After 12 years, one of NASCAR’s biggest races finally has its classic date back.
NASCAR released the entry list for the Sept. 6 Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway earlier today. The list includes 46 teams, meaning three will fail to make Sunday’s race.
Running on Labor Day weekend for the first time since 2003, Sunday’s will see a myriad of special paint schemes. However, one organization is also changing teams. BK Racing’s Jeb Burton and JJ Yeley will swap rides, with Burton piloting the No. 23 Estes Toyota, and Yeley driving the No. 26 Beds for Kids Toyota. Burton will sport a special throwback scheme reminiscent of father Ward Burton’s No. 22 Caterpillar machine from the early 2000s in the event.
Over 20 teams will sport throwback paint schemes on Sunday, ranging from Kyle Larson’s Mello Yellow No. 42 to Clint Bowyer’s hand-painted Buddy Baker Tribute No. 15. Chase Elliott will also get in on the action at Darlington, running a NAPA scheme that harkens back to father Bill Elliott’s No 9 Coors machine.
Should qualifying for Sunday’s race be rained out, Elliott, Reed Sorenson and currently-unannounced the driver of the No. 30 Chevrolet would fail to make the Southern 500.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will be the first to take to the track at Darlington when the field heads on-track at 11 a.m. ET on Friday, Sept. 4 for the first of two practice sessions. The field will return at 4:30 p.m. ET for final practice before coming back on Saturday at 1:45 p.m. ET for Coors Light Pole Qualifying. Coverage of Sunday’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 will begin at 7 p.m. ET on NBC.
2015 SOUTHERN 500 ENTRY LIST
Car No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Sponsor | Owner |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevy | McDonalds / Cessna | Felix Sabates |
2 | Brad Keselowski (PC3) | Ford | Miller High Life throwback | Roger Penske |
3 | Austin Dillon | Chevy | American Ethanol throwback | Richard Childress |
4 | Kevin Harvick (PC1) | Chevy | Budweiser throwback | Tony Stewart |
5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevy | HendrickRideAlong.com | Linda Hendrick |
6 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | AdvoCare - Martin throwback | Jack Roush |
7 | Alex Bowman | Chevy | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Tommy Baldwin |
9 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Ford | Winn Dixie throwback | Richard Petty |
10 | Danica Patrick | Chevy | GoDaddy.com throwback | Tony Stewart |
11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | Sports Clips throwback | J.D. Gibbs |
13 | Casey Mears | Chevy | GEICO | Bob Germain |
14 | Tony Stewart (PC4) | Chevy | Bass Pro Shops / Mobil 1 throwback | Margaret Haas |
15 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 5-Hour Energy / Peak / Buddy Baker Tribute | Rob Kauffman |
16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | Ortho | Jack Roush |
17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Ford | Cargill David Pearson Tribute | John Henry |
18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | M&M's Crispy | Joe Gibbs |
19 | Carl Edwards | Toyota | ARRIS | J D Gibbs |
20 | Matt Kenseth (PC6) | Toyota | Dollar General | Joe Gibbs |
21 | Ryan Blaney(i) | Ford | Snap-on Tools | Glen Wood |
22 | Joey Logano | Ford | Shell Pennzoil | Walter Czarnecki |
23 | Jeb Burton # | Toyota | Estes throwback | Ron Devine |
24 | Jeff Gordon (PC7) | Chevy | 3M | Rick Hendrick |
25 | Chase Elliott(i) | Chevy | NAPA Auto Parts throwback | Rick Hendrick |
26 | J.J. Yeley(i) | Toyota | Beds for Kids | Anthony Marlowe |
27 | Paul Menard | Chevy | Moen / Menards throwback | Richard Childress |
30 | TBA | Chevy | Curtis Key Plumbing | Curtis Key Sr. |
31 | Ryan Newman | Chevy | Caterpillar throwback | Richard Childress |
32 | Josh Wise | Ford | Corvetteparts.net / Beerfrost.com throwback | Archie St Hilaire |
33 | Travis Kvapil(i) | Chevy | TBA | Joe Falk |
34 | Brett Moffitt # | Ford | Dockside | Bob Jenkins |
35 | Cole Whitt | Ford | Speed Stick | Jerry Freeze |
38 | David Gilliland | Ford | Love's Travel Stops | Brad Jenkins |
40 | Landon Cassill(i) | Chevy | Snap Fitness / Proud to be an American | Mike Hillman |
41 | Kurt Busch (PC5) | Chevy | Haas Automation throwback | Gene Haas |
42 | Kyle Larson | Chevy | Mello Yello throwback | Chip Ganassi |
43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | STP throwback | Richard Petty |
46 | Michael Annett | Chevy | Pilot Flying J throwback | Harry Scott Jr. |
47 | A.J. Allmendinger | Chevy | Kroger / House-Autry | Tad Geschickter |
48 | Jimmie Johnson (PC2) | Chevy | Lowe's throwback | Jeff Gordon |
51 | Justin Allgaier | Chevy | Brandt | Harry Scott Jr. |
55 | David Ragan | Toyota | Aaron's Ken Ragan tribute | Michael Waltrip |
62 | Reed Sorenson | TBA | none | Jay Robinson |
78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Chevy | Furniture Row / Visser Precision | Barney Visser |
83 | Matt Dibenedetto # | Toyota | Cosmo Motors | Ron Devine |
88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevy | Valvoline throwback | Rick Hendrick |
98 | Timmy Hill(i) | TBA | Premium Motorsports | Mike Curb |
Aaron Bearden is a Frontstretch alumnus who’s come back home as the site’s Short Track Editor. When he isn’t working with our grassroots writers, he can be found talking about racing on his Morning Warmup newsletter, pestering his wife/dog or convincing himself the Indiana Pacers can win an NBA title.