The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs open Sunday, September 6, 2026, with the 77th running of the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. The green flag flies at 5 p.m. ET on USA. Darlington is the sport’s oldest superspeedway, a 1.366-mile oval nicknamed “The Track Too Tough To Tame.” Sixteen playoff contenders begin their title runs here, so the stakes could not be higher. Below: the odds, the market, and five picks worth a look.
Last Updated: Sunday, September 6, 2026
Cook Out Southern 500 — Time & How to Watch
| Where | Darlington Raceway, Darlington SC |
| When | Sunday, September 6 – 5:00 p.m. ET |
| TV | USA |
2026 Cook Out Southern 500 Betting Preview
The Southern 500 is a 367-lap, 501-mile grind broken into stages of 115, 115, and 137 laps. Darlington rewards tire management, patience, and a car that stays consistent across long green-flag runs, which is why it opens the Chase every year. Track position matters, and this weekend it came without a stopwatch. Lightning washed out Saturday qualifying, so NASCAR set the field by its competition metric. Tyler Reddick starts on the pole with Daniel Suarez alongside on the front row, while regular-season champion Denny Hamlin lines up fourth and defending race winner Chase Briscoe rolls off seventh.
The market reflects a Toyota-heavy top of the board. Hamlin sits clear at +350 after a dominant regular season, with Reddick next at +475 and Briscoe third at +700. Then the ladder jumps to Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson, both at +1000. Larson’s number is the read here. He is a former Southern 500 winner and the defending series champion, yet a long victory drought has pushed him to fifth choice. Ryan Blaney leads Ford at +1200. With the grid already locked, there is no more qualifying news to move these lines, so the board should hold into the green flag.
2026 Cook Out Southern 500 — Top Odds to Win
| Name | Odds |
|---|---|
| Denny Hamlin | +350 |
| Tyler Reddick | +475 |
| Chase Briscoe | +700 |
| Kyle Larson | +1000 |
| Christopher Bell | +1000 |
| Ryan Blaney | +1200 |
| William Byron | +1400 |
| Ty Gibbs | +1400 |
| Chase Elliott | +2200 |
| Brad Keselowski | +2500 |
Odds accurate as of Sunday, September 6, 2026 via TheSpread.com. Odds change, get the latest NASCAR Odds – Props
2026 Cook Out Southern 500 Best Bets
Denny Hamlin (+350) is the pick to win, and this is a handicapping call as much as it is the market’s call. No active driver reads Darlington like Hamlin. He carries a series-best five wins at the track along with 14 top-five finishes, and he arrives as the No. 1 seed after a regular season built on four victories and a series-high in laps led. That combination of track mastery and current speed is the strongest single edge on the board.
Hamlin also won the spring race at Darlington in 2025, so this is a venue where his feel for the worn surface shows up late. He starts fourth, close enough to the front that track position is not a concern over a 367-lap race. When the tires go off and the field spreads out, he is usually the driver picking cars off rather than fading.
The case against is real. Reddick has the No. 1 pit stall and a spring Darlington win of his own this year, and a short +350 price leaves little margin if the race turns on a caution cycle or a pit-road mistake. Still, when the most proven Darlington driver in the field also brings the fastest car, backing him is the disciplined play.
2026 NASCAR Cook Out Southern 500 Predictions: Mid-Tier Value Plays
Erik Jones (+3500) is the quiet Darlington specialist the market keeps overlooking. Jones has two Southern 500 victories, in 2019 and 2022, and few drivers move around this track with more comfort. Where experience and tire feel outrank raw speed, a proven winner at this price is worth a small outright ticket. The case against: his Legacy Motor Club team has lacked week-to-week pace in 2026, so a win likely needs a strong pit sequence and some attrition ahead of him.
Daniel Suarez (+4500) rolls off second on the metric-set grid, and that front-row start is the angle. Suarez has built the best season of his career, highlighted by his Coca-Cola 600 win and a playoff berth, and starting up front lets him run clean air and dodge the mid-pack chaos that ends so many Southern 500 bids. The case against is his single-car Spire operation, which can fade over a full 500-mile night as tires fall away.
Long Shot Picks for The 2026 Cook Out Southern 500
Ross Chastain (+5000) is the long shot with a genuine path to Victory Lane. His Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet has shown winning speed on worn-surface tracks, and his aggressive restart style plays well when the Southern 500 comes down to late track position. He can win any given week, which is what a long shot needs. The case against is consistency. Chastain can just as easily find the Darlington wall or over-commit on a restart, and he lacks a win at this track to lean on.
Alex Bowman (+6600) brings Hendrick Motorsports equipment and a top-10 starting spot into a race that rewards steady execution. He made the playoffs on consistency, and a clean night plus the usual dose of attrition can put a Hendrick car in the mix at the end. That is a plausible winning script, not a lottery ticket. The case against is that Bowman rarely leads big laps here, so he needs the race to come to him through strategy and survival.
2026 Cook Out Southern 500 Final Thoughts: What to Watch
The Southern 500 rewards the driver who is still there at the end, and tire management over those long green-flag runs will decide it. Watch how the leaders handle the shift from fresh rubber to worn, because the fastest car early is rarely the fastest car at lap 350. Hamlin has the résumé and the speed to close, but Reddick’s pole and Briscoe’s status as defending winner give the front of the field real teeth. If late cautions bunch the field, value plays like Jones, Suarez, Chastain, and Bowman get the track position they need to matter. Compare these picks against the full board on our Southern 500 odds preview before the green flag.
NASCAR Cook Out Southern 500 FAQ: Sunday September 6, 2026
Who is the favorite to win the 2026 Cook Out Southern 500?
Denny Hamlin is the favorite at +350 via TheSpread.com. The Joe Gibbs Racing veteran enters as the regular-season champion and the No. 1 playoff seed, and he owns a series-best five career wins at Darlington. Tyler Reddick is next on the board at +475.
What are the odds to win the 2026 Cook Out Southern 500?
Denny Hamlin leads at +350, followed by Tyler Reddick at +475 and Chase Briscoe at +700. Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell are both +1000, with Ryan Blaney at +1200. William Byron and Ty Gibbs round out the top tier at +1400 each, per TheSpread.com.
What time does the Cook Out Southern 500 start?
The Cook Out Southern 500 is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The race is the opening event of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs and is being held at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina.
What channel is the Cook Out Southern 500 on?
The Cook Out Southern 500 airs on USA Network, with streaming available on HBO Max. Radio coverage runs through the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Coverage begins ahead of the 5 p.m. ET green flag on Sunday, September 6, 2026.
How many laps is the Cook Out Southern 500?
The Cook Out Southern 500 is 367 laps around the 1.366-mile Darlington Raceway, a total race distance of just over 501 miles. It is split into three stages of 115 laps, 115 laps, and a final stage of 137 laps.
Who won the Southern 500 last year?
Chase Briscoe won the 2025 Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington, driving the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. He returns as the defending race winner and starts seventh this year, listed at +700 on the current outright board.