Briscoe Conquers Southern 500: Historic Double and Domination at Darlington

Chase Briscoe has made history by obtaining his second consecutive victory in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, an achievement he hopes will propel his path towards the NASCAR Cup Series championship.

Briscoe at the Top of Darlington

Briscoe overtook Tyler Reddick on the final lap, becoming the eighth driver in stock car racing history to achieve consecutive wins at the circuit known as “Too Tough to Tame.” This select group includes legends like Dale Earnhardt, Cale Yarborough, Jeff Gordon, and Bobby Allison.

The expectation was to compete for victories. It definitely took longer than I expected, but tonight I feel like we showed what we are capable of.

Chase Briscoe

Briscoe led much of the race, winning both stages and leading 309 of the 367 laps. In addition to advancing to the next round of playoffs, he became the first driver to achieve consecutive victories in this iconic race since Greg Biffle in 2005 and 2006.

The 30-year-old Indiana driver expressed his excitement about achieving two consecutive victories in the Southern 500, calling it his favorite race of the year. In the previous edition, Briscoe secured his place in the playoffs with a bold overtake in the final laps. On this occasion, he proved to be the strongest from the start. After Reddick momentarily overtook him on the restart of the final segment, Briscoe regained the lead and held the position after their final pit stops. Reddick attempted a last-lap attack, but didn’t manage the overtake. Briscoe secured his second win of the season and the fourth of his career.

It was much harder than it should have been.

Chase Briscoe

The owner of the Briscoe team, Joe Gibbs, recalled receiving the driver in victory lane last year. Briscoe was chosen to succeed Martin Truex Jr. Gibbs was impressed by how quickly Briscoe’s team boss, James Smalls, got the car competing for victories.

Certainly, this was not something we expected.

Joe Gibbs

Erik Jones, a two-time Southern 500 winner, finished third, followed by John Hunter Nemechek and AJ Allmendinger. Playoff drivers Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin, Briscoe’s teammate, rounded out the top spots.

Playoff Problems

The night was not favorable for several playoff contenders, with some facing difficulties. Only four playoff drivers managed to be in the top ten. Josh Berry, who was already below the cut line before Darlington, spun early in the race and had to go to the garage. Alex Bowman, one of the two playoff drivers without a win this year, needed a good performance at Darlington. Ryan Blaney, winner of the NASCAR title two years ago, also experienced difficulties, losing positions in the playoff standings. The four drivers below the cut line are Joey Logano, Austin Dillon, Bowman, and Berry.

It wasn’t what we expected.

Joey Logano

Toyota in the Lead

The first four drivers drove Toyotas, the third time this has happened since the manufacturer joined the Cup Series in 2007. Hamlin co-owns 23XI Racing with Michael Jordan, with the team’s two playoff drivers, Reddick and Wallace, in the top six.

It was a good day for them and a great day for Toyota in general.

Denny Hamlin

Upcoming Challenges

The playoffs will continue on September 7 at World Wide Technology Raceway, followed by the final race of the first round in Bristol on September 13, before reducing the group of 16 to 12 drivers.