Cup - 2026 - Cook Out Southern 500
Date: 2026-09-06 | Track: Darlington Raceway
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 | 28 | 38 | 38 |
| ARP | 11.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| 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 11.00 average running position and 28 TLS points.
TLS leader — Tyler Reddick (C) (#45): most position-weighted points across every scored lap (38 points). Finished P3 with 74 laps led and 1.00 ARP. TLS rewards running up front all afternoon, not only the final lap.
Best ARP — same as the TLS leader (1.00). The official winner ran a worse average position (11.00).
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.
| Finish Position | Points Position | Driver | Car Number | Manufacturer | Team | Start Position | Laps Led | ARP | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Christopher Bell (C) | 20 | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 11 | 46 | 11.00 | 28 |
| 2 | 27 | Ty Gibbs (C) | 54 | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 28 | 0 | 28.00 | 11 |
| 3 | 1 | Tyler Reddick (C) | 45 | Toyota | 23XI Racing | 1 | 74 | 1.00 | 38 |
| 4 | 23 | Ryan Blaney (C) | 12 | Ford | Team Penske | 24 | 1 | 24.00 | 15 |
| 5 | 24 | Kyle Larson (C) | 5 | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 25 | 99 | 25.00 | 14 |
| 6 | 7 | Chase Briscoe (C) | 19 | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 7 | 30 | 7.00 | 32 |
| 7 | 14 | Josh Berry | 21 | Ford | Wood Brothers Racing | 14 | 0 | 14.00 | 25 |
| 8 | 17 | Bubba Wallace (C) | 23 | Toyota | 23XI Racing | 17 | 38 | 17.00 | 22 |
| 9 | 13 | Joey Logano (C) | 22 | Ford | Team Penske | 13 | 0 | 13.00 | 26 |
| 10 | 3 | Ryan Preece (C) | 60 | Ford | RFK Racing | 3 | 0 | 3.00 | 36 |
| 11 | 32 | Carson Hocevar (C) | 77 | Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | 34 | 2 | 34.00 | 5 |
| 12 | 10 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 10 | 0 | 10.00 | 29 |
| 13 | 6 | Austin Cindric (C) | 2 | Ford | Team Penske | 6 | 0 | 6.00 | 33 |
| 14 | 18 | Chase Elliott (C) | 9 | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 18 | 1 | 18.00 | 21 |
| 15 | 34 | Erik Jones | 43 | Toyota | Legacy Motor Club | 36 | 0 | 36.00 | 3 |
| 16 | 21 | Todd Gilliland | 34 | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 21 | 5 | 21.00 | 18 |
| 17 | 5 | Michael McDowell | 71 | Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | 5 | 0 | 5.00 | 34 |
| 18 | 4 | Denny Hamlin (C) | 11 | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 4 | 68 | 4.00 | 35 |
| 19 | 36 | * Corey Heim(i) | 67 | Toyota | 23XI Racing | 22 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| 20 | 33 | Chris Buescher (C) | 17 | Ford | RFK Racing | 35 | 0 | 35.00 | 4 |
| 21 | 2 | Daniel Suarez (C) | 7 | Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | 2 | 2 | 2.00 | 37 |
| 22 | 29 | AJ Allmendinger | 16 | Chevrolet | Kaulig Racing | 30 | 0 | 30.00 | 9 |
| 23 | 12 | Brad Keselowski | 6 | Ford | RFK Racing | 12 | 0 | 12.00 | 27 |
| 24 | 19 | John Hunter Nemechek | 42 | Toyota | Legacy Motor Club | 19 | 0 | 19.00 | 20 |
| 25 | 31 | Zane Smith | 38 | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 33 | 0 | 33.00 | 6 |
| 26 | 25 | Shane Van Gisbergen | 97 | Chevrolet | Trackhouse Racing | 26 | 1 | 26.00 | 13 |
| 27 | 22 | Ross Chastain | 1 | Chevrolet | Trackhouse Racing | 23 | 0 | 23.00 | 16 |
| 28 | 36 | Austin Hill(i) | 33 | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | 32 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| 29 | 9 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | 9 | 0 | 9.00 | 30 |
