There’s one consistent theme as the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs get under way with Sunday night’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway (6 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Drivers who eliminate or minimize mistakes are likely to survive the Round of 16, but at treacherous Darlington, that’s easier said than done.
BECHTELSVILLE, PA. – A two-day weekend of racing will round out the schedule for the month of August at Grandview Speedway.
This Saturday, August 30 will feature the T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds and the T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman along with the Pro 4 Racing Series in another NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series program starting at 7:30 pm.
STAMFORD, Conn. – Aug. 28, 2025 – The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs begin with the Cook Out Southern 500 from Darlington Raceway in South Carolina this Sunday, Aug. 31, at 6 p.m. ET on USA Network. Live pre-race coverage on USA Network begins at 5:30 p.m. ET with Countdown to Green. A “Crown Jewel” event, the Cook Out Southern 500 is one of the sport’s most iconic races, taking place on a track both physically and mentally demanding.
Chase Briscoe has turned in a personal best season in his first year driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, claiming a series-high six pole positions (including the Daytona 500), winning at Pocono Raceway this summer and eclipsing all his season-best marks in top-five (10) and top-10 (12) finishes with 10 races remaining. And he made the Playoffs.
Alex Bowman didn’t know until the absolute last second whether he would have a Playoff spot or not.
On the final lap of the final NASCAR Cup Series regular-season race last Saturday at Daytona International Speedway, two winless drivers—Cole Custer and Justin Haley—alternately surged ahead. A victory by either driver would have eliminated Bowman from the Playoffs.
While this is the first appearance in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs for Shane Van Gisbergen, the 2025 Rookie of the Year candidate is certainly used to Playoff pressure.
When it comes to the NASCAR Cup Series championship, Team Penske is undefeated in the era of the Next Gen race car, which debuted in NASCAR’s top division in 2022.
The Bubba Wallace who takes the green flag in the Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway won’t be the same Bubba Wallace who eked out a Playoff berth two years ago.
How do we know? Wallace says so.
Three-time and reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano seemed almost ready to dare someone to doubt his chances at a historically significant fourth NASCAR Cup Series title, as the Playoffs begin.
CHARLOTTE, N.C.— Unlike in previous years, none of the frontrunners competing in this season’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs could—or were willing to—name an absolute favorite to hoist the champion’s trophy Nov. 2 at Phoenix.
In fact, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell, a three-race winner, said he’s feeling as calm as he’s ever felt entering the 10-race Playoff stretch that begins Sunday in the Cook Out Southern 500 at historic Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (6 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
