Briscoe’s Dominance Secures Consecutive Southern 500 Victory at Darlington
Darlington, SC — Chase Briscoe delivered an impressive performance at Darlington Raceway on Sunday night, clinching his second consecutive victory in the Cook Out Southern 500 and securing a spot in the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Briscoe led an astounding 309 of 367 laps, sweeping the first two stages, and managed to fend off a late challenge from Tyler Reddick.
Briscoe crossed the finish line 0.408 seconds ahead of Reddick, who pushed hard but couldn’t execute a successful pass during the final laps. Non-playoff driver Erik Jones finished third, 0.537 seconds behind Briscoe, marking a strong showing for Toyota drivers, who achieved their third 1-2-3-4 finish in NASCAR Cup history.
“Yeah, I think this is definitely what we’re capable of doing,” Briscoe stated. “We haven’t been able to go out and dominate a race like that… So cool to win two Southern 500s in a row… A great way to start our playoffs. That was a lot of fun.”
Briscoe’s victory also marked him as the first driver since Greg Biffle to win consecutive Southern 500s in 2005 and 2006. Following Reddick were John Hunter Nemechek in fourth and AJ Allmendinger in fifth, rounding out a top five that showcased Toyota’s strength, with six drivers finishing in the top seven—a first for the manufacturer.
Reddick, despite the tire damage sustained from a collision on the opening lap, managed to maintain pressure on Briscoe in the final 20 laps. He remarked, “We were better than he was on long runs… He could fire off a whole lot better. I think that was the difference tonight.”
With Briscoe’s victory, Reddick improves to a solid position, now 35 points above the elimination line, while other playoff contenders faced a challenging night. Bubba Wallace finished sixth and sits 21 points above the cut line. Denny Hamlin, who had a slow pit stop, recovered to finish seventh.
Multiple playoff drivers struggled, notably Alex Bowman, who suffered a lengthy pit stop due to a malfunctioning tire changer and ended up two laps down, finishing 31st. Christopher Bell collided during a pit stop and finished 29th, now sitting 10th in the playoff standings with an 11-point cushion above elimination.
As the playoffs advance to World Wide Technology Raceway next Sunday, Briscoe’s performance sets a formidable tone, while others must regroup to enhance their playoff standing. The next race will be critical for playoff drivers, many of whom are at risk of elimination in the Round of 16.
Final Results:
- Chase Briscoe
- Tyler Reddick
- Erik Jones
- John Hunter Nemechek
- AJ Allmendinger
- Bubba Wallace
- Denny Hamlin
- Others as per detailed results.
