Christopher Bell opened The Chase for the NASCAR Cup Series by earning his first victory of the 2026 season. After passing Kyle Larson for the lead with 12 circuits remaining, Bell captured the victory in Sunday night’s Cook Out Southern 500 at the Darlington Raceway.
It was Bell’s first Darlington win, first victory of the 2026 season and 14th career Cup win overall. The win was huge for Bell’s championship hopes as he moved into the second position in the standings, 12 points behind leader Denny Hamlin.
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It was a trying evening for Hamlin, who entered the Chase as the top seed. In the final stage, contact between Hamlin and Michael McDowell caused toe link damage on the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
The contact forced Hamlin to go a lap behind. The 45-year-old gained his lap back and ultimately finished 18th. Going into Darlington, Hamlin had a 25-point lead over second place Ryan Blaney. Now, the JGR driver has a 12-point edge over Bell.
William Byron had a difficult evening at Darlington as he posted a DNF of 37th place. The driver of the No. 24 suffered a flat tire in the final stage, then suffered an engine failure on the subsequent restart.
Full NASCAR Cup Series Darlington Southern 500 results
Winner
Christopher Bell (Joe Gibbs Racing)
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Stage Winners
Stage 1: Tyler Reddick
Stage 2: Christopher Bell
Top-10 Finishers
Key NASCAR Cup takeaways from New Hampshire
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Stage 1 ended with Brad Keselowski spinning out after contact with Carson Hocevar
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Tyler Reddick won Stage 1 and finished third.
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Reddick lost ground during Stage 2 after a pit road miscue
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Christopher Bell won Stage 2, earning 10 points.
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Hamlin suffers toe link issue after contact with Michael McDowell in the final stage
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Zane Smith spun out on Lap 283, triggering a caution
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William Byron suffered an engine failure in the final stage and finished 37th
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The race start time was bumped up 10 minutes due to the threat of rain
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The race had a brief red flag for rain with 30 laps remaining
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