The NASCAR Cup Series field is set for the opening race of the 2026 Chase.
NASCAR released the official entry list for Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, with 38 cars entered for the first of 10 races that will decide the Cup Series championship.
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All 16 Chase drivers are naturally part of the field, led by No. 1 seed Denny Hamlin. But the Darlington entry list also includes two non-chartered cars, expanding the field beyond the usual 36.
Corey Heim will make another Cup Series appearance in the No. 67 Toyota for 23XI Racing, while Chad Finchum is entered in Garage 66’s No. 66 Ford.
Here is the complete NASCAR Cup Series entry list for Darlington.
Full NASCAR Cup Series Entry List for Darlington
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Ross Chastain — No. 1, Trackhouse Racing
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Austin Cindric — No. 2, Team Penske
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Austin Dillon — No. 3, Richard Childress Racing
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Noah Gragson — No. 4, Front Row Motorsports
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Kyle Larson — No. 5, Hendrick Motorsports
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Brad Keselowski — No. 6, RFK Racing
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Daniel Suárez — No. 7, Spire Motorsports
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Chase Elliott — No. 9, Hendrick Motorsports
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Ty Dillon — No. 10, Kaulig Racing
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Denny Hamlin — No. 11, Joe Gibbs Racing
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Ryan Blaney — No. 12, Team Penske
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AJ Allmendinger — No. 16, Kaulig Racing
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Chris Buescher — No. 17, RFK Racing
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Chase Briscoe — No. 19, Joe Gibbs Racing
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Christopher Bell — No. 20, Joe Gibbs Racing
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Josh Berry — No. 21, Wood Brothers Racing
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Joey Logano — No. 22, Team Penske
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Bubba Wallace — No. 23, 23XI Racing
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William Byron — No. 24, Hendrick Motorsports
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Austin Hill — No. 33, Richard Childress Racing
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Todd Gilliland — No. 34, Front Row Motorsports
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Riley Herbst — No. 35, 23XI Racing
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Zane Smith — No. 38, Front Row Motorsports
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Cole Custer — No. 41, Haas Factory Team
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John Hunter Nemechek — No. 42, Legacy Motor Club
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Erik Jones — No. 43, Legacy Motor Club
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Tyler Reddick — No. 45, 23XI Racing
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Ricky Stenhouse Jr. — No. 47, HYAK Motorsports
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Alex Bowman — No. 48, Hendrick Motorsports
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Cody Ware — No. 51, Rick Ware Racing
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Ty Gibbs — No. 54, Joe Gibbs Racing
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Ryan Preece — No. 60, RFK Racing
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Chad Finchum — No. 66, Garage 66
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Corey Heim — No. 67, 23XI Racing
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Michael McDowell — No. 71, Spire Motorsports
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Carson Hocevar — No. 77, Spire Motorsports
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Shane van Gisbergen — No. 88, Trackhouse Racing
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Connor Zilisch — No. 99, Trackhouse Racing
Two Extra Cars Join the Darlington Field
The two non-chartered entries give Darlington a 38-car field.
Heim returns in 23XI Racing’s No. 67 Toyota, giving the organization a fourth entry alongside Bubba Wallace, Riley Herbst and Tyler Reddick.
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Finchum, meanwhile, will drive the No. 66 Ford for Garage 66. His presence adds another car to a field that will feature both the championship contenders and the drivers already eliminated from title contention.
The latter point is worth remembering under NASCAR’s Chase format. Missing the Chase does not end a driver’s season. Drivers outside the 16-driver championship field continue competing in all 10 remaining races and can still race for wins.
That means names such as Chastain, Keselowski, Herbst and van Gisbergen remain part of the weekly Cup field even though they are no longer racing for the championship.
The NASCAR Chase Begins at Darlington
Darlington is more than another stop on the schedule this weekend.
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The Southern 500 officially opens the 2026 NASCAR Chase, beginning the 10-race run to the championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Hamlin arrives at Darlington with the No. 1 seed and 2,100 points, followed by Ryan Blaney at 2,075 and Tyler Reddick at 2,065.
Darlington also brings an immediate challenge for the championship field. The 1.366-mile track is notoriously unforgiving, and several of the contenders have already shown they can win there.
Reddick won the Cup Series’ spring visit to Darlington in March, while Briscoe enters the weekend as the defending Southern 500 winner.
The Cook Out Southern 500 is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 6 at 5 p.m. ET on USA Network, with streaming coverage on HBO Max.
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