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2026 Cook Out Southern 500 NASCAR Race
Date: Sunday, September 6, 2026
Time: 5:00 PM ET (Green Flag Approx.)
Track: Darlington Raceway
Location: Darlington, South Carolina
Laps: 367
Total Distance: 500 miles
Last Year Winner: Chase Briscoe
Last Race Winner: Ryan Preece
Last Race 2nd Place: Daniel Suárez
Points Leaders: Denny Hamlin
Television: USA Network
Radio: SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)
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The 2026 Cook Out Southern 500 opens NASCAR’s 10-race Chase tonight at Darlington Raceway, with the green flag moved up to 5:00 PM ET. Qualifying was washed out, putting Tyler Reddick on the pole beside Daniel Suárez while Denny Hamlin starts fourth.
Reddick already won at Darlington earlier this season, making him an obvious betting favorite from the front row. Hamlin brings even more track history with five career wins and enters the postseason as the No. 1 seed, 25 points ahead of Ryan Blaney.
Chase Briscoe starts seventh after dominating this race last year, while Blaney and Kyle Larson begin 24th and 25th. For bettors, track position makes Reddick and Hamlin strong outright options, while deeper starters offer longer-shot value.
Read on to see our pick for this week.
Here are the Odds for the Top Drivers:
Cook Out Southern 500
Outright
Denny Hamlin +350
Tyler Reddick +450
Chase Briscoe +650
Kyle Larson +1000
Christopher Bell +1000
Ryan Blaney +1200
William Byron +1400
Ty Gibbs +1400
Chase Elliott +2200
Joey Logano +2500
Brad Keselowski +2500
Bubba Wallace +2500
Chris Buescher +2800
Carson Hocevar +3300
Corey Heim +3500
Erik Jones +3500
Ryan Preece +3500
Austin Cindric +4500
Daniel Suarez +4500
Ross Chastain +5000
Michael McDowell +6600
Alex Bowman +6600
Austin Dillon +8000
Odds source: Bovada Sportsbook
Get real-time latest betting odds & props here!
The Prediction: Denny Hamlin (+350)
Denny Hamlin looks like one of the strongest outright bets for tonight’s Southern 500. He owns five Darlington wins, a 7.9 average finish in 28 starts, and led 177 laps in this race last year before strategy spoiled the party.
Starting fourth also keeps Hamlin out of early traffic, while his tire-management skill should matter over 367 punishing laps. With four wins this season and the No. 1 Chase seed, the No. 11 enters with serious momentum.
Prediction: Denny Hamlin to win the Cook Out Southern 500.
Propping up:
- Take Tyler Reddick +170 for Top 3 Finish
- Take Kyle Larson +185 for Top 5 Finish
- Take Over 9.5 Number of Drivers To Lead A Lap at -115
- Driver H2H Match Up Take Brad Keselowski -125 over Chase Elliott
- Long Shot Bets – Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick Both to Finish in the Top 3 +550
Bet on the Cook Out Southern 500 at Bovada Sportsbook where you can get $250 bonus.
