RADIO
NASCAR practice speeds, lap averages and notes for the 2025 Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Use the NASCAR stats and data to build DFS lineups on DraftKings. Michael McDowell was fastest.
The NASCAR Cup Series ran a single practice session at Darlington Raceway on Saturday morning in preparation for the upcoming Cook Out Southern 500 on Sunday night.
The 38-car field was split into two groups for practice, with each group getting 25 minutes on track. Group 1 had the speed advantage due to track conditions.
Below you will find the two groups, key notes from the practice session, as well as the practice speeds for all drivers.
Important Practice Notes
Ryan Preece - The No. 60 Ford was the first car noted to get a "Darlington Stripe" this weekend, as Preece got a little too high in the turn and scraped the wall. Any potential damage would be minimal and not a big deal.
Zane Smith - The No. 38 Ford spun out late in the session for the first group. Zane was heard saying the car was just too loose, and he didn't hit anything, so there is no concern for damage or anything negative.
2025 Southern 500 at Darlington Practice Speed Chart
Click here to download the PDF of the practice speed chart.
| Rank | Driver | Time | Speed | Fastest Lap | Laps Ran | Behind Leader |
| 1. | Michael McDowell | 29.007 | 169.531 | 1 | 30 | ---.--- |
| 2. | Justin Haley | 29.123 | 168.856 | 2 | 36 | -0.116 |
| 3. | Ty Gibbs | 29.124 | 168.850 | 3 | 41 | -0.117 |
| 4. | Carson Hocevar | 29.203 | 168.394 | 2 | 46 | -0.196 |
| 5. | Noah Gragson | 29.248 | 168.135 | 2 | 41 | -0.241 |
| 6. | Todd Gilliland | 29.271 | 168.002 | 2 | 34 | -0.264 |
| 7. | AJ Allmendinger | 29.332 | 167.653 | 3 | 34 | -0.325 |
| 8. | Bubba Wallace | 29.404 | 167.243 | 2 | 30 | -0.397 |
| 9. | Kyle Busch | 29.411 | 167.203 | 3 | 35 | -0.404 |
| 10. | John Hunter Nemechek | 29.464 | 166.902 | 2 | 32 | -0.457 |
| 11. | Ty Dillon | 29.499 | 166.704 | 2 | 37 | -0.492 |
| 12. | Riley Herbst | 29.523 | 166.568 | 3 | 35 | -0.516 |
| 13. | Ross Chastain | 29.565 | 166.332 | 2 | 35 | -0.558 |
| 14. | Erik Jones | 29.621 | 166.017 | 1 | 26 | -0.614 |
| 15. | Daniel Suarez | 29.642 | 165.900 | 2 | 38 | -0.635 |
| 16. | William Byron | 29.655 | 165.827 | 3 | 42 | -0.648 |
| 17. | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 29.658 | 165.810 | 2 | 29 | -0.651 |
| 18. | Chase Briscoe | 29.671 | 165.738 | 2 | 40 | -0.664 |
| 19. | Denny Hamlin | 29.729 | 165.414 | 2 | 45 | -0.722 |
| 20. | Zane Smith | 29.740 | 165.353 | 2 | 36 | -0.733 |
| 21. | Austin Cindric | 29.759 | 165.247 | 2 | 37 | -0.752 |
| 22. | Tyler Reddick | 29.794 | 165.053 | 2 | 44 | -0.787 |
| 23. | Kyle Larson | 29.847 | 164.760 | 4 | 34 | -0.840 |
| 24. | Austin Dillon | 29.855 | 164.716 | 1 | 36 | -0.848 |
| 25. | Cody Ware | 29.863 | 164.672 | 2 | 34 | -0.856 |
| 26. | Christopher Bell | 29.885 | 164.551 | 1 | 43 | -0.878 |
| 27. | Joey Logano | 29.906 | 164.435 | 3 | 40 | -0.899 |
