DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – AUGUST 31: Chase Briscoe, driver of the #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, and Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 Pinnacle Toyota, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on August 31, 2025 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
DARLINGTON, S.C. — It was a Southern 500 race that didn’t follow form—not anywhere close.
The presumptive favorites for the NASCAR Cup Series championship didn’t perform like favorites in Sunday night’s Cook Out Southern 500, the opening race in the 2025 Playoffs.
