NASCAR playoff race at Darlington: Start time, lineup, TV, streaming schedule for Southern 500

Welcome to the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Twenty-six races are in the books, and now it’s time for the 10-race postseason to determine the 2021 champion.

Sixteen drivers made the playoff field, with Tyler Reddick clinching the final playoff berth on points last weekend at Daytona International Speedway.

Now, attention turns to Darlington Raceway for the first race in the Round of 16 before action moves to Richmond Raceway and then Bristol Motor Speedway for the first elimination race, which will cut the playoff field down to 12 drivers.

But that’s getting ahead of ourselves. Here is all the information you need to get ready for Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway:

START TIME: 6 p.m. ET.

TV: NBCSN. Pre-race broadcast begins at 5:30 p.m. ET.

RADIO: Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

STREAMING: NBC Sports website (for those who sign in with their cable/satellite provider) and NBC Sports app.

RACE DISTANCE: 367 laps around the 1.366-mile track for a total of 501.3 miles.

STAGE LENGTHS (laps per stage): Stage 1: 115, Stage 2: 115, Stage 3: 137.

LAST TIME: Martin Truex Jr. dominated this year's Mother's Day race, leading 248 of 293 laps before crusing to a 2.571-second victory over Kyle Larson. And one year ago in the 2020 playoff opener, Kevin Harvick led 32 laps, including the final 13, before edging Austin Dillon by 0.343 seconds.

PLAYOFFS: Larson won the regular-season title and enters the playoffs with a 28-point lead over Truex and Ryan Blaney. Here are the playoffs standings prior to the Southern 500:

1. Kyle Larson, 2,052; 2. Martin Truex Jr., 2,024; 3. Ryan Blaney, 2,204; 4. Kyle Busch, 2,022; 5. Chase Elliott, 2,021; 6. Alex Bowman, 2,015; 7. Denny Hamlin, 2,015; 8. William Byron, 2,014; 9. Joey Logano, 2,013; 10. Brad Keselowski, 2,008; 11. Kurt Busch, 2,008; 12. Michael McDowell, 2,005; 13. Christopher Bell, 2,005; 14. Aric Almirola, 2,005; 15. Tyler Reddick, 2,003; 16. Kevin Harvick, 2,002.

LINEUP: The starting lineup was determined by using NASCAR’s competition-based formula. Ryan Blaney, who is riding a two-race winning streak after victories at Michigan and Daytona, will start on the pole alongside Denny Hamlin.

Here is the lineup for the Cook Out Southern 500 (car number in parentheses):

1. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford

2. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota

3. (1) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet

4. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet

5. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet

6. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet

7. (8) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet

8. (10) Aric Almirola, Ford

9. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford

10. (19) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota

11. (22) Joey Logano, Ford

12. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota

13. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota

14. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet

15. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford

16. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford

17. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota

18. (37) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet

19. (6) Ryan Newman, Ford

20. (77) Justin Haley, Chevrolet

21. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet

22. (43) Erik Jones, Chevrolet

23. (42) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet

24. (14) Chase Briscoe, Ford

25. (7) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet

26. (99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet

27. (78) BJ McLeod, Ford

28. (52) Josh Bilicki, Ford

29. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet

30. (21) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford

31. (41) Cole Custer, Ford

32. (38) Anthony Alfredo, Ford

33. (51) Cody Ware, Chevrolet

34. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford

35. (15) Joey Gase, Chevrolet

36. (53) James Davison, Chevrolet

37. (00) Quin Houff, Chevrolet