Christopher Bell passed Kyle Larson with 13 laps to go to win Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, kicking off his Chase presented by Mobil 1 journey on a strong note.
The victory marks Bell’s first of the season after seven runner-up finishes in 2026. It’s his 14th at the NASCAR Cup Series level.
RELATED: Unofficial results | At-track photos: Darlington
Ty Gibbs finished second, followed by Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson. Chase Briscoe, Josh Berry, Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano and Ryan Preece rounded out the top 10. Berry was the only non-Chase driver to finish inside the top 10, his sixth in a row.
Carson Hocevar finished 11th, Austin Cindric 13th, Chase Elliott 14th, Denny Hamlin 18th, Chris Buescher 20th, Daniel Suárez 21st and William Byron 37th to round out Chase drivers.
The final stage started with significant issues for Denny Hamlin, who earned the No. 1 seed for The Chase. After a slow pit stop at the end of Stage 2, Hamlin got loose and then was hit from behind by Michael McDowell. He slapped the Turn 4 wall, resulting in toe link damage. Hamlin fell off the pace, losing a lap to the field as he nursed the damage.
Pit stops began at Lap 277. Toward the end of the cycle, Zane Smith went spinning down the frontstretch after contact from McDowell, resulting in the second caution for incident of the evening.
SHOP: Winner gear
Gibbs, Briscoe, Byron, Wallace and Logano came down under yellow for fresh rubber, even though they had just pitted a few laps earlier. The caution also allowed for Hamlin to return to pit road for more extensive repairs on his No. 11 Toyota.
Larson fired back out to the lead on the restart, and he held court up until a Lap 316 caution for Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron. Entering The Chase as the No. 13 seed, the two-time Daytona 500 winner spun from ninth, coming to a stop on the Turn 4 apron.
Byron spent time on pit road, but the team could not diagnose the issue. He returned to the track still reporting a problem before smoke billowed out of his No. 24 Chevrolet, and he reported that his engine had expired.
Under the caution, Larson had a slow stop, losing two positions on pit road and turning over control of the race to Bell.
Briscoe, who won the last two Southern 500’s, passed Bell on the restart and briefly set still until light rain was reported at Darlington. That led to an eight-minute red flag at Lap 338 to preserve laps as NASCAR officials monitored the racing surface.
Most lead lap cars pitted once the race resumed, except for Larson, Cindric, Logano and Preece. Those drivers restarted at Lap 343 with a 24-lap tire disadvantage.
Larson hung onto his lead until 13 laps to go, when Bell returned to the top spot and held on for the crown-jewel win.
Stage 2 recap
Christopher Bell won Stage 2 of Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. It was his fifth stage victory of 2026.
Kyle Larson finished second, climbing from 16th over the final stint of the frame. Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace and Ryan Blaney completed the top five. Josh Berry, Chase Briscoe, William Byron, Tyler Reddick and Austin Cindric completed the top 10 and point earners. Berry is the only driver not competing in The Chase presented by Mobil 1.
MORE: Full Stage 2 results
Ryan Preece finished 20th, struggling to climb through the field after multiple pit stops set him back after Stage 1. Chris Buescher finished 30th, striking the wall multiple times and reporting a bent toe link.
Reddick surged back to the lead on the Stage 2 restart, setting sail while Hamlin dropped to fourth. The No. 45 23XI Racing driver maintained out front until the pit cycle began at Lap 147.
He came down pit road at Lap 151, one lap after teammate Bubba Wallace. But Wallace’s stop was two tenths quicker, and that allowed him to leapfrog to the lead for the first time.
Moments before the pit cycle officially began, Brad Keselowski went for his second spin of the evening, but the race stayed green as he came to a stop on the Turn 4 apron.
Thirty-five laps later, the second green-flag pit cycle began. Thanks to an 8.8-second stop, Briscoe jumped Wallace during the cycle, and the two-time defending Southern 500 winner took his first lead of the night.
That didn’t last. With 15 to go in the stage, Bell, using four-lap fresher tires, passed his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate and cruised to the stage victory.
Three Joe Gibbs Racing drivers had pit-road issues just after the conclusion of Stage 2. Briscoe ran out of fuel after the stage-checkered flag, and both Bell and Hamlin had slow pit stops before the start of the final stage. Reddick also had a slow stop on the final green-flag pit cycle in Stage 2 that caused the No. 45 to fall outside the top five. Reddick was scored ninth at the stage break.
Stage 1 recap
Tyler Reddick won Stage 1 of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
Bubba Wallace finished second, followed by Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney. Chase Briscoe, Ryan Preece, Austin Cindric, William Byron and Ty Gibbs completed the top 10 and points earners – all Chase presented by Mobil 1 drivers.
MORE: Full Stage 1 results
Hamlin jumped out to the lead at Lap 3, rocketing up from his fourth-place starting position in mere moments. Daniel Suárez, who started second, led the opening two circuits as polesitter and springtime Darlington winner Reddick settled in second place.
That lead didn’t last long, as Reddick reeled in his 23XI Racing co-owner and took the lead at Lap 30, successfully executing a slide job move in Turns 3 and 4.
Meanwhile, Suárez plummeted after the early short-run pace, falling to 17th once at Lap 35 yellow was displayed as a competition caution, which allowed for teams to check tire wear after Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions were canceled. Suárez finished the stage 26th, worst of postseason drivers.
Reddick and Hamlin stayed status quo off pit road. Moments later on the ensuing restart, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver took point at Lap 45 for the second time on the night.
The first green-flag pit cycle began at Lap 71, when Chase drivers Bell, Blaney, Cindric and Joey Logano came for service. Hamlin and Reddick came two laps later, and again, status quo as Hamlin exited first.
The pit cycle finished at Lap 80 and Hamlin officially cycled back to the lead.
At Lap 94, Reddick snatched back the lead and held it when a Lap 107 caution ended the stage. Carson Hocevar and Brad Keselowski made contact in the midpack, causing the RFK Racing driver and co-owner to spin in Turn 4.
Of note, Wallace climbed seven spots during the final stint of the stage.
This story will be updated.