The 2025 Cook Out Southern 500 will take place on Sunday night. This race is the opening race of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs at Darlington Raceway. The drivers that made the top 16 will look to get off to a good start in the first of three races in the round of 16. Before this race begins, continue reading to get my Cook Out Southern 500 prediction.
Our Cook Out Southern 500 Pick
- Pick: William Byron
- Confidence: 3/5
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Cook Out Southern 500 Preview
This race will take place at the 1.366-mile Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. Drivers will complete 367 grueling laps around “The Track Too Tough to Tame” with stages ending at laps 115 and 230 followed by a final sprint covering the remaining 137 laps. A win here guarantees advancement to the Round of 12 regardless of points standing. We should see aggressive driving from those in contention as a result.
Notable contenders include regular-season champion William Byron. Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, and Tyler Reddick round out the top tier of contenders to win this race. Christopher Bell is also a dark-horse contender with multiple wins this season. This race has had five different winners in the last five years and we could see another unique winner in Sunday’s race.
Cook Out Southern 500 Track Info
- Darlington Raceway: 1.366-mile oval with an asymmetric “egg” shape. Turns 1-2 are tighter and turns 3-4 are more sweeping.
- Race length: 367 laps / 501.322 miles
- Stage structure:
- Stage 1: 115 laps
- Stage 2: 115 laps
- Final stage: 137 laps.
- Darlington’s surface is rough and demanding. It will test tire wear and driver skill consistently.
- Broadcast: USA Network
Betting Odds
- William Byron: +400
- Kyle Larson: +600
- Denny Hamlin: +650
- Ryan Blaney: +650
- Christopher Bell: +800
- Tyler Reddick: +850
- Chase Briscoe: +1200
- Chase Elliott: +1400
- Joey Logano: +1600
- Bubba Wallace: +2000
- Ross Chastain: +2000
Cook Out Southern 500 Prediction
William Byron is the favorite to win this race and he is my top pick to win the Cook Out Southern 500. He has all of the tools to win at Darlington and has all of the momentum from putting forth the best regular season in the NASCAR Cup Series. As long as Byron can avoid any kind of wreck in this race, I’ll take him to come out on top and punch his ticket into the final 12.
