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NASCAR’s Cup Series begins its 10-race playoff battle this weekend at Darlington after a cut-throat regular-season finale at Daytona last Saturday. The Cook Out Southern 500 starts at 6 p.m. Sunday on NBCSN.

Sixteen drivers are vying for a win, or enough points, to secure a spot in the next postseason Round of 12 opening in three weeks at Las Vegas.

Kyle Larson, NASCAR’s 2021 regular-season Cup champion, starts sixth on Sunday and is the favorite to win, according to bet MGM odds. Daytona 400 winner Ryan Blaney is on the pole with Denny Hamlin in the front row, as determined by NASCAR’s performance-based metric qualifying formula.

Hamlin is one of three playoff drivers without a win this season along with Kevin Harvick and Tyler Reddick. Hamlin and Harvick, however, lead all active drivers in wins at Darlington with three each and could nab a first 2021 victory this weekend at Darlington’s 1.366-mile paved oval.

However, neither team has shown consistent strength this season like they did last year, when both drivers scored at least one with at Darlington (Harvick won two races). Instead, it was Martin Truex Jr. who won this season’s first Darlington race in May. His No. 19 team was also dominant on tracks with the 750 horsepower package earlier this season, which makes Truex another favorite to win on Sunday.

The strike against Truex is that his team has been a lull over the last three races, averaging an 18th-place finish in those events.

While three Gibbs drivers — Truex, Hamlin and Kyle Busch — finished in the top five at the last Darlington race, Larson’s my pick to win. He finished second at Darlington in May and the No. 5 team’s performance hasn’t significantly dipped at recent races (sure, he finished 20th at Daytona, but it was a wreck-filled Daytona). Barring unpredictable wrecks this weekend, Larson could make a postseason statement.

How to watch NASCAR Cup race at Darlington

  • Race: Cook Out Southern 500

  • When: Sunday, Sept. 5

  • Time: 6 p.m. EST

  • TV: NBCSN

  • Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

  • Distance: 501.3 miles (367 Laps) with stages ending on laps 115, 230 and 367

NASCAR at Darlington Cup starting order

Order

Driver

Car No.

1

Ryan Blaney

12

2

Denny Hamlin

11

3

Kurt Busch

1

4

Chase Elliott

9

5

Alex Bowman

48

6

Kyle Larson

5

7

Tyler Reddick

8

8

Aric Almirola

10

9

Kevin Harvick

4

10

Martin Truex Jr.

19

11

Joey Logano

22

12

Kyle Busch

18

13

Christopher Bell

20

14

William Byron

24

15

Michael McDowell

34

16

Brad Keselowski

2

17

Bubba Wallace

23

18

Ryan Preece

37

19

Ryan Newman

6

20

Justin Haley

77

21

Austin Dillon

3

22

Erik Jones

43

23

Ross Chastain

42

24

Chase Briscoe

14

25

Corey LaJoie

7

26

Daniel Suárez

99

27

BJ McLeod

78

28

Josh Bilicki

52

29

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

47

30

Matt DiBenedetto

21

31

Cole Custer

41

32

Anthony Alfredo

38

33

Cody Ware

51

34

Chris Buescher

17

35

Joey Gase

15

36

James Davison

53

37

Quin Houff

00

NASCAR Cup playoff standings

Order

Driver

Points

1

Kyle Larson

2052

2

Ryan Blaney

2024

3

Martin Truex Jr.

2024

4

Kyle Busch

2022

5

Chase Elliott

2021

6

Alex Bowman

2015

7

Denny Hamlin

2015

8

William Byron

2014

9

Joey Logano

2013

10

Brad Keselowski

2008

11

Kurt Busch

2008

12

Christopher Bell

2005

13

Michael McDowell

2005

14

Aric Almirola

2005

15

Tyler Reddick

2003

16

Kevin Harvick

2002

Source