Chase Briscoe wins Southern 500 in NASCAR playoffs opener

DARLINGTON, S.C. — Chase Briscoe shared some history with his second straight Southern 500 victory at Darlington Raceway on Sunday. He hopes to make a bit more this season as he goes after his first NASCAR Cup Series title.

Briscoe held off Tyler Reddick on the final lap to become just the eighth driver in stock racing history with consecutive wins at the track dubbed “Too Tough to Tame.” The list includes Hall of Famers and greats such as Dale Earnhardt, Cale Yarborough, Jeff Gordon and Bobby Allison.

“The expectation was to go and contend for wins,” Briscoe said about his first season with Joe Gibbs Racing. “It definitely took more time than I expected, but tonight I feel like we showed what we’re capable of.”

Briscoe took the lead early, won both stages and led 309 of 367 laps. Not only did he advance into the round of 12, but he became the first driver with consecutive wins in NASCAR’s crown jewel race since Greg Biffle in 2005 and 2006.

“It’s so cool to win two Southern 500s in a row,” the 30-year-old Indiana driver said. “This is my favorite race of the year.”

A year ago, when the race was the last of the regular season, Briscoe used a late, four-wide pass to move in front and win his way into the playoffs. This time, he had the baddest machine on the block throughout.

“I definitely [feel] like I’m holding up my end of the bargain,” Briscoe said.

Briscoe moved in front early and cruised through most of the event on NASCAR’s oldest superspeedway. After Reddick swept past him on the restart for the final segment, Briscoe got back in front a lap later and easily moved into the lead after each of his final three pit stops.

Reddick went low and got to Briscoe’s door on the final lap but could not finish the pass. Briscoe held on to win for the second second time this season and fourth time in his career.

“That was way harder than it needed to be,” said Briscoe, also the winner at Pocono in June.

Briscoe’s team owner, Joe Gibbs, recalled greeting the driver in victory lane here last year when he was finishing up racing for now defunct Stewart-Haas Racing. Soon enough, Briscoe was picked to succeed retiring JGR champion Martin Truex Jr.

Gibbs was amazed how quickly Briscoe crew chief James Smalls had the car challenging for wins as it had in the past.

“Certainly, this wasn’t something we expected,” Gibbs said.

Two-time Southern 500 winner Erik Jones was third, followed by John hunter nemechek and Aj general. Playoff racers Bubba Wallace and Denny HamlinBriscoe’s JGR teammate, were next.

Playoff problems

It was a not a great night for most of the playoff field as several contenders struggled. Only four playoff racers were in the top 10.

Josh Berrywho was already below the 12-man cutoff line entering Darlington, spun out moments after the race began and had to go into the garage. It was the first Cup Series playoff run for Berry, who drives for the Wood Brothers. Berry returned to the track midway through the second stage, 119 laps off the lead.

Alex Bowman was among just two playoff drivers without a win this year and needed a strong showing at Darlington to move up from 16th. Bowman pitted several times to find speed and instead found problems, including a malfunctioning air hose that kept him on pit road for about 30 seconds.

Penske Driver Ryan Blaneywho won a NASCAR title two years ago and took Daytona last week, was one of the circuit’s hottest drivers with six straight top 10 finishes. But spun out on Lap 209 while 13th to slide down the playoff standings.

The four drivers below the cut line are defending champion Joey Logano in 13th, then Austin DillonBowman and Berry.

“It was not what we were expecting,” Logano said about his 20th-place finish.

Toyota on top

The top four all drove Toyotas — just the third time that has happened since the manufacturer joined the Cup Series in 2007. In all six of the first seven were driving Toyotas, including playoff contenders Briscoe, Reddick, Wallace and Hamlin.

Hamlin is co-owner of 23XI Racing along with Michael Jordan with the team’s two playoff drivers in Reddick and Wallace in the top six.

“It was a good day for them and a great day for Toyota in general,” Hamlin said.

Up next

The playoffs continue Sept. 7 at World Wide Technology Raceway outside of St. Louis in second of three first-round races — the round concludes at Bristol on Sept. 13 — before the field is cut from 16 to 12.