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NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500: Qualifying, Bubba Wallace’s Pole Position, Lineup For Regular-Season Finale At Darlington Raceway
By Jeff Hawkins,
5 hours ago
Needing a big weekend at Darlington Raceway, Bubba Wallace on Saturday kick-started chances of qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs by securing the pole position for Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500.
Wallace enters the circuit’s final regular-season event 21 points behind Chris Buescher for the final postseason spot. The 23XI Racing pilot established the fastest qualifying time, registering a hot lap of 167.010 mph at the iconic 1.366-mile track. Wallace edged runner-up Carson Hocevar (167.010) and third-place finisher Chase Briscoe (166.270).
Erik Jones, the two-time event champion, topped the practice session with an average speed of 166.461 mph.
Along with Buescher, two other pilots, Martin Truex Jr. (plus-58 points) and Ty Gibbs (plus-39), do not have a win but are above the cutoff line.
Tyler Reddick Chasing Regular-Season Points Title
Cup points leader Tyler Reddick can clinch a regular-season championship and claim an additional 15 playoff points Sunday.
Reddick, who paces the circuit with 11 top-five finishes and 17 top-10s, enters the Cook Out Southern 500 with a 17-point lead over second-place Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott by 18 points. Defending series champ Ryan Blaney trails Reddick by 68 points.
With two wins in 25 starts this season, Reddick does not intend to drive with a “prevent defense” mindset.
“If we take care of our points, we do that by having a solid run at Darlington,” Reddick said, as reported by NASCAR.com. “I mean, from that aspect, those goals are kind of one and the same, what our approach is,” Reddick said. “When you go to some of these other tracks, you have to think about it a little differently. But Darlington’s a race, it’s you versus yourself and the race track.
“Obviously, we’re competing with other drivers out there, but you can make mistakes pretty easily there by getting too caught up in what your competitors are doing. So it’s just a good mindset to have.”
In the spring race at Darlington, Reddick placed his No. 45 Toyota on the pole and paced the field for 174 rotations, but a late-race altercation with Chris Buescher led to Brad Keselowski claiming the checkered flag. Instead of a potential runner-up finish, Reddick placed 32nd, his worst this season.
“Yeah, I really wish I could have looked into the future and saw where I’d be points,” Reddick said. “I would have taken that second place right about now, because I’d be just going into Darlington and not worrying about racing the 5 (Larson) or the 9 (Elliott) at all.”
Starting Lineup for NASCAR Cup Series’ Cook Out Southern 500
Here is a look at the lineup for Sunday night’s NASCAR Cup Series’ Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway:
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