The 2024 Cook Out Southern 500, the 75th running of the event, was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on September 1, 2024, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina on the speedway, it was the 26th race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, last race of the regular season, and the final Crown Jewel of the year. Chase Briscoe won the race, his first win since the 2022 Ruoff Mortgage 500. Kyle Busch finished 2nd, and Christopher Bell finished 3rd. Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain rounded out the top five, and Chris Buescher, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Corey LaJoie, and Tyler Reddick rounded out the top ten.
This was Stewart–Haas Racing's final win in the Cup Series before shutting down after the season.
Report
Background
Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that is effective at both ends.
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver. (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Josh Berry (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Noah Gragson Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15 Kaz Grala (R) Rick Ware Racing Ford 16 Shane van Gisbergen (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31 Daniel Hemric Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Toyota 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Justin Haley Rick Ware Racing Ford 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 66 Timmy Hill (i) Power Source Ford 71 Zane Smith (R) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 77 Carson Hocevar (R) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing ChevroletOfficial entry list
Practice Erik Jones was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 29.542 seconds and a speed of .
Practice results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Toyota 29.542 166.461 2 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 29.598 166.146 3 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 29.603 166.118Official practice results
Qualifying Bubba Wallace scored the pole for the race with a time 29.421 of and a speed of . Rookie Carson Hocevar scored a personal and team best qualifying effort in 2nd.
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 29.328 29.421 2 77 Carson Hocevar (R) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 29.419 29.445 3 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 29.294 29.576 4 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.445 29.444 5 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 29.292 29.582 6 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 29.463 29.446 7 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 29.375 29.617 8 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.439 29.528 9 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 29.239 29.670 10 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 29.622 29.650 11 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 29.444 — 12 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 29.624 — 13 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 29.472 — 14 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 29.649 — 15 4 Josh Berry (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 29.509 — 16 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 29.670 — 17 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 29.531 — 18 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 29.696 — 19 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 29.534 — 20 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.791 — 21 51 Justin Haley Rick Ware Racing Ford 29.538 — 22 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 29.806 — 23 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 29.563 — 24 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 29.849 — 25 31 Daniel Hemric Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 29.571 — 26 71 Zane Smith (R) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 29.852 — 27 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.601 — 28 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Toyota 29.925 — 29 10 Noah Gragson Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 29.632 — 30 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 29.981 — 31 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 29.653 — 32 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 30.015 — 33 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 29.853 — 34 16 Shane van Gisbergen (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 30.267 — 35 15 Kaz Grala (R) Rick Ware Racing Ford 30.142 — 36 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 0.000 — 37 66 Timmy Hill (i) Power Source Ford 31.296 —Official qualifying results
Race
Race results
Stage results
Stage One Laps: 115
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 102 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 93 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 84 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 75 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 66 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 57 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 39 4 Josh Berry (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 210 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 1Official stage one results
Stage Two Laps: 115
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 102 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 93 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 84 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 66 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 57 4 Josh Berry (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 48 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 39 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 210 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 1Official stage two results
Final Stage results
Stage Three Laps: 137
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 3 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 367 572 17 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 367 353 9 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 367 464 4 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 367 535 22 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 367 326 10 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 367 327 14 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 367 438 23 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 367 299 19 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 367 2810 6 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 367 3711 20 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 367 2612 30 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 367 2513 11 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 367 2414 12 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 367 2415 16 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 367 2216 1 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 367 3217 33 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 367 2018 32 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 366 1919 27 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 366 1820 13 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 366 2621 24 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 365 1622 36 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 365 1523 26 71 Zane Smith (R) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 364 1424 28 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Toyota 364 1325 18 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 364 1226 34 16 Shane van Gisbergen (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 364 027 21 51 Justin Haley Rick Ware Racing Ford 363 1028 31 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 363 929 25 31 Daniel Hemric Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 362 830 8 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 344 1731 15 4 Josh Berry (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 343 1232 29 10 Noah Gragson Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 343 533 2 77 Carson Hocevar (R) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 335 434 35 15 Kaz Grala Rick Ware Racing Ford 332 335 37 66 Timmy Hill (i) Power Source Ford 278 036 5 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 2 137 7 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 2 1Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 26 among 11 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 7 for 39 Red flags: 0 Time of race: 3 hours, 55 minutes and 14 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television USA covered the race on the television side. Leigh Diffey, two–time Darlington winner Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte called the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns, Kim Coon and Marty Snider handled the pit road duties from pit lane.
USABooth announcersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Leigh DiffeyColor-commentator: Jeff BurtonColor-commentator: Steve Letarte Dave BurnsKim CoonMarty Snider
Radio MRN had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
MRN RadioBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Alex HaydenAnnouncer: Jeff StriegleAnnouncer: Todd Gordon Turns 1 & 2: Dave MoodyTurns 3 & 4: Mike Bagley Steve PostChris WilnerBrienne PedigoAlex Weaver
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings after Playoffs reset Pos Driver Points 1 1 Kyle Larson 2,040 4 2 Christopher Bell 2,032 (–8) 2 3 Tyler Reddick 2,028 (–12) 1 4 William Byron 2,022 (–18) 1 5 Ryan Blaney 2,018 (–22) 2 6 Denny Hamlin 2,015 (–25) 4 7 Chase Elliott 2,014 (–26) 1 8 Brad Keselowski 2,008 (–32) 6 9 Joey Logano 2,007 (–33) 9 10 Austin Cindric 2,007 (–33) 6 11 Daniel Suárez 2,006 (–34) 12 Alex Bowman 2,005 (–35) 5 13 Chase Briscoe 2,005 (–35) 20 14 Harrison Burton 2,005 (–35) 5 15 Ty Gibbs 2,004 (–36) 7 16 Martin Truex Jr. 2,004 (–36)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet 944 2 Toyota 929 (–15) 3 Ford 908 (–36)
Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.
References