Reddick inherits Darlington pole as storms erase qualifying

NXTbets Pro | Published On: September 6, 2026

Darlington lineup

Tyler Reddick inherited the pole for the Cook Out Southern 500 after lightning and threatening weather wiped out practice and qualifying at Darlington Raceway, and NASCAR filled the field with its rule-book performance metric. The race opened the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, so the starting order carried immediate weight for a 500-mile event. Daniel Suárez lined up second, Ryan Preece third, Denny Hamlin fourth and Michael McDowell fifth. Carson Hocevar started 34th and Chris Buescher 35th. Half of the 16 playoff drivers started outside the top 15, a sign of how much the canceled session reshaped the front of the field. Reddick got the best draw of all, and he took it after a weekend that gave every contender the same answer from the track, no laps, no times and no fresh qualifying run to sort out the order.

Blaney setback

Ryan Blaney’s day came with more baggage than most of the playoff field. He started 24th after a last-lap tangle at Daytona, and his Team Penske No. 12 failed technical inspection twice. That cost the team a crew ejection and pit-stall selection, two hits that can shape the flow of a race before the green flag even waves. The field rolled into the Southern 500 with the starting lineup set by the performance metric and with little fresh track feedback to separate one package from the next.

Reddick outlook

The tire and strategy picture was another consideration. NASCAR used the same tire compound that ran in Darlington’s spring race, and teams had 12 sets available for the 500-mile event. Crew chiefs said strategy could vary widely across the race’s long stages. The canceled sessions also marked the sixth time qualifying had been canceled this season and the sixth time Southern 500 qualifying had not been held. Reddick had a clear reason to like the setup after he won at Darlington in March and his team backed that up with a strong showing at the track last spring. He called the situation “best-case scenario” for his team. He entered the playoffs as the No. 3 seed behind Hamlin and Blaney and brought a season-high five victories with him, a strong starting point as the postseason began at one of NASCAR’s toughest tracks.