The 2024 NASCAR season’s final race before the Cup Series playoffs start is revving into gear in Darlington, South Carolina: All of our favorite Cup Series drivers will put the pedal to the metal on Sunday, September 1 at 6 p.m. ET for the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Here’s our guide to catching every heart-pounding moment of action.
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Date & Time: Sunday, September 1 at 6 p.m. ET Cook Out Southern 500 Race Information
Racetrack: Darlington Raceway
Location: Darlington, South Carolina
Laps/Distance: 367 laps, 501.3 miles
How to Watch: NBC (Check local listings)
How to Watch the Cook Out Southern 500 Live
You can watch all of your favorite NASCAR drivers including William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell and more vying for victory lane at Darlington live on NBC (Check local listings here) and USA (Channel 242). The race starts at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 1, 2024, and you won’t want to miss a moment of the racing action.
Check out the DIRECTV Insider NASCAR Cup Series Standings here to find out how your favorite drivers are looking leading into the Cook Out Southern 500.
Cook Out Southern 500 Weekend Schedule
Saturday, August 31
- NASCAR Xfinity Series Practice: 10:30 a.m. ET on NBC Sports
- NASCAR Xfinity Series Qualifying: 11:10 a.m. ET on NBC Sports
- NASCAR Cup Series Practice: 12:35 p.m. ET on NBC Sports, USA
- NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying: 1:20 p.m. ET on NBC Sports, USA
- NASCAR Xfinity Series Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200:3:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports, USA
Sunday, September 1
- NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500: 6 p.m. ET on NBC Sports, USA
Who won the 2023 Cook Out Southern 500?
Kyle Larson, driving the #5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, won the 2023 Cook Out Southern 500.
Cook Out Southern 500 Racetrack Specs
“The Lady in Black.” The “Track Too Tough to Tame.” “A NASCAR Tradition.” The 1.3-mile-long Darlington Raceway has many names, and most of them have been coined in part due to its unique design: It’s an oblong, egg-shaped course that makes it difficult to adapt a stock car’s handling to the full track. This unusual design came as a result of the track’s architect, Harold Brasington, agreeing not to disturb a minnow pond on the farmland he bought to build Darlington, which left one corner narrower and steeper than the rest of the raceway.
Darlington’s first two turns have banking set at 25 degrees, while the last two have 23-degree banking.
History of the Cook Out Southern 500
The Cook Out Southern 500 is an old race, first run in 1950. It’s the last of the Crown Jewels of NASCAR, along with the Daytona 500, the Coca-Cola 600 and the Brickyard 500. It’s considered one of the most difficult races to win due to the track’s unusual design, and it’s traditionally held on Labor Day weekend.
Over the course of its long history, the race has been called the Southern 500, the Heinz Southern 500, the Mountain Dew Southern 500, the Pepsi Southern 500, the Dodge Charger 500, the Dodge Avenger 500, the Dodge Challenger 500, the Southern 500 Presented by GoDaddy.com, the Showtime Southern 500 and the Bojangles Southern 500.
This year, the race is the final event before the NASCAR playoffs begin.
Jeff Gordon holds the record for wins in the race at six. Cale Yarborough is second with 5 wins, and Bobby Allison won the race four times.
Watch the Cook Out Southern 500 on DIRECTV
With your DIRECTV subscription, you won’t miss a single heart-pounded lap of the Cook Out Southern 500, or any other NASCAR race this season across FOX, FS1, NBC or the USA Network.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How can I watch the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway?
The NASCAR Cup Series Southern 500 is available to watch live on USA, channel 242 on DIRECTV.
When is the Cook Out Southern 500?
The Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 will take place on September 1, 2024, at 6 pm ET.
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