

Pye Barker Fire & Safety

Toyota

43

Erik Jones

LEGACY MOTOR CLUB

Dollar Tree

Toyota

44

Derek Kraus *

NY Racing Team

TBA

Chevrolet

45

Tyler Reddick * +

23XI Racing

Pinnacle

Toyota

47

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

HYAK Motorsports

Pudgy Penguins

Chevrolet

48

Alex Bowman +

Hendrick Motorsports

Ally

Chevrolet

51

Cody Ware

Rick Ware Racing

Parts Plus

Ford

54

Ty Gibbs

Joe Gibbs Racing

Monster Energy

Toyota

60

Ryan Preece

RFK Racing

Trimble

Ford

66

Josh Bilicki * (i)

Garage 66

TBA

Ford

71

Michael McDowell

Spire Motorsports

Delaware Life

Chevrolet

77

Carson Hocevar

Spire Motorsports

Chili's Ride the 'Dente

Chevrolet

88

Shane van Gisbergen # +

Trackhouse Racing

WeatherTech

Chevrolet

99

Daniel Suarez

Trackhouse Racing

Freeway Insurance

Chevrolet

# indicates Rookie of the Year
* indicates "Open" entry
(i) indicates a driver ineligible to score points
+ indicates a Playoff driver

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Toby Christie
TOBY CHRISTIE

Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.

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