The first NASCAR Cup Series “Chase” postseason since 2013 is set to get underway on Sunday with the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

The same qualifying metric that has been used since the 2025 season began was used to determine the order for Saturday’s qualifying session around the four-turn, 1.366-mile (2.198-kilometer) egg-shaped oval in Darlington, South Carolina, factoring in both the owner standings and the results of the most recent race.

But for the playoffs, the 16 championship-eligible drivers are not factored into the equation until all of the others are slotted into the order, guaranteeing that they will qualify at the end of the line. As is the case on all intermediate ovals, the single-car qualifying session is set to feature single-lap attempts, with only one round to set the full 38-car starting lineup.

The only lineup changes since this past weekend’s regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway have to do with the non-chartered (open) cars. There were five on the entry list at Daytona, and there are just two on this weekend’s entry list. The only unchanged open car is the No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota, which is set to be driven by two-time 2026 race winner Corey Heim.

The No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet, No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet, and No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet are not on the entry list after being driven by Joey Gase, Casey Mears, and Daniel Dye, respectively, at Daytona.

Gray Gaulding failed to qualify the No. 66 Garage 66 (MBM Motorsports) Ford at Daytona, but the team have entered the car again this weekend for Chad Finchum, who is set to lead off the qualifying session due to the No. 66 car’s series-worst metric score.

Here’s a look at Saturday’s full qualifying order for Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington.

Darlington NASCAR Cup Series qualifying order

Order

Driver

1

Chad Finchum, No. 66 Garage 66 Ford

2

Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet

3

Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

4

Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford

5

Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

6

Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

7

A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

8

Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford

9

Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

10

Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

11

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

12

Corey Heim, No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota

13

Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford

14

John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

15

Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet

16

Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota

17

Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford

18

Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford

19

Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

20

Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

21

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet

22

Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

23

Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford

24

Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

25

Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

26

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

27

Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford

28

William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

29

Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

30

Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota

31

Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford

32

Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

33

Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

34

Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford

35

Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

36

Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford

37

Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

38

Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota

USA Network’s live coverage of the Cook Out Southern 500 is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 6. Don’t miss any of the action from Darlington Raceway to open up the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs!

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