DARLINGTON, S.C. — Chase Briscoe took the checkered flag in Sunday Night’s old-out Cook Out Southern 500 and simultaneously broke three hearts.
Ending a 73-race winless streak for moribund Stewart-Haas Racing, Briscoe foiled Kyle Larson, who led 263 of 367 laps and won the first two stages but finished fourth and lost the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season title to Tyler Reddick by a single point.
With the second victory of his career and his first since March 2022 at Phoenix, Briscoe eliminated Chris Buescher from the playoffs. In a valiant run, Buescher finished sixth but lost the final Playoff spot on points to Ty Gibbs and Martin Truex Jr.
Briscoe disappointed Kyle Busch, who charged into second place after a restart on lap 351 and used all his elite skills attempting to pass Briscoe for the win and force his way into the playoffs. Busch was runner-up for the second straight Cup race, having run second to Harrison Burton on Aug. 24 at Daytona.
Stewart-Haas Racing is ceasing operations at the end of the year, but Briscoe already has secured a ride with Joe Gibbs Racing, replacing Truex, who is retiring from full-time racing at the end of the season.
“For all 320 employees, everybody, to be able to race for a championship in their final year, man, unbelievable,” Briscoe said. “This group, the day that we found out that the team wasn’t going to exist anymore, we went over to the shop floor, we all looked at each other and said, ‘We’re in this till the end. We’re not going to give this up.’
“We kept saying all week we got one bullet left in the chamber. That bullet hit.”
Ross Chastain also was eliminated from playoff contention, but he figured in the outcome of the Southern 500. Chastain stayed on the track under the sixth caution for Carson Hocevar’s wreck while the rest of the contending cars came to pit road for tires on lap 338.
Larson was battling Chastain for the lead in Turn Three on lap 342 when Briscoe steered decisively toward the bottom of the track and shot past Ty Gibbs, Larson and Chastain into the lead.
Briscoe held the top spot the rest of the way despite enormous pressure from Busch throughout the final 17-lap green-flag run.
“I was sideways, counter steering,” Briscoe said. “Like I was in a sprint car. Yeah, this night just literally went perfect. The pit crew did an incredible job. I was crying after the checkered — I just won the Southern 500, this is a crown jewel.
“What makes this race so special is all these race fans. Every time we come here, it’s sold out. It’s awesome. We love you guys. Last time I won here (in the NASCAR Xfinity Series) was during COVID. I didn’t experience it with the fans. Glad that you are here and can’t wait to celebrate.”
Busch restarted on the inside of the fourth row on lap 351, in the first car on new tires. He quickly dispatched every car in front of him—except Briscoe’s.
“When I made it through a few of those guys right there on the start, I thought we had a shot to get there,” Busch said. “I think I just needed him to have maybe three or four more lap older tires for me to be able to break through the wake.
“Once I got within his air, I really didn’t have enough to power through that, to get closer. I was kind of sliding already.”
Reddick was suffering from nausea throughout the race, but he persevered over the 500 miles, took fresh tires under the final caution on Lap 346 and gained two spots from the restart to finish 10th and edge Larson for the regular-season championship and the 15-playoff-point bonus that goes with it.
“The car was really, really strong right from the get-go,” Reddick said. “It was tough, man, when we just were bleeding points to the 5 (Larson) in the middle of the race. I was trying to think of what I needed to do to go faster.
“It was really, really hard to focus on that stuff. I was just not able to really do what I normally do good here in the car. I don’t know, I was just kind of driving with one hand, almost. I don’t know how to really describe it. It was really tough in the car.”
Larson nevertheless will start next Sunday’s playoff race at Atlanta Motor Speedway as the No. 1 seed with 40 playoff points in the bank.
Disaster struck one of the playoff hopefuls on lap 3. The Toyota of Martin Truex Jr. broke loose during an attempted pass of William Byron. Truex’s Camry shot into the outside wall and collected the Ford of Ryan Blaney, who was running behind him.
Truex entered the race 58 points above the playoff cut line and his inclusion in the postseason seemed little more than a formality. But formality became calamity with the early wreck, which put Truex out of the race in 36th place, worth one point.
“Yeah, it was all my fault, all my doing. I got a run on the 24 (Byron) and went to the inside and thought everything was going fine, and the car just took off and I ran into him,” Truex said.
“Obviously, that was on me. I hate it for