DARLINGTON, S.C. — The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Darlington Raceway for the iconic Southern 500, which will conclude the regular season.
Here’s what to watch for:
Burton’s Win Alters The Bubble
On Saturday at Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway, Harrison Burton pulled off a shocker and won his first Cup Series race. Despite sitting 34th in driver’s points and without a ride for next season, he’s locked into the playoffs for the first time.
Those circumstances had a significant ripple-down effect on the rest of the Cup Series playoff picture.
Bubba Wallace, who otherwise would’ve been back on the provisional grid, is 21 points behind Chris Buescher for the final spot. Wallace earned a sixth-place finish at Daytona. If a tiebreaker is needed, Buescher has the advantage with two runner-up results.
Meanwhile, Ross Chastain is 27 points behind Buescher for the final playoff spot after recovering from a crash to finish 12th last week. He’s been on a downward trajectory the last two months, having finished in the top 10 only once in the last seven races.
On the other side of the coin, Martin Truex Jr. and Ty Gibbs remain reasonably safe. Truex has a 58-point cushion over the bubble, meaning he’s guaranteed to make the playoffs with a repeat winner. Only a new winner could knock him out. In that scenario, Truex needs to score 19 points to secure a playoff spot.
Gibbs is 39 points to the good after finishing fifth at Daytona. With a repeat winner, he needs only 16 points to clinch a spot, while a new winner would mean he needs to collect 38 markers at Darlington. However, help from other drivers could potentially make that magic number lower.
Reddick Remains In The Driver’s Seat
While Tyler Reddick broke his seven-race top-10 streak with a crash last week, he still increased his points lead.
Reddick leads Kyle Larson, who finished 21st at Daytona after crashing at Michigan Int’l Speedway, by 17 markers. Larson and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott are the only two other drivers with a mathematical chance. Elliott is 18 points back — one behind Larson.
Ryan Blaney, William Byron and Christopher Bell have fallen out of contention in recent weeks, as well as Denny Hamlin, who suffered an L2 penalty last week. The infraction was regarding a race-winning engine at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway March 17 that never got inspected by NASCAR before teardown.
Who Must Win On Sunday?
The following drivers are in must-win situations on Sunday to make the playoffs:
- Kyle Busch
- Chase Briscoe
- Todd Gilliland
- Carson Hocevar
- Michael McDowell
- Josh Berry
- Noah Gragson
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Erik Jones
- Ryan Preece
- Daniel Hemric
- Austin Dillon
- Justin Haley
- John Hunter Nemechek
- Corey LaJoie
- Zane Smith
Busch came oh-so-close to winning at Daytona, leading the white-flag lap before getting passed by Burton entering turn three. He ultimately finished second and must win at Darlington after a dismal summer.
Stewart-Haas Racing has all four cars outside of the provisional playoffs and searches for one final championship contender before closing its doors at the end of the year.
Erik Jones has thrived at Darlington, winning two Southern 500s — including the 2022 edition.
Despite a victory at Richmond (Va.) Raceway, Austin Dillon lost his playoff eligibility for intentionally wrecking Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin in the final corner. He must win again to regain eligibility.
Dancing With The Lady In Black
It’s not just Jones who has thrived at Darlington in the past.
Coined “The Lady in Black,” four active drivers have multiple wins at Darlington. Denny Hamlin leads the way with four victories, including the 2021 Southern 500. Brad Keselowski has two triumphs, adding to that total with a victory in the spring race this year. The win broke a three-year drought for the co-owner of RFK Racing. Truex also has two Darlington triumphs and is searching for another in his final full-time season.
Additionally, four active drivers have one win at Darlington. Larson is the defending Southern 500 winner, while William Byron won last spring. Joey Logano – who Byron’s win came at the expense of — won the 2022 spring race. Busch won back in 2008.
Race Information
Sunday’s 367-lapper at Darlington is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET on USA Network. It’s the third night race in the last four weeks, and after Sunday, just one remains this season (Bristol). It’s also the final crown jewel.
Stage breaks are after laps 115 and 230. The purse is $8,644,143.