| 30 | 15 | Riley Herbst | 35 | Toyota | 23XI Racing | 15 | 0 | 15.00 | 24 |
| 31 | 26 | Ty Dillon | 10 | Chevrolet | Kaulig Racing | 27 | 0 | 27.00 | 12 |
| 32 | 28 | Noah Gragson | 4 | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 29 | 0 | 29.00 | 10 |
| 33 | 16 | Cole Custer | 41 | Chevrolet | Haas Factory Team | 16 | 0 | 16.00 | 23 |
| 34 | 30 | Connor Zilisch # | 88 | Chevrolet | Trackhouse Racing | 31 | 0 | 31.00 | 8 |
| 35 | 8 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | Chevrolet | HYAK Motorsports | 8 | 0 | 8.00 | 31 |
| 36 | 35 | Cody Ware | 51 | Chevrolet | Rick Ware Racing | 37 | 0 | 37.00 | 2 |
| 37 | 20 | William Byron (C) | 24 | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 20 | 0 | 20.00 | 19 |
| 38 | 36 | * Chad Finchum(i) | 66 | Ford | Garage 66 | 38 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
Season Points Standings (Up to This Race)
| Rank | Driver | Car Number | Season Points | Average Running Position | Total Laps Led | Points this race |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denny Hamlin (C) | 11 | 141497 | 10.70 | 948 | 35 |
| 2 | Tyler Reddick (C) | 45 | 135415 | 9.84 | 523 | 38 |
| 3 | Kyle Larson (C) | 5 | 135338 | 10.74 | 758 | 14 |
| 4 | Ryan Blaney (C) | 12 | 135253 | 11.30 | 829 | 15 |
| 5 | Ty Gibbs (C) | 54 | 126884 | 10.98 | 280 | 11 |
| 6 | Christopher Bell (C) | 20 | 121970 | 12.57 | 605 | 28 |
| 7 | Chris Buescher (C) | 17 | 119965 | 14.21 | 81 | 4 |
| 8 | Chase Briscoe (C) | 19 | 119889 | 11.85 | 389 | 32 |
| 9 | Chase Elliott (C) | 9 | 117188 | 14.98 | 318 | 21 |
| 10 | Bubba Wallace (C) | 23 | 114169 | 14.68 | 252 | 22 |
| 11 | William Byron (C) | 24 | 113282 | 13.54 | 176 | 19 |
| 12 | Carson Hocevar (C) | 77 | 109065 | 16.85 | 159 | 5 |
| 13 | Joey Logano (C) | 22 | 107625 | 14.94 | 536 | 26 |
| 14 | Austin Cindric (C) | 2 | 107608 | 15.26 | 51 | 33 |
| 15 | Daniel Suarez (C) | 7 | 101424 | 17.22 | 42 | 37 |
| 16 | Ryan Preece (C) | 60 | 98258 | 17.80 | 55 | 36 |
| 17 | Ross Chastain | 1 | 96506 | 17.50 | 118 | 16 |
| 18 | Brad Keselowski | 6 | 95832 | 19.08 | 177 | 27 |
| 19 | Erik Jones | 43 | 92382 | 18.90 | 17 | 3 |
| 20 | Shane Van Gisbergen | 97 | 87749 | 17.52 | 270 | 13 |
| 21 | Zane Smith | 38 | 86376 | 21.16 | 77 | 6 |
| 22 | Michael McDowell | 71 | 84756 | 17.47 | 24 | 34 |
| 23 | Austin Dillon | 3 | 83317 | 20.15 | 5 | 30 |
| 24 | Riley Herbst | 35 | 82979 | 20.72 | 5 | 24 |
| 25 | Josh Berry | 21 | 80663 | 21.00 | 92 | 25 |
| 26 | AJ Allmendinger | 16 | 76629 | 21.87 | 9 | 9 |
| 27 | John Hunter Nemechek | 42 | 73441 | 20.88 | 64 | 20 |
| 28 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | 71362 | 23.99 | 7 | 31 |
| 29 | Todd Gilliland | 34 | 67102 | 24.03 | 21 | 18 |
| 30 | Noah Gragson | 4 | 61517 | 26.81 | 2 | 10 |
| 31 | Alex Bowman | 48 | 56822 | 18.89 | 0 | 29 |
| 32 | Ty Dillon | 10 | 53390 | 26.97 | 3 | 12 |
| 33 | Cole Custer | 41 | 53025 | 25.86 | 3 | 23 |
| 34 | Connor Zilisch # | 88 | 52407 | 23.30 | 8 | 8 |
| 35 | Kyle Busch | 8 | 51197 | 19.72 | 19 | 0 |
| 36 | Cody Ware | 51 | 35008 | 31.52 | 10 | 2 |
| 37 | * Jimmie Johnson | 84 | 2420 | 34.13 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | * Katherine Legge | 78 | 1917 | 35.70 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | * Casey Mears | 66 | 1800 | 36.32 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | * BJ McLeod | 78 | 995 | 32.24 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | * Kevin Magnussen | 91 | 187 | 25.62 | 0 | 0 |