The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs officially kick off on Sunday with a crown jewel race -- the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
The historic track returns to its spot hosting the playoffs after closing out the regular season last year due to an extra off week. Chase Briscoe won that race and punched his ticket to the playoffs. Now, Briscoe and his fellow playoff drivers will use the Southern 500 to kick off their quest for a championship.
The Cup Series playoff field includes Kyle Larson, William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Shane van Gisbergen, Chase Elliott, Briscoe, Bubba Wallace, Austin Cindric, Ross Chastain, Joey Logano, Josh Berry, Tyler Reddick, Austin Dillon, and Alex Bowman.
The playoff weekend also features the Craftsman Truck Series. The series will start the Round of 10 at The Lady in Black during a busy Saturday.
The Truck Series playoff field features Corey Heim, Layne Riggs, Chandler Smith, Daniel Hemric, Tyler Ankrum, Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger, Rajah Caruth, Kaden Honeycutt, and Jake Garcia.
Darlington Raceway forecast and schedule
Friday forecast: The WeatherUnderground forecast calls for partly cloudy skies throughout the day. A high of 83 degrees and an 11% chance of rain at the start of Truck Series practice.
Saturday forecast: The forecast calls for partly cloudy skies. A high of 80 degrees and a 23% chance of rain at the start of the Truck Series race.
Sunday forecast: The forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies. A high of 79 degrees and a 24% chance of rain at the start of the Southern 500.
Friday, Aug. 29, schedule (Eastern Time)
- 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. -- Truck Series garage hours
- 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. -- Cup Series garage hours
- 3:05 - 4 p.m. -- Truck Series practice (FS2)
- 4:10 - 5 p.m. -- Truck Series qualifying (FS2)
Saturday, Aug. 30, schedule (Eastern Time)
- 7 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. -- Cup Series garage hours
- 10 a.m. -- Truck Series garage hours
- 9 - 10 a.m. -- Cup Series practice (truTV, Max, Radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
- 10:10 - 11 a.m. -- Cup qualifying (truTV, Max, Radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
- 12 p.m. -- Truck Series race (147 laps, 200.8 miles. FS1, Radio coverage on NASCAR Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday, Aug. 31, schedule (Eastern Time)
- 3 p.m. -- Cup Series garage hours
- 6 p.m. -- Cup Series race (367 laps, 501.32 miles. USA Network, streaming on NBC Sports app, in-car cameras on Max, Radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)