Chase Briscoe demonstrated his dominance in the Southern 500 for the second consecutive year at Darlington Raceway. The driver is seeking his first title in the NASCAR Cup Series this season. Briscoe overtook Tyler Reddick on the final lap, becoming the eighth driver in stock car racing history to achieve 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.
Briscoe led from the start, won both stages and led 309 of 367 laps. In addition to advancing to the next round, he became the first driver with consecutive wins in this race since Greg Biffle in 2005 and 2006.“The expectation was to compete for wins,” Briscoe commented on his first season with Joe Gibbs Racing. “It definitely took longer than I expected, but tonight I feel like we showed what we are capable of.”
Chase Briscoe
Briscoe held the lead for most of the race at NASCAR’s oldest track. After Reddick passed him on the restart for the final segment, Briscoe regained the lead and easily held on after each of his final three pit stops. Reddick attempted a rebase on the last lap, but could not complete the maneuver. Briscoe held firm and won for the second time this season and for the fourth time in his career.“I definitely feel like I’m doing my part,” Briscoe stated.
Chase Briscoe
The owner of the Briscoe team, Joe Gibbs, recalled receiving the driver in the victory lane last year. Gibbs was surprised at how quickly Briscoe’s crew chief, James Smalls, got the car competing for wins.“It was much harder than it should have been,” said Briscoe, who also won at Pocono in June.
Chase Briscoe
Erik Jones, 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 at JGR, rounded out the top spots.“Certainly, this was not something we expected,” Gibbs said.
Joe Gibbs
Playoff Problems
The night was not favorable for most of the competitors in the playoffs, with several drivers experiencing problems. Only four playoff drivers finished in the top 10. Josh Berry, who was already below the cut line of 12 drivers entering Darlington, spun early in the race and had to go to the garage. It was Berry’s first Cup Series playoff race. Berry returned to the track midway through the second stage, 119 laps behind the leader. Alex Bowman was one of the two winless playoff drivers this year and needed a good performance at Darlington to move up from 16th. Bowman made several pit stops in search of speed, but encountered problems, including a faulty air hose that kept him on pit road for about 30 seconds. Ryan Blaney, a Penske driver who won a NASCAR title two years ago and Daytona last week, was one of the circuit’s most prominent drivers with six consecutive top-10 finishes. However, he spun on lap 209, while in 13th place, which caused him to drop in the playoff standings. The four drivers below the cut line are defending champion Joey Logano in 13th place, followed by Austin Dillon, Bowman, and Berry.“It wasn’t what we expected,” Logano said about his 20th place.
Joey Logano
