The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Darlington for the Cook Out Southern 500 on Sunday, Sept. 3. The race will be live streamed on fuboTV (free trial).

William Byron understands, with five wins and a high seed for the NASCAR playoffs, the wonderful opportunity he’s got for a series championship. Byron also knows he doesn’t want to miss his chance to enjoy the ride.

He starts the 10-race title chase tied with Martin Truex Jr. for the top spot in the 16-team grid for the playoffs, which begins Sunday night with the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

Byron also enters having won at the track “Too Tough To Tame” last time the series was here in May.

The first playoff race has always been a bit of a wild card. Only four times in the 19 previous playoffs has the opening winner gone on to take the championship. And it’s never happened in the three times the playoffs have begun at Darlington. A season ago, Erik Jones surprised playoff drivers by winning the Southern 500 as an outsider.

When is NASCAR’s race at Darlington?

NASCAR’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington is set for 5 p.m. (6 p.m. ET) on Sunday, Sept. 3.

Will it be live streamed?

FuboTV

NASCAR’s race will be live streamed on fuboTV, which offers a free trial. The most basic of plans is the “fubo pro” package, which comprises 146-plus channels for $74.99 per month. Like all cord-cutting alternatives, there are plenty of options, especially for sports. It comes with more than 1,000 hours of cloud-based DVR, and up to 10 screens at once.

There is also the “fubo elite” package, which comprises 205-plus channels for $84.99 per month. It comes with fuboExtra (48 more channels) and News Plus (11 more channels). Plus, more than 1,000 hours of cloud-based DVR, and up to 10 screens at once.

The “fubo premiere” package is “fubo elite” with the addition of Showtime for $94.99 per month.

Will it be televised?

NASCAR at Daytona will be broadcast on the USA Network.

Preview

OTHER CONTENDERS: Keep your eyes on a couple of usual contenders in Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson and perhaps an unexpected pick in Roush Fenway Keselowski racer Chris Buescher.

Hamlin is tied with Kevin Harvick with 17 playoff appearances, most in NASCAR history, but has not been able to come away with the trophy. Hamlin has won twice this season and is seeded third.

Larson, the 2021 champion, has two victories this season and is the fourth seed.

Buescher could be the hottest driver in the field, having won three of the past five events including at Daytona a week ago.

PREECE RETURNS: Ryan Preece will be racing a week after his frightening crash at Daytona. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver went airborne and flipped at least 10 times on the backstretch a week ago. He left the car under his own power and spent the night at a hospital before getting released.

Preece was cleared Friday. He’s not sore and has no broken bones. The only evidence of the accident are his bruised, bloodshot eyes. Preece said his vision had been checked and he’s good to race.

“We love to race and I feel completely fine, so why stop?” Preece said when asked if he thought about taking a break this week.

ODDS AND ENDS: Larson and Tony Stewart hold the mark with five playoff race wins on the way to the title; Larson in 2021 and Stewart in 2011. … Larson in 2021 and Logano last year finished second in the playoff opener at Darlington and went on to win a title. … There are three winless drivers in the playoffs, former series champions Brad Keselowski and Harvick and playoff rookie Bubba Wallace.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.