Drivers to watch in NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington

Sixteen drivers will continue their pursuit of the NASCAR Cup Series championship in Sunday’s Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

Austin Dillon, winner of last Sunday’s race at Daytona International Speedway, and Ryan Blaney, who drove into the playoffs via points, filled the final two slots on the playoff grid.

The first round of the playoffs has drivers competing at Darlington, Kansas and Bristol. After the Bristol race, the playoff grid will be trimmed by four drivers to 12. Texas, Talladega and the Charlotte Roval make up the next round, followed by Round 3 (Las Vegas, Homestead and Martinsville). After the Martinsville race, the final four drivers will race for the title at Phoenix Raceway.

First, though, there is tough ol’ Darlington and the playoff opener.

Drivers to watch at Darlington:

Chase Elliott

Elliott scored one of the most amazing wins of his NASCAR career in an Xfinity Series race at Darlington in 2014. He passed several cars over the closing laps to win in dramatic fashion in his first race at the track. In Cup, however, Elliott is still looking for win No. 1 at Darlington.

Kevin Harvick

Harvick has cooled off somewhat since scoring back-to-back wins at Michigan and Richmond, but he is expected to be a serious threat in the playoffs. He last won at Darlington in 2020 and has 13 straight top 10s at the track.

Denny Hamlin

If past results can be trusted, Hamlin should start the playoffs with a strong result. He owns Darlington wins in 2010, 2017, 2020 and 2021. Although he finished 21st in last May’s Darlington race, he has four top fives in the past seven Darlington events.

Austin Dillon

Dillon dropped into the playoffs at the last minute Sunday at Daytona, winning for the first time this season. Now the