2023 Cook Out Southern 500

The 2023 Cook Out Southern 500, the 74th running of the event, was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on September 3, 2023, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Contested over 367 laps on the 1.366 mi egg-shaped oval, it was the 27th race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, the first race of the 2023 NASCAR playoffs, and the first race of the Round of 16.

Background
Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that is effective at both ends.

Entry list

 * (R) denotes rookie driver.
 * (i) denotes the driver ineligible for series driver points.
 * (P) denotes playoff driver.
 * (OP) denotes owner’s playoffs car.

Practice
Christopher Bell was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 29.197 seconds and a speed of 168.428 mph.

Qualifying
Christopher Bell scored the pole for the race with a time of 29.065 and a speed of 169.193 mph.

Stage results
Stage One Laps: 115

Stage Two Laps: 115

Final Stage results
Stage Three Laps: 137

Race statistics

 * Lead changes: 13 among 7 different drivers
 * Cautions/Laps: 8 for 51 laps
 * Red flags: 1 for 10 minutes
 * Time of race: 4 hours, 8 minutes, and 47 seconds
 * Average speed: 120.906 mph

Television
USA covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, two–time Darlington winner Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. called Stages 1 and 3 of the race from the broadcast booth. Earnhardt Jr., Dale Jarrett and Kyle Petty called Stage 2 of the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns, Kim Coon and Marty Snider handled the pit road duties from pit lane.

Radio
MRN had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

Standings after the race

 * Drivers' Championship standings


 * Manufacturers' Championship standings


 * Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.