Overview
- NASCAR opens the 10-race Chase with the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 6 at 5 p.m. ET and televised on USA and HBO Max.
- The postseason uses a 16-driver field with points reset after the regular season, no eliminations and a 55-point award for race winners; Denny Hamlin begins the Chase as the No. 1 seed with 2,100 points.
- NASCAR confirmed it will use the same Darlington setup from March and raised the tire allotment to 15 sets, including 12 new sets, ahead of a 38-car entry list that includes two open teams driven by Corey Heim and Chad Finchum.
- Betting markets list Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick as co-favorites to win at roughly +500, with Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson and others close behind, and Reddick and Briscoe enter with recent Darlington wins that make them significant threats.
- Darlington’s abrasive surface, heavy tire falloff and sunset transition make tire management and mistake avoidance decisive factors, so the Southern 500’s outcomes can quickly shape momentum and points trajectories across the 10-race Chase.