DARLINGTON, S.C. — Chase Briscoe was perfection in a world of errors, a no-funny-business driver in a comedy of errors.
And on the finish of the ultimate green-flag run on Sunday night time at Darlington Raceway—after a 20-lap stint of unrelenting stress—Briscoe was a back-to-back winner of the Cook dinner Out Southern 500 and a assured participant within the Spherical of 12 within the NASCAR Cup Collection Playoffs.
Briscoe led 309 of 367 laps and swept the primary two levels, however he needed to maintain off a decided cost by Tyler Reddick after the race restarted on Lap 320. Reddick acquired shut within the last 10 laps, driving beneath Briscoe getting into Flip 3, however didn’t have the impetus obligatory to finish a successful go.
Briscoe crossed the end line 0.408 seconds forward of Reddick and 0.537 seconds forward of non-Playoff driver Erik Jones in third to safe his second victory of the season, his second on the Woman in Black and the fourth of his profession.
“Yeah, I feel that is positively what we’re able to doing,” mentioned Briscoe, who led Toyota drivers to their third 1-2-3-4 end in NASCAR Cup historical past, the final coming at Bristol in 2017. “We haven’t been in a position to exit and dominate a race like that. The potential has been there from day one.
“So cool to win two Southern 500s in a row… An effective way to begin our Playoffs. That was a whole lot of enjoyable.”
Briscoe is the primary driver to win consecutive Southern 500s since Greg Biffle completed the feat in 2005 and 2006.
John Hunter Nemechek was fourth in his No. 42 LEGACY Motor Membership Camry. Chevrolet driver A.J. Allmendinger ran fifth, adopted by Toyota drivers Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin, as Toyota positioned six drivers within the high seven positions in a Cup race for the primary time.
Driving from the outset with a tire mark on the motive force’s facet of his automotive—the results of a Lap 1 collision with Josh Berry—Reddick stored the stress on Briscoe for the ultimate 20 laps, however Briscoe didn’t buckle.
“We have been higher than he was on lengthy runs,” Reddick mentioned. “He may fireplace off a complete lot higher. I feel that was the distinction tonight. I may get shut. Yeah, I do know we had a long term there, but it surely simply sadly appeared just like the final run, the stability wasn’t fairly nearly as good because it had been the remainder of the night time on the long term.
“All in all, a extremely stable night time for factors within the Playoffs. Actually wish to win right here. It’s irritating to complete second…”
With Briscoe already certified for the Spherical of 12 with the victory, Reddick improved his place to 35 factors above the elimination line.
If Briscoe had an evening to recollect, a lot of the different 15 Playoff drivers spent the night recovering from errors—or failing to take action.
Wallace had a stable day in ending sixth within the Playoff opener, ending the night 21 factors above the present elimination line with two races left within the Spherical of 16.
Hamlin, a four-time winner within the common season, overcame a sluggish pit cease on Lap 154 and spent the remainder of the race clawing his approach again to seventh on the end.
Playoff drivers Ross Chastain and Austin Cindric got here residence eleventh and twelfth, respectively. Chastain’s No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Camaro was the very best ending Playoff Chevrolet, as all 4 Hendrick Motorsports drivers have been exterior the highest 15.
Chase Elliott, the 2020 collection champion, was the perfect of the Hendrick lot in seventeenth and heads for subsequent Sunday’s race at World Broad Expertise Raceway at Gateway simply 9 factors above the elimination line.
High-seeded Kyle Larson and teammate William Byron ran nineteenth and twenty first, respectively, to carry third and fifth within the Playoff standings, however others weren’t as lucky.
On the primary lap of the race, The Woman in Black struck rapidly, and Berry’s championship hopes took a nosedive.
Moments after taking the inexperienced flag within the third beginning spot, Berry’s No. 21 Wooden Brothers Ford broke free beneath Tyler Reddick’s No. 45 Toyota in Flip 2.
After contact with Reddick’s automotive, Berry’s Mustang slammed into the skin wall, severely damaging the left rear and the undercarriage. After finishing two laps, Berry drove his automotive to the storage for in depth repairs.
Berry returned to the observe 119 laps down however completed final (thirty eighth) and fell to sixteenth within the Playoff standings, 19 factors under the elimination line.
“The automotive bottomed out 5 or 6 instances and simply wrecked,” Berry mentioned. “It was positively sudden. We didn’t actually struggle that too dangerous in follow. I noticed a replay of it once I was sitting within the automotive whereas they have been fixing it, and you would inform that it bottomed out 4 or 5 instances, and you’ll’t save them once they’re like that.”
Alex Bowman was the subsequent of the Playoff drivers to endure brutal misfortune. Because of a malfunctioning air provide to the entrance tire changer’s pit gun, Bowman spent 40 seconds on pit highway throughout his second inexperienced flag cease and was down a lap when pit stops cycled out.
On Lap 93 of the primary stage, Briscoe handed Bowman to place the No. 48 Chevrolet two laps in arrears. After three wave-arounds, Bowman lastly returned to the lead lap because the beneficiary beneath warning on the finish of Stage 2 (Lap 230).
The driving force of the No. 48 Chevrolet couldn’t maintain his place within the last stage and completed the race two laps down in thirty first, tied with Berry within the standings.
Christopher Bell’s Toyota collided on pit highway with the Chevrolet of non-Playoff driver Carson Hocevar on Lap 54. With the dealing with of his automotive destroyed, Bell completed twenty ninth, two laps down, and fell to tenth within the Playoff standings, 11 factors above the minimize line.
Street course titan Shane van Gisbergen was burned by an inopportune warning after working lengthy earlier than pitting within the last stage and completed thirty second, spending a lot of the 22 Playoff factors he earned with 4 wins in the course of the common season.
Van Gisbergen is twelfth within the standings, simply three factors forward of Twentieth-place finisher Joey Logano, the primary driver under the elimination line. Richmond winner Austin Dillon got here residence twenty third and is 14th on the Playoff grid, eight factors behind van Gisbergen.
