The next NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway is the Goodyear 400 on Sunday, April 4, 2027, and the Southern 500 follows on Sunday, September 5, 2027, per NASCAR’s 2027 schedule. No odds for either are posted yet. In 2026, Tyler Reddick won the spring race and Christopher Bell won the Southern 500.
How Bell won the 2026 Southern 500
Bell won the Cook Out Southern 500 on September 6 by 1.038 seconds over Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs. It was his first win of the year, after a record-tying seven runner-up finishes, and it ended a 33-race winless streak. The race opened the Chase, and the win moved Bell from sixth to second in points, 12 behind Denny Hamlin.
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The race turned on an eight-minute red flag for rain with 29 laps left. Kyle Larson, who led a race-high 99 laps, was one of four drivers who stayed out on old tires. Bell restarted fifth on fresh ones, was on Larson’s bumper two laps later and passed him low with 12 laps to go. Bell led 46 laps in all.
| Finish | Driver |
|---|---|
| 1 | Christopher Bell |
| 2 | Ty Gibbs |
| 3 | Tyler Reddick |
| 5 | Kyle Larson |
| 6 | Chase Briscoe |
| 7 | Josh Berry |
| 18 | Denny Hamlin |
Hamlin, the No. 1 seed and a five-time Darlington winner, hit the wall after contact with Michael McDowell, fell a lap down with 100 to go and recovered to 18th. Josh Berry was the only driver outside the Chase in the top 10.
How Reddick won the 2026 Goodyear 400
Reddick won the spring race on March 22 by 5.847 seconds over Brad Keselowski, his fourth win in the first six races of the season. He did it with a failing alternator that cost him his cool suit, a battery change that sent him to the back, and a 16.3-second pit stop. Keselowski led a race-high 142 laps, but Reddick erased a seven-second gap after his last stop on Lap 246 and passed him on Lap 266.
Only Dale Earnhardt in 1987 and Bill Elliott in 1992 had won four of the first six Cup races in a season before him. Ryan Blaney was third.
Recent Darlington winners
| Race | Winner | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Southern 500 | Christopher Bell | Ty Gibbs |
| 2026 Goodyear 400 | Tyler Reddick | Brad Keselowski |
| 2025 Southern 500 | Chase Briscoe | Tyler Reddick |
| 2025 spring | Denny Hamlin | William Byron |
| 2024 Southern 500 | Chase Briscoe | Kyle Busch |
| 2024 spring | Brad Keselowski | Ty Gibbs |
Reddick finished in the top three in each of the last three Darlington races, with one win, and Briscoe won two Southern 500s in a row before finishing sixth in 2026.
Betting the 2027 Darlington races
Darlington is a 1.366-mile oval with 23 to 25 degrees of banking in the turns, and its races are long: 293 laps in the spring and 367 in the Southern 500. Pit strategy late in the race decided both 2026 races: Bell won on fresh tires after the red flag, and Reddick came from seven seconds back after his last stop.
A price is a chance written as a payout: +500 implies 16.7%, +1000 implies 9.1% and +2500 implies 3.8%. A futures bet is worth making only when you rate a driver’s chance higher than the price does. Head-to-head and top-10 markets let you bet a driver’s speed without needing a win.
Our NASCAR picks this week page has the current race, NASCAR race results has this season’s results, and the Cup Series championship odds follow the Chase. Our NASCAR betting guide explains each market, and the paid picks board is at PicksToday.