The fourth and final crown jewel in the NASCAR Cup season is this weekend, as the 2026 edition of The Chase gets underway at Darlington Raceway. This weekend, the historic track will host the 77th running of the Southern 500, which has been a part of the Cup schedule since 1950.
38 drivers are teams are entering this weekend’s race, the lowest for any crown jewels this year but also comparable to previous years at Darlington. The season-opening Daytona 500 featured 45 entries, while 39 cars entered the Coca-Cola 600 and also the Brickyard 400.
The two open entries are Corey Heim in the No. 67 Toyota for 23XI Racing and Chad Finchum in the No. 66 Ford for Garage 66.
Chase Briscoe won the Southern 500 in both 2024 and 2025, and is attempting to become the first driver to win the event in three consecutive years since Jeff Gordon won four consecutively between 1995 and 1998.
Riley Herbst, who was replaced by Harrison Burton at Daytona as he suffered from the “lingering effects” of a crash at New Hampshire, is currently listed as the driver of the No. 35.
Open entries italicized
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