Briscoe conquers the Southern 500: Historic double in NASCAR

Chase Briscoe made history by securing his second consecutive victory in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, and now aims for his first title in the NASCAR Cup Series. Briscoe overtook Tyler Reddick on the final lap, becoming the eighth driver in racing history with consecutive wins at this circuit, known as “Too Tough to Tame.” This list 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 from the start, winning both stages and leading 309 of 367 laps. He advanced to the next round and became the first driver with consecutive wins in this race since Greg Biffle in 2005 and 2006.

The 30-year-old Indiana driver commented: “It’s incredible to win two consecutive Southern 500s. This is my favorite race of the year.” A year ago, Briscoe won the race in the last regular season event. This time, he proved to be the strongest throughout the competition. After Reddick passed him on the final segment restart, Briscoe regained the lead on the next lap and held firm after his final three pit stops. Reddick tried to get closer on the last lap, but couldn’t complete the overtake. Briscoe achieved his second victory of the season and the fourth of his career.

It was much harder than it needed to be.

Chase Briscoe

The owner of the Briscoe team, Joe Gibbs, recalled receiving the driver in Victory Lane last year. Briscoe was selected to succeed Martin Truex Jr. Gibbs was impressed by how quickly Briscoe’s crew chief, James Smalls, got the car competing for wins. Erik Jones finished third, followed by John Hunter Nemechek and AJ Allmendinger. Playoff drivers Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin, Briscoe’s teammate, were next.

Problems in the Playoffs

The night was not favorable for many playoff competitors, with several facing difficulties. Only four playoff drivers were in the top ten. Josh Berry, who was already below the cut line before Darlington, went off track at the start of the race and had to go to the garage. Alex Bowman, who needed a good performance at Darlington, had problems and pit stops. Ryan Blaney, who won a NASCAR title two years ago and Daytona last week, spun on lap 209. The four drivers below the cut line are defending champion Joey Logano, Austin Dillon, Bowman, and Berry.

It wasn’t what we expected.

Joey Logano

Toyota at the top

The first four drivers drove Toyotas, the third time this has happened since the manufacturer joined the Cup Series in 2007. In six of the first seven, the drivers were also driving Toyotas, including Briscoe, Reddick, Wallace, and Hamlin. Hamlin co-owns 23XI Racing 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.

Denny Hamlin

Upcoming Events

The playoffs continue on September 7 at World Wide Technology Raceway. The round concludes in Bristol on September 13, before the group is reduced from 16 to 12.