NASCAR 2022: Full weekend schedule for Cook Out Southern 400 at Darlington Raceway

The 2022 NASCAR Cook Out Southern 400 will take place on Sunday, September 4, 2022, at the Darlington Raceway. The first race of the NASCAR playoffs as well as the Round of 16 will be broadcast on USA Network and MRN at 6:00 pm ET.

Sunday’s race will be the second race of the 2022 NASCAR season in Darlington, South Carolina, and will host the Next Gen car for the second time since the Goodyear 400. The track features 25 degrees of banking in turns 1 and 2 and 23 degrees of banking in turns 3 and 4. With 3 degrees on the front stretch and 2 degrees on the back stretch, this track is expected to create an exciting start to the Round of 16.

Darlington Raceway opened in 1950 and currently hosts races for the Cup Series, Xfinity Series, Camping World Truck Series, and USAC Silver Crown Series.

36 drivers will compete for over 367 laps on Sunday. The 16 drivers who made the playoffs are Austin Cindric, Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, William Byron, Ross Chastain, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Kevin Harvick, and Austin Dillon.

The 27th Cup Series race practice and its qualifying race will be held on the same day, September 3, 2022, at the 1.366-mile-long egg-shaped oval.

The Cup Series weekend will start with Saturday’s practice session, followed by a qualifying race for a single-lap, single-car run, which will then conclude with Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 400.

The 36 drivers will be split up into two separate groups. The division will be based on an odd/even order, just like every other qualifying race, to determine the starting positions of the drivers for the main event.

A two-time winner of the season, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin won the Cook Out Southern 400 in 2021 and will be looking to win back-to-back titles.

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Full weekend schedule for 2022 NASCAR Cook Out Southern 400

Here’s the practice, qualifying, and main race schedule for this weekend at Darlington Raceway:

Saturday, September 3, 2022

10:05 am ET: Xfinity Series practice

10:35 am ET: Xfinity Series qualifying

12:05 pm ET: Cup Series practice

12:50 pm ET: Cup Series qualifying

3:00 pm ET: Sport Clips Haircuts

Sunday, September 4, 2022

6:00 pm ET: Cook Out Southern 400