This weekend, the NASCAR Cup and Truck Series will both be competing at the historic Darlington Raceway, which plays host to the playoff opener for both divisions.
Darlington also hosts the fourth and final crown jewel event of the season with the 76th running of the Southern 500. The event has been part of the NASCAR Cup calendar since 1950, which was won by Johnny Mantz.
William Byron (Daytona 500), Ross Chastain (Coca Cola 600), and Bubba Wallace (Brickyard 400) won the previous four crown jewels on the 2025 schedule.
Chase Briscoe is the defending winner of the Southern 500 at Darlington, while Denny Hamlin is the most recent Cup winner at the South Carolina track, winning the 400-miler there earlier this year.
This weekend's grueling 500-mile race will feature the usual 36 full-time drivers/teams, but also two part-time entries. The NY Racing team has entered its No. 44 Chevrolet with Derek Kraus behind the wheel, while Garage 66 has entered the No. 66 Ford with Josh Bilicki as the driver.
The NASCAR Truck Series race will feature 32 entries with no Cup drivers choosing to run double duty. The Xfinity Series is at Portland this weekend with 37 cars entered, including reigning Australian Supercars champion Will Brown.
2025 NASCAR Cup entry list for Southern 500 at Darlington
*Playoff drivers in bold
| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
| 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford |
| 7 | Justin Haley | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 10 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford |
| 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
| 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford |
| 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
| 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 35 | Riley Herbst | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 41 | Cole Custer | Haas Factory Team | Ford |
| 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota |
| 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota |
| 44 | Derik Kraus | NY Racing Team | Chevrolet |
| 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Hyak Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
| 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing | Ford |
| 66 | Josh Bilicki | Garage 66 | Ford |
| 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 88 | Shane van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
| 99 | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
