The 76th running of the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway will host the 27th round of the 2025 NASCAR Cup season, but the first of its Playoffs. 16 drivers will begin the title hunt on Sunday, facing 500 miles of racing around the track ‘too tough to tame’
Kyle Larson is the No. 1 seed with 32 playoff points after the reset, which is equal to teammate and regular season champion William Byron. The four drivers who begin the Playoffs in the hole are Josh Berry (-1pt), Tyler Reddick (-1pt), Austin Dillon (-2pts), and Alex Bowman (-5pts).
News of the week
This week, Ram announced plans to partner with Kaulig Racing in 2026, entering five trucks as they make their highly anticipated return to NASCAR. Trackhouse Racing also confirmed Connor Zilisch’s promotion to Cup, replacing Daniel Suarez next year.
On the Truck Series side, Frankie Muniz has been sidelined after suffering a wrist injury when he fell off his ladder at home. Trevor Bayne is also making his NASCAR return, driving for TRICON in this Saturday’s Truck race.
Rising stars Corey Heim and Connor Zilisch dominated Saturday’s action, as Heim earned his eighth win of the year in the NASCAR Truck race at Darlington, while Zilisch also collected his eighth win of the year in the NASCAR Xfinity race at Portland.
What is the NASCAR at Darlington and Portland schedule?
(Schedule is tentative and subject to change)
Friday, August 29th
3pm — NASCAR Truck Series practice and qualifying — FOX SPORTS 2
Saturday, August 30th
9am — NASCAR Cup practice and qualifying — TRUTV
12pm — NASCAR Truck Series race — FOX SPORTS 1
3pm — NASCAR Xfinity practice and qualifying (Portland) — CW APP
7:30pm — NASCAR Xfinity Series race (Portland) — The CW
Sunday, August 31st
6pm EST — NASCAR Cup 76th running of the Southern 500 at Darlington — USA NETWORK
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Photo by: James Gilbert / Getty Images
How can I watch the NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington?
- Date: Sunday, August 31st
- TV start time: 5:30 p.m. ET
- Green flag: 6:05pm EST
- Laps/Miles: 367 laps / 500 miles
- TV channel: USA NETWORK | TSN (Canada) | Other international viewing options
- Live stream: In-car cameras on HBO MAX
- Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Who won the pole for the Southern 500 at Darlington?
There were 38 entries for the Cup race with two part-time entries. In the end, playoff drivers dominated qualifying with Denny Hamlin securing pole position. He will share the front row with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe.
The worst qualifiers both came from Hendrick Motorsports, with Chase Elliott lining up 21st and Alex Bowman in 29th.
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