Cup Series · 2026 · race 27 of 36
Cook Out Southern 500
- TrackDarlington Raceway
- ScheduledSun, Sep 6, 2026 · 5:00 PM ET
- Laps367
- Cars38
- Official winnerChristopher Bell (#20)
- TLS leaderTyler Reddick (C) (#45) · 12,420
Three ways to measure this race
| Official winner | TLS leader | Best ARP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | Christopher Bell (#20) | Tyler Reddick (C) (#45) | Tyler Reddick (C) (#45) |
| Finish | P1 | P3 | P3 |
| TLS points | 11,884 | 12,420 | 12,420 |
| ARP | 5.05 | 3.51 | 3.51 |
| Laps led | 46 | 74 | 74 |
Three different ways to measure a race — and they often point to different drivers.
Official winner — Christopher Bell (#20): where the car was at the checkered flag (P1). Led 46 laps with 5.05 average running position and 11,884 TLS points.
TLS leader — Tyler Reddick (C) (#45): most position-weighted points across every scored lap (12,420 points). Finished P3 with 74 laps led and 3.51 ARP. TLS rewards running up front all afternoon, not only the final lap.
Best ARP — same as the TLS leader (3.51). The official winner ran a worse average position (5.05).
The checkered flag reflects who survived the final seconds. TLS reflects where drivers ran across the whole race. ARP tells you the typical running spot — but not who banked the most valuable laps.
Race Notes auto-generated
- Official winner: Christopher Bell (#20), who ranked 2nd on TLS with 11,884 points.
- TLS leader: Tyler Reddick (C) (#45) with 12,420 points, finished P3, ARP 3.51.
- Most laps led: Kyle Larson, 99 laps.
- Luck index ▼ William Byron (C) ran 13th on TLS but finished P37 (24 spots worse than they ran).
- Luck index ▲ Ty Gibbs (C) finished P2 after running 10th on TLS (8 spots better than they ran).
Auto-generated stats from TrueLapScore lap data. Not a written story.
Race results
| Fin | TLS rank | Driver | Car | Make | Team | Start | Laps led | ARP | TLS points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Christopher Bell (C) | 20 | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 11 | 46 | 5.05 | 11,884 |
| 2 | 10 | Ty Gibbs (C) | 54 | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 28 | 0 | 10.89 | 9,838 |
| 3 | 1 | Tyler Reddick (C) | 45 | Toyota | 23XI Racing | 1 | 74 | 3.51 | 12,420 |
| 4 | 5 | Ryan Blaney (C) | 12 | Ford | Team Penske | 24 | 1 | 8.23 | 10,771 |
| 5 | 8 | Kyle Larson (C) | 5 | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 25 | 99 | 9.56 | 10,303 |
| 6 | 4 | Chase Briscoe (C) | 19 | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 7 | 30 | 6.72 | 11,298 |
| 7 | 7 | Josh Berry | 21 | Ford | Wood Brothers Racing | 14 | 0 | 9.21 | 10,425 |
| 8 | 3 | Bubba Wallace (C) | 23 | Toyota | 23XI Racing | 17 | 38 | 5.92 | 11,578 |
| 9 | 12 | Joey Logano (C) | 22 | Ford | Team Penske | 13 | 0 | 12.39 | 9,314 |
| 10 | 15 | Ryan Preece (C) | 60 | Ford | RFK Racing | 3 | 0 | 14.33 | 8,634 |
| 11 | 17 | Carson Hocevar (C) | 77 | Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | 34 | 2 | 15.11 | 8,361 |
| 12 | 16 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 10 | 0 | 14.47 | 8,586 |
| 13 | 6 | Austin Cindric (C) | 2 | Ford | Team Penske | 6 | 0 | 8.69 | 10,608 |
| 14 | 11 | Chase Elliott (C) | 9 | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 18 | 1 | 12.26 | 9,358 |
| 15 | 18 | Erik Jones | 43 | Toyota | Legacy Motor Club | 36 | 0 | 17.24 | 7,617 |
| 16 | 19 | Todd Gilliland | 34 | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 21 | 5 | 19.61 | 6,786 |
| 17 | 14 | Michael McDowell | 71 | Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | 5 | 0 | 13.64 | 8,875 |
| 18 | 8 | Denny Hamlin (C) | 11 | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 4 | 68 | 9.56 | 10,303 |
| 19 | – | * Corey Heim(i) | 67 | Toyota | 23XI Racing | 22 | 0 | – | 3,901 (i) |
| 20 | 25 | Chris Buescher (C) | 17 | Ford | RFK Racing | 35 | 0 | 24.26 | 5,160 |
| 21 | 20 | Daniel Suarez (C) | 7 | Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | 2 | 2 | 20.16 | 6,595 |
| 22 | 24 | AJ Allmendinger | 16 | Chevrolet | Kaulig Racing | 30 | 0 | 23.65 | 5,373 |
| 23 | 21 | Brad Keselowski | 6 | Ford | RFK Racing | 12 | 0 | 20.56 | 6,454 |
| 24 | 26 | John Hunter Nemechek | 42 | Toyota | Legacy Motor Club | 19 | 0 | 24.49 | 5,078 |
