NASCAR Cup Series race results and video highlights from The Chase opener at Darlington Raceway
NASCAR Cup Series drivers are on the grid in Darlington, South Carolina. The 1.366-mile of Darlington Raceway is set to host The Chase opener via the Southern 500.
View Darlington race results for the Southern 500 below.
Darlington Menu
O’Reilly: Prac/Qual | Race
Cup: Prac/Qual | Race
Tyler Reddick and Daniel Suarez set the front row. 367 laps of stock car racing are up next…
Southern 500
Stage 1 – Report
Laps: 115 (1-107 / 367)
Green flag, Reddick and Suarez run doors at the launch. They run side-by-side for the lead into turn one. Suarez is clear via the inside lane off turn two.
Lap 3, Hamlin has a run on Suarez into turn one. He dives inside, Hamlin takes the lead away.
Lap 29, Reddick has a run on Hamlin into turn three. Hamlin lifts and Reddick takes over the lead on the inside.
Lap 36, the competition caution is out.
Lap 45, Hamlin rolls the inside lane through turn one. Reddick runs wide gives him a lane and Hamlin retakes the lead.
Lap 94, Reddick is better on longer runs. He works inside of Hamlin and Reddick reclaims the race lead.
9 to go in stage one, Brad Keselowski is around with help from Carson Hocevar and the caution is out. That concludes this stage.
Tyler Reddick wins stage one at Darlington Raceway!
Darlington Race Results (Stage 1) : 1. Tyler Reddick; 2. Bubba Wallace; 3. Denny Hamlin; 4. Christopher Bell; 5. Ryan Blaney; 6. Chase Briscoe; 7. Ryan Preece; 8. Austin Cindric; 9. William Byron; 10. Ty Gibbs
Southern 500
Stage 2 – Report
Laps: 123 (108-230 / 367)
Green flag on stage two, Reddick is clear before turn one. Wallace follows him through and takes over 2nd.
Lap 156, green flag pit stops are complete. Bubba Wallace cycles to the race lead with Tyler Reddick on his bumper. Wallace pitted just a lap earlier.
Lap 190, Tyler Reddick in on the pit lane under green. The jack drops but he’s called back as the crew missed the left front lug. It’s a slow stop for Reddick.
Lap 195, Chase Briscoe cycles to the race lead. Wallace trails by 1 second.
Lap 212, Christopher Bell is the car on the charge with four laps fresher tires. He takes 2nd away and he’s closing fast on the leader.
15 to go in stage one, Bell has a run on Briscoe into turn three. He drives it deep to the bottom and slides him for the lead.
Christopher Bell wins stage two at Darlington Raceway!
Darlington Race Results (Stage 2) : 1. Christopher Bell; 2. Kyle Larson; 3. Denny Hamlin; 4. Chase Briscoe; 5. Bubba Wallace; 6. Ryan Blaney; 7. Josh Berry; 8. William Byron; 9. Tyler Reddick 10. Austin Cindric
Southern 500
Stage 3 – Report
Laps: 137 (231-367 / 367)
Slow stop for Hamlin and Bell. Larson wins the race to the pit exit.
Green flag on stage three, Larson clears Wallace into turn one.
Lap 241, Hamlin slides McDowell into turn three. McDowell doesn’t lift off the corner and he tags Hamlin in the bumper. Hamlin bounces off the outside wall exiting turn four. He keeps it rolling, no caution. Hamlin has front end suspension damage.
Lap 283, Zane Smith is around off turn four with help from teammate Michael McDowell. The caution is out.
Lap 298, Bell slides Reddick for 2nd.
Lap 316, William Byron spins into turn three, caution.
Larson leads the field to the pit lane but it’s a slow stop for him. Bell wins the race to the pit exit.
Green, Bell and Briscoe rub doors for the lead. A lap later, Briscoe is clear!
33 to go
33 to go, the caution is out for rain. NASCAR has thrown the red flag.
As the cars are back rolling, Larson stays out with three others. Briscoe wins the race to the pit exit and restarts 5th.
Green, Larson leads Logano. Bell is coming fast on four fresh tires.
21 to go, Larson leads with Bell on his bumper. Bell is running any lane Larson isn’t in.
12 to go, Larson enters low in turn one and runs wide. Bell holds the inside and he clear Larson for the lead.
Christopher Bell wins the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway!
Darlington Raceway
Race Results
September 6, 2026
NASCAR Cup Series
Pos | Driver
1. Christopher Bell
2. Ty Gibbs
3. Tyler Reddick
4. Ryan Blaney
5. Kyle Larson
6. Chase Briscoe
7. Josh Berry
8. Bubba Wallace
9. Joey Logano
10. Ryan Preece
11. Carson Hocevar
12. Alex Bowman
13. Austin Cindric
14. Chase Elliott
15. Erik Jones
16. Todd Gilliland
17. Michael McDowell
18. Denny Hamlin
19. Corey Heim
20. Chris Buescher
21. Daniel Suarez
22. AJ Allmendinger
23. Brad Keselowski
24. John Hunter Nemechek
25. Zane Smith
26. Shane van Gisbergen
27. Ross Chastain
28. Austin Hill
29. Austin Dillon
30. Riley Herbst
31. Ty Dillon
32. Noah Gragson
33. Cole Custer
34. Connor Zilisch
35. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
36. Cody Ware
37. William Byron
38. Chad Finchum
NASCAR Cup Series
Standings
Pos | Driver | Points
1. Denny Hamlin
2,135
2. Christopher Bell
-12
3. Ryan Blaney
-16
4. Tyler Reddick
-24
5. Chase Briscoe
-37
6. Ty Gibbs
-39
7. Kyle Larson
-49
8. Chase Elliott
-72
9. Joey Logano
-72
10. Bubba Wallace
-81
11. Chris Buescher
-88
12. Carson Hocevar
-89
13. Daniel Suarez
-94
14. Austin Cindric
-102
15. Ryan Preece
-104
16. William Byron
-114
