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

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 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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