| 25 | 23 | Zane Smith | 38 | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 33 | 0 | 22.47 | 5,784 |
| 26 | 32 | Shane Van Gisbergen | 97 | Chevrolet | Trackhouse Racing | 26 | 1 | 32.56 | 2,248 |
| 27 | 27 | Ross Chastain | 1 | Chevrolet | Trackhouse Racing | 23 | 0 | 25.32 | 4,776 |
| 28 | – | Austin Hill(i) | 33 | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | 32 | 0 | – | 4,887 (i) |
| 29 | 28 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | 9 | 0 | 28.20 | 3,770 |
| 30 | 22 | Riley Herbst | 35 | Toyota | 23XI Racing | 15 | 0 | 22.16 | 5,877 |
| 31 | 31 | Ty Dillon | 10 | Chevrolet | Kaulig Racing | 27 | 0 | 32.45 | 2,286 |
| 32 | 30 | Noah Gragson | 4 | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 29 | 0 | 31.51 | 2,615 |
| 33 | 29 | Cole Custer | 41 | Chevrolet | Haas Factory Team | 16 | 0 | 30.81 | 2,859 |
| 34 | 34 | Connor Zilisch # | 88 | Chevrolet | Trackhouse Racing | 31 | 0 | 33.46 | 1,927 |
| 35 | 33 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | Chevrolet | HYAK Motorsports | 8 | 0 | 33.36 | 1,951 |
| 36 | 35 | Cody Ware | 51 | Chevrolet | Rick Ware Racing | 37 | 0 | 36.00 | 1,039 |
| 37 | 13 | William Byron (C) | 24 | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 20 | 0 | 10.05 | 9,263 |
| 38 | – | * Chad Finchum(i) | 66 | Ford | Garage 66 | 38 | 0 | – | 271 (i) |
official winner TLS leader · (i) ineligible for series points (lap points shown for reference, not counted) · legend
Season standings through this race
| Rank | Driver | Car | Season points | ARP | Laps led | This race |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denny Hamlin (C) | 11 | 209,152 | 10.74 | 948 | 10,303 |
| 2 | Ryan Blaney (C) | 12 | 206,146 | 10.03 | 829 | 10,771 |
| 3 | Ty Gibbs (C) | 54 | 190,641 | 10.75 | 280 | 9,838 |
| 4 | Chase Briscoe (C) | 19 | 189,461 | 11.44 | 389 | 11,298 |
| 5 | Christopher Bell (C) | 20 | 186,513 | 11.73 | 605 | 11,884 |
| 6 | Kyle Larson (C) | 5 | 185,209 | 11.20 | 758 | 10,303 |
| 7 | Tyler Reddick (C) | 45 | 184,200 | 11.01 | 523 | 12,420 |
| 8 | Bubba Wallace (C) | 23 | 176,064 | 14.01 | 252 | 11,578 |
| 9 | William Byron (C) | 24 | 172,211 | 13.59 | 176 | 9,263 |
| 10 | Joey Logano (C) | 22 | 171,333 | 14.75 | 536 | 9,314 |
| 11 | Chase Elliott (C) | 9 | 169,485 | 14.39 | 318 | 9,358 |
| 12 | Austin Cindric (C) | 2 | 164,151 | 14.78 | 51 | 10,608 |
| 13 | Chris Buescher (C) | 17 | 162,862 | 15.17 | 81 | 5,160 |
| 14 | Carson Hocevar (C) | 77 | 154,821 | 16.73 | 159 | 8,361 |
| 15 | Daniel Suarez (C) | 7 | 151,007 | 17.12 | 42 | 6,595 |
| 16 | Ryan Preece (C) | 60 | 150,611 | 17.11 | 55 | 8,634 |
| 17 | Brad Keselowski | 6 | 141,378 | 18.85 | 177 | 6,454 |
| 18 | Ross Chastain | 1 | 137,548 | 17.08 | 118 | 4,776 |
| 19 | Erik Jones | 43 | 136,766 | 18.49 | 17 | 7,617 |
| 20 | Shane Van Gisbergen | 97 | 134,600 | 18.00 | 270 | 2,248 |
| 21 | Josh Berry | 21 | 130,218 | 19.98 | 92 | 10,425 |
| 22 | Michael McDowell | 71 | 128,332 | 19.27 | 24 | 8,875 |
| 23 | Zane Smith | 38 | 124,579 | 19.98 | 77 | 5,784 |
| 24 | Riley Herbst | 35 | 119,360 | 20.62 | 5 | 5,877 |
| 25 | Austin Dillon | 3 | 119,035 | 21.51 | 5 | 3,770 |
| 26 | Todd Gilliland | 34 | 108,104 | 22.97 | 21 | 6,786 |
| 27 | John Hunter Nemechek | 42 | 106,699 | 21.93 | 64 | 5,078 |
| 28 | AJ Allmendinger | 16 | 105,358 | 21.95 | 9 | 5,373 |
| 29 | Alex Bowman | 48 | 102,792 | 19.33 | 0 | 8,586 |
| 30 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | 100,269 | 24.16 | 7 | 1,951 |
| 31 | Noah Gragson | 4 | 92,325 | 25.73 | 2 | 2,615 |
| 32 | Ty Dillon | 10 | 84,030 | 26.36 | 3 | 2,286 |
| 33 | Cole Custer | 41 | 80,836 | 25.57 | 3 | 2,859 |
| 34 | Connor Zilisch # | 88 | 78,235 | 23.80 | 8 | 1,927 |
| 35 | Cody Ware | 51 | 51,648 | 30.64 | 10 | 1,039 |
| 36 | Kyle Busch | 8 | 51,197 | 19.72 | 19 | 0 |
| 37 | * Casey Mears | 66 | 3,318 | 34.98 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | * Jimmie Johnson | 84 | 3,088 | 30.47 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | * Katherine Legge | 78 | 1,917 | 35.70 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | * Kevin Magnussen | 91 | 1,244 | 23.63 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | * BJ McLeod | 78 | 1,041 | 32.47 | 0 | 0 |