2026 Cook Out Southern 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 27 of 36 in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | September 6, 2026 | ||
| Location | Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1.366 miles (2.198 km) | ||
| Distance | 367 laps, 501.322 mi (806.800 km) | ||
| Average speed | 123.741 miles per hour (199.142 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | 23XI Racing | ||
| Grid positions set by competition-based formula | |||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 94 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Time | 29.936 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | USA | ||
| Announcers | Leigh Diffey, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth announcers | Alex Hayden, Mike Bagley, and Todd Gordon | ||
| Turn announcers | Dave Moody (1 & 2) and Tim Catalfamo (3 & 4) | ||
The 2026 Cook Out Southern 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on September 6, 2026, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina on the 1.366-mile (2.198 km) egg-shaped asphalt oval, it was the 27th race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, the first race of the NASCAR Chase, and 77th running of the event.
Christopher Bell won the race. Ty Gibbs finished 2nd, and Tyler Reddick finished 3rd. Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson rounded out the top five, and Chase Briscoe, Josh Berry, Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano, and Ryan Preece rounded out the top ten.