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By AMANDA VINCENT When NASCAR Cup Series drivers hit Darlington (S.C.) Raceway on Sunday for the Cook Out Southern 500, it’ll nearly be their first time on the track this weekend. Cars got on track for a partial lap of practice between lightning holds. But the lightning was persistent enough to result in the cancellation of practice and qualifying. Based on NASCAR’s metric using last weekend’s stats from the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and the points standings, Tyler Reddick will start on the pole with Daniel Suarez alongside on the front row for the Southern 500, the first race of the 2026 Chase. “This is literally the best-case scenario for us,” Reddick said. Daytona winner Ryan Preece and Denny Hamlin will start in row two. The Darlington race is the first race of the 2026 Chase. Five of the 16 Chase drivers will start outside the top-20 — Ryan Blaney in 24th, Kyle Larson in 25th, Ty Gibbs in 28th, Carson Hocevar in 34th and Chris Buescher in 35th. Blaney will be without car chief Raymond Fox, and his No. 12 Team Penske crew lost pit selection for the race after the car failed inspection twice.