Everything was set up for Denny Hamlin to succeed going into the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Chase presented by Mobil 1 ... until The Chase actually started, that is. Two-thirds of the way through Sunday‘s Chase opener at Darlington Raceway,

Hocevar says spinning Brad Keselowski was the product of hard racing—not dirty driving—and insists he has nothing to apologize for despite growing criticism from fellow NASCAR drivers.

Darlington Raceway plays host to the Southern 500. Denny Hamlin is favored in the Southern 500. Chase Briscoe has won this race two straight years. In addition to outright win picks, you can select drivers to finish in the Top 3, 5, or 10.

DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Christopher Bell was downright jubilant in his first visit to Darlington Raceway\"s Victory Lane, grabbing one of the champagne bottles for an obligatory post-race dousing of colleagues.

Tyler Reddick will start up front for the Southern 500 after lightning canceled qualifying at Darlington Raceway on Saturday

NASCAR Cup Series standings after Darlington, including all 16 Chase drivers, updated points and the championship gaps after the Southern 500.

Christopher Bell snapped a 33-race winless streak, claiming his first victory of the year in Sunday night's Cook Out Southern 500, coming after a record-breaking mark of seven runner-up efforts on the season.

The opening race in The Chase presented by Mobil 1 featured a new winner for the 2026 season in Christopher Bell after he suffered through a record-tying seven runner-up finishes before finally getting to pop the champagne cork.

NASCAR Cup Series post-race inspection at Darlington sends Brad Keselowski and Corey Heim’s cars to R&D after Christopher Bell’s win.

A few days after his contact with Brad Keselowski at Darlington Raceway, which left Keselowski angered, Carson Hocevar – who seemed initially to shrug off the incident – was more forthcoming about what happened.