| 28. | Ryan Blaney | 29.909 | 164.419 | 3 | 44 | -0.902 |
| 29. | Chris Buescher | 29.963 | 164.122 | 2 | 37 | -0.956 |
| 30. | Ryan Preece | 29.968 | 164.095 | 1 | 29 | -0.961 |
| 31. | Alex Bowman | 29.990 | 163.975 | 2 | 34 | -0.983 |
| 32. | Shane Van Gisbergen | 30.015 | 163.838 | 2 | 40 | -1.008 |
| 33. | Josh Berry | 30.018 | 163.822 | 2 | 40 | -1.011 |
| 34. | Chase Elliott | 30.022 | 163.800 | 4 | 46 | -1.015 |
| 35. | Brad Keselowski | 30.096 | 163.397 | 2 | 30 | -1.089 |
| 36. | Cole Custer | 30.139 | 163.164 | 2 | 33 | -1.132 |
| 37. | Derek Kraus | 30.768 | 159.828 | 2 | 29 | -1.761 |
| 38. | Timmy Hill | 31.640 | 155.424 | 8 | 18 | -2.633 |
2025 Southern 500 at Darlington 10-Lap Average Chart
| Rank | Driver | From Lap | To Lap | Avg Speed |
| 1. | Justin Haley | 1 | 10 | 164.844 |
| 2. | Michael McDowell | 1 | 10 | 164.742 |
| 3. | AJ Allmendinger | 2 | 11 | 164.295 |
| 4. | Todd Gilliland | 1 | 10 | 164.262 |
| 5. | Noah Gragson | 1 | 10 | 163.996 |
| 6. | Carson Hocevar | 2 | 11 | 163.865 |
| 7. | Ty Gibbs | 2 | 11 | 163.698 |
| 8. | Ty Dillon | 1 | 10 | 163.598 |
| 9. | Kyle Busch | 2 | 11 | 163.553 |
| 10. | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 1 | 10 | 163.334 |
| 11. | Ross Chastain | 1 | 10 | 163.235 |
| 12. | Zane Smith | 1 | 10 | 163.127 |
| 13. | Riley Herbst | 2 | 11 | 163.108 |
| 14. | William Byron | 2 | 11 | 163.035 |
| 15. | John Hunter Nemechek | 1 | 10 | 162.957 |
| 16. | Tyler Reddick | 1 | 10 | 162.917 |
| 17. | Kyle Larson | 1 | 10 | 162.871 |
| 18. | Bubba Wallace | 1 | 10 | 162.827 |
| 19. | Ryan Blaney | 1 | 10 | 162.699 |
| 20. | Austin Cindric | 1 | 10 | 162.687 |
| 21. | Denny Hamlin | 1 | 10 | 162.649 |
| 22. | Daniel Suarez | 1 | 10 | 162.542 |
| 23. | Joey Logano | 1 | 10 | 162.428 |
| 24. | Christopher Bell | 1 | 10 | 162.268 |
| 25. | Josh Berry | 1 | 10 | 162.258 |
| 26. | Austin Dillon | 1 | 10 | 162.247 |
| 27. | Alex Bowman | 1 | 10 | 162.190 |
| 28. | Chase Briscoe | 1 | 10 | 162.158 |
| 29. | Shane Van Gisbergen | 1 | 10 | 162.127 |
| 30. | Chase Elliott | 3 | 12 | 161.802 |
| 31. | Brad Keselowski | 1 | 10 | 161.739 |
| 32. | Chris Buescher | 1 | 10 | 161.704 |
| 33. | Cody Ware | 1 | 10 | 161.434 |
| 34. | Cole Custer | 1 | 10 | 161.149 |
| 35. | Ryan Preece | 4 | 13 | 160.757 |
| 36. | Erik Jones | 10 | 19 | 158.890 |
| 37. | Derek Kraus | 1 | 10 | 157.705 |
More Fantasy NASCAR Analysis
The Keys to Weekly NASCAR Success
NASCAR is back, and it's time for you to win more with RotoBaller! Our NASCAR Premium Package for DFS and betting features several heavy hitters and proven winners.
Jordan McAbee anchors the team with his exclusive NASCAR DFS and betting picks, DFS projections and algorithm-predicted finishing order! Jordan has a 100+ unit betting profit since 2023, and a 25% average annual profit since 2018. He won the FSWA Racing Writer Of The Year award in 2023, and was nominated for DFS Writer Of The Year in 2024.
