Let The NASCAR Chase Officially Begin

On Sunday, September 6, the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Cup Series championship is set to begin in the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, one of NASCAR's four crown jewel events.

The race, which is set to go live on USA Network at 5 PM ET, will consist of 367 laps, which equates to a 501.32-mile contest around the 1.366-mile oval in Darlington, SC. The 367 laps will be divided into three Stages. The opening Stage will be 115 laps; Stage 2 is scheduled to end at the conclusion of Lap 230, and the race's checkered flag, barring an overtime finish, will come at Lap 367.

Drivers finishing in the top-10 in Stages 1 and 2 will earn points based on their finishing position. The Stage winner will take 10 points, while the point total will decrease by one point for each position from second to 10th. These points will likely be very pivotal to the championship fight, as the championship standings will not have any further resets throughout the final 10 races of the season. It'll be a running tally from here.

Now, there is a new caveat to when a Stage ends, as NASCAR recently implemented a new rule that if a caution comes out with 10 laps to go, or less, in Stage 1 or Stage 2, that will count as the official end of the Stage. This rule was put in place to reduce the waiting around time under caution.

Who Comes Into This Race Leading the Chase?

Denny Hamlin, who came tantalizingly close to finally achieving his first NASCAR Cup Series championship a season ago in the final iteration of NASCAR's former Playoff format, will lead the way in the championship standings heading into Sunday night's Cook Out Southern 500.

Hamlin, the regular-season champion, will carry a 25-point advantage over Ryan Blaney heading into this event.

Here is the full 16-driver Chase Grid heading into the opening race of The Chase:

1. Denny Hamlin
2. Ryan Blaney, -25 points
3. Tyler Reddick, -35
4. Ty Gibbs, -40
5. Chase Briscoe, -45
6. Christopher Bell, -50
7. Kyle Larson, -55
8. Chase Elliott, -60
9. Joey Logano, -65
10. Chris Buescher, -70
11. Daniel Suarez, -75
12. Carson Hocevar, -80
13. William Byron, -85
14. Bubba Wallace, -90
15. Austin Cindric, -95
16. Ryan Preece, -100

Cook Out Southern 500 Starting Lineup

1. 45 - Tyler Reddick (Chase)
2. 7 - Daniel Suarez (Chase)
3. 60 - Ryan Preece (Chase)
4. 11 - Denny Hamlin (Chase)
5. 71 - Michael McDowell
6. 2 - Austin Cindric (Chase)
7. 19 - Chase Briscoe (Chase)
8. 47 - Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
9. 3 - Austin Dillon
10. 48 - Alex Bowman

For the complete starting lineup for Sunday night's race, click here.

Which Chase Drivers Perform Best At Darlington?

Darlington Raceway, a track known as "Too Tough To Tame", is among the most difficult circuits in the entire NASCAR Cup Series. The 1.366-mile track is egg-shaped, which provides an interesting and unique challenge on both ends of the race track, and the racing groove is so narrow on each end of the track that it makes pulling off passes extremely difficult, and it makes grazing the outside wall super common.

Many drivers will add to the scrape around the outside wall known affectionately as the "Darlington Stripe".

That being said, many of the drivers battling for the NASCAR Cup Series title are among the most skilled active drivers at Darlington Raceway.

Denny Hamlin has five victories at Darlington, which is the most among active drivers, and his career average finish of 8.0 at Darlington is also best among the active drivers in the sport. Hamlin, who starts fourth on Sunday night, should be expected to contend for the win.

Tyler Reddick inherited the pole position when qualifying was canceled on Saturday due to weather, and that could be trouble for the field, as Reddick won at Darlington earlier this season. In addition to that win, Reddick has six top-five finishes and eight top-10s in his 14 starts at the track, and his average finish of 10.8 ranks second only to Hamlin at the track among active drivers.

Chase Briscoe starts seventh on Sunday night at Darlington Raceway, and he comes into this edition of the Southern 500 having won the last two runnings of this crown jewel event. The incredible thing? Briscoe won the last two Southern 500s driving for two different teams, Joe Gibbs Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing. Keep an eye on Briscoe on Sunday night.

Other Chase competitors, who have collected wins at Darlington throughout their NASCAR Cup Series careers include Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, and William Byron. All three of these drivers usually find themselves near the front at this track, although the starting lineup being set by the rulebook will have them mired mid-to-back of the pack to start the evening.

The three Chase contenders with potentially the worst career record at Darlington would be Carson Hocevar (career average finish of 20.2), Ryan Preece (20.2), and Daniel Suarez (22.1). All three drivers have combined for just four top-10 finishes in a collective 36 starts at the track.

Suarez and Preece will start second and third, thanks to their finishes at Daytona International Speedway, but Hocevar isn't as fortunate. The driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet will start 34th and will have to bide his time, trying to work his way to the front. Patience isn't necessarily one of Hocevar's strong suits.

Which Non-Chasers Can Steal The Show?

There are two names that seem more likely to contend from the "non-Chaser" crowd than anyone, and that would be Erik Jones, and Brad Keselowski. Both drivers are two-time winners at Darlington Raceway, and have been really good at Darlington in recent years.

Keselowski captured the win at Darlington in spring 2024, and he finished second at the track earlier this year after leading 142 laps.

Jones won the 2022 Southern 500, and finished third in this race a season ago.

While Keselowski has the benefit of the 12th starting position, Jones will have to fight his way to the front from the 36th starting spot, which could hamper his chances to contend, but these two drivers have proven success time and time again at Darlington Raceway.

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