NASCAR Playoffs Open at Darlington; Xfinity Series Heads West to Portland
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 27, 2025) — The NASCAR postseason officially gets underway this weekend with a full slate of national series action. The NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series highlight Labor Day weekend at historic Darlington Raceway, while the NASCAR Xfinity Series travels west to tackle the technical challenges of Portland International Raceway.
NASCAR Cup Series
Cook Out Southern 500
Where: Darlington Raceway (1.366-mile oval)
When: Sunday, Aug. 31, 6 p.m. ET (TV: USA at 5:30 p.m. ET; Radio: MRN, SiriusXM Ch. 90)
Distance: 501.32 miles / 367 laps
Purse: $10,447,135
The Cook Out Southern 500 marks the 76th running of the Southern 500 and serves as the opening race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Darlington has become synonymous with drama in the postseason, and this year’s opener comes with a host of storylines:
Championship momentum: Five times the winner of the opening Playoff race has gone on to win the title, most recently Joey Logano in 2024.
Parity at the front: The last seven Darlington Cup races have all produced different winners.
Active favorites: Eight active drivers have Darlington wins, led by Denny Hamlin (5), Brad Keselowski (2), Erik Jones (2), and most recently Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson, and William Byron.
Milestone watch: Ross Chastain will make his 250th Cup start; six drivers in history have won on their 250th start, two of them at Darlington.
Form driver: Ryan Blaney enters with a career-best six-race top-10 streak.
Playoff clinch scenarios are simple: any Playoff-eligible driver who wins Sunday will automatically advance to the Round of 12.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Pacific Office Automation 147
Where: Portland International Raceway (1.967-mile road course)
When: Saturday, Aug. 30, 7:30 p.m. ET (TV: CW at 7 p.m. ET; Radio: MRN, SiriusXM Ch. 90)
Distance: 147.75 miles / 75 laps
Purse: $1,651,939
The Xfinity Series makes its fourth visit to Portland, with the regular season championship and final Playoff berths on the line. With just two races left before the cutoff, intensity will be high on the tight, flat 12-turn road course.
Rookie sensation: Connor Zilisch scored his series-leading seventh win last weekend at Daytona, tying Christopher Bell’s rookie win record. He has won five of the last six races and four of the last seven road course events.
Title fight: Justin Allgaier, Zilisch, and Sam Mayer are separated by just 26 points atop the regular season standings.
Bubble battle: Four Playoff spots remain open. Carson Kvapil, Sheldon Creed, and Taylor Gray could lock in with strong runs, while Harrison Burton (+36) and Jeb Burton (–36) straddle the cutline.
Manufacturer dominance: Chevrolet has won 13 straight road course races and JR Motorsports has won the last seven, including all five in 2025.
New faces: Supercars standout Will Brown makes his Xfinity debut with Kaulig Racing, while Jack Perkins (Joe Gibbs Racing) and Joey Hand (RSS Racing) also enter the field.
Portland has a reputation for late-race drama: in all three previous races, the pass for the win came on a restart in the final four laps.
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series
Sober or Slammer 200
Where: Darlington Raceway (1.366-mile oval)
When: Saturday, Aug. 30, 12 p.m. ET (TV: FS1; Radio: NRN, SiriusXM Ch. 90)
Distance: 200.8 miles / 147 laps
Purse: $782,900
The Truck Series Playoffs kick off with the Round of 10 opener at Darlington. Ten drivers will begin their championship chase, with two set to be eliminated after New Hampshire.
Playoff field: Corey Heim, Layne Riggs, Chandler Smith, Daniel Hemric, Tyler Ankrum, Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger, Rajah Caruth, Kaden Honeycutt, Jake Garcia.
Points battle: Enfinger (+4) and Caruth (+2) hold the last two transfer spots, while Honeycutt (–2) and Garcia (–3) are just below the cutline.
Heim on record pace: Heim’s seven wins in 2025 are tied with Ron Hornaday Jr. (1997) for the most through 18 races. No driver has ever reached eight wins through 19 races.
Darlington history: This is the 13th Truck Series race at Darlington and the first Playoff race at the track since 2021. Ben Rhodes is the only former winner in the field.
Trends: The last four Darlington races with qualifying were won from the pole. The driver leading the most laps has won nine of 18 races this season.
Where to Watch NASCAR This Weekend
Friday, Aug. 29
Truck Practice & Qualifying — FS2, 3 p.m. ET
Saturday, Aug. 30
Cup Practice & Qualifying — truTV/MRN/SiriusXM, 9 a.m. ET
Truck Race: Sober or Slammer 200 — FS1/NRN/SiriusXM, 12 p.m. ET
Xfinity Practice & Qualifying — CW App, 3 p.m. ET
Xfinity Race: Pacific Office Automation 147 — CW/MRN/SiriusXM, 7:30 p.m. ET
Sunday, Aug. 31
Cup Race: Cook Out Southern 500 — USA/MRN/SiriusXM, 6 p.m. ET
