The NASCAR Cup Series heads to the historic Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina this weekend for the Cook Out Southern 500, which kicks off the opening round of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. 36 teams have filed entries for Sunday’s grueling test of man and machine.

Perhaps the biggest question mark entering Darlington is who would be driving the No. 41 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing following Ryan Preece’s harrowing end-over-end blow-over crash on the backstretch last Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway. Preece was able to climb out under his own power, albeit slowly, but was placed on a stretcher and eventually taken to Halifax Medical Center where he stayed overnight for observation.

Preece’s name is on the entry list for this weekend’s race in Darlington, and according to FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, there’s been no indication that SHR is looking for a substitute driver for that car this weekend.

The other question mark entering every race for the better part of the last month has been which driver Legacy Motor Club will tab to drive the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro. This weekend the team will see Carson Hocevar behind the steering wheel of that car, with sponsorship coming from Sunseeker Resort. 

Sunday’s race will be Hocevar’s second career Cup Series start, both of which having come this season. Hocevar’s first start came in June at World Wide Technologies Raceway in Illinois in a fill-in role for Corey LaJoie while LaJoie was filling in for the suspended Chase Elliott. Hocevar was running inside the top-15 when a brake rotor exploded, sending him hard into the wall and ending his debut prematurely.

Hocevar has four NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts at the challenging Darlington Raceway. He has finishes of third, 11th, second, and fifth there. He also has made one NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Darlington. Hocevar finished sixth after starting back in 25th.

The first round of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs kicks off with this Sunday’s Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. The Playoff field consists of William Byron, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Chris Buescher, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, Brad Keselowski, Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Michael McDowell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kevin Harvick, and Bubba Wallace.

The current field of 16 is as tight as ever starting these Playoffs. McDowell, who locked his way in by winning on the Indianapolis Road Course, is just one point behind the cut line position, currently held by Logano and Blaney. Stenhouse, who won the Daytona 500 to lock in, is currently three points behind the cut line. 2014 Cup Series champion Harvick, who is in his final season in the Cup Series, is four points back. And Wallace, who made the Playoffs for the first time in his career, is eight points behind Blaney for a spot in the second round.

Meanwhile, Reddick sits 10th in points, but he’s just two points ahead of the cut line. In fact, every driver on back from Larson, who is ranked sixth in points, is within 10 points of the cut line, making all three races in the first round (Darlington, Kansas, Bristol) extremely stressful for the entire field of 16.

The Cook Out Southern 500 and the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs goes green on Sunday, September 3 at 6 p.m. ET live on USA and streaming on the NBC Sports app.

NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 Entry List