Darlington Raceway has earned its nickname as the “Track Too Tough to Tame” over the years, primarily due to the challenging nature of navigating the 1.366-mile egg-shaped track. Recently, Chase Briscoe has made the legendary facility look as easy to drive as a summer afternoon spin down Harry Byrd Highway. On a nearly perfect Sunday evening in the Pee Dee, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver led 309 of the 367 laps to claim his second straight Southern 500, holding off a fierce challenge from both Tyler Reddick and Erik Jones to do so.
After hoisting the Johnny Mantz Trophy last year, Briscoe is the first driver to post consecutive wins in NASCAR’s crown jewel race since Greg Biffle in 2005 and 2006. In addition to the victory, Briscoe also won stages #1 & #2 to gain additional playoff points. He leaves Darlington with a 43-point lead over second-place Denny Hamlin in the standings.
Reddick almost saw his race come to an end before it even started. Josh Berry crashed on the opening lap as he got loose in Turn 2, getting into Reddick before spinning into the outside wall. Reddick sustained minor damage and was able to stay in the race. Berry, on the other hand, went to the garage area for repairs and finished 38th. Jones, John Hunter Nemechek, and AJ Allmendinger completed the top five. Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Carson Hocevar, and Chris Buescher rounded out the top 10.
Alex Bowman, who clinched a playoff spot on points last weekend at Daytona International Speedway, had a 40-second pit stop in Stage 1 due to issues with the air guns. He fell multiple laps down and could never recover, finishing 29th. Only four of the 16 championship-eligible drivers finished in the top 10 at Darlington, which opens the 10-race run to the title.
Joey Logano, Austin Dillon, Bowman, and Berry sit below the cutoff line after the opening race of the playoffs. The first elimination race will be in two weeks at Bristol Motor Speedway, where four postseason drivers will be eliminated from title contention.
The Cup Series heads to World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway next Sunday for the middle race of the opening round.