DARLINGTON, S.C. – Qualifying for the Southern 500, a NASCAR Cup Series crown jewel race, was held at Darlington Raceway on Saturday.
The event will be the last in the regular season and is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. on Sunday on USA Network.
Hendrick Motorsports was led by Kyle Larson, who turned in a lap of 29.444 seconds to qualify fourth in his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Sunday. Not far behind was William Byron, who earned the eighth spot in his No. 24 Liberty University Chevy.
Chase Elliott will roll off 20th in the No. 9 NAPA Gold Filters Chevy. Alex Bowman, piloting the No. 48 Ally Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will round out the Hendrick Motorsports lineup and will start from the 27th spot.
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Last year was a successful one at “The Lady in Black” for Hendrick Motorsports. The organization swept both Cup Series races with Byron winning in the spring and Larson claiming the Southern 500.
In all, Hendrick Motorsports has 16 victories at Darlington, most of any organization, and is tied for the most drivers to visit victory lane there with six. That list is led by vice chairman and Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon, who won seven times on the 1.366-mile oval. Jimmie Johnson won three times with Larson, Byron, Tim Richmond, Mark Martin, Ricky Rudd and Terry Labonte each winning once.
NASCAR qualifying lineup for Sunday
- Bubba Wallace, No. 23
- Carson Hocevar, No. 77
- Chase Briscoe, No. 14
- Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- Martin Truex Jr., No. 19
- Tyler Reddick, No. 45
- Ryan Blaney, No. 12
- William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- Christopher Bell, No. 20
- Chris Buescher, No. 17
- Austin Cindric, No. 2
- Brad Keselowski, No. 6
- Ty Gibbs, No. 54
- Denny Hamlin, No. 11
- Josh Berry, No. 4
- Austin Dillon, No. 3
- Kyle Busch, No. 8
- John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42
- Corey LaJoie, No. 7
- Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Gold Filters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- Justin Haley, No. 51
- Ross Chastain, No. 1
- Joey Logano, No. 22
- Harrison Burton, No. 21
- Daniel Hemric, No. 31
- Zane Smith, No. 71
- Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- Erik Jones, No. 43
- Noah Gragson, No. 10
- Ryan Preece, No. 41
- Michael McDowell, No. 34
- Daniel Suarez, No. 99
- Todd Gilliland, No. 38
- Shane van Gisbergen, No. 16
- Kaz Grala, No. 15
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47
- Timmy Hill, No. 66
NASCAR practice results
Byron turned in the fastest individual lap time of the four Hendrick Motorsports drivers, logging a lap of 29.667 seconds, fifth best on the speed chart.
However, the organization showed speed on the long run as well. Larson had the best overall lap average at 30.871 seconds with Bowman topping the 10-lap average board at 30.388 seconds.
NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying
Earlier on Saturday, Elliott took part in Xfinity Series qualifying, using a lap of 30.451 to earn the 16th starting position in the No. 17 HendrickCars.Com Chevrolet. Elliott earned an Xfinity win earlier in the year at Charlotte Motor Speedway and will look for his second career victory in the series at Darlington.
The Xfinity Series race is set for 3:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon and will also air on USA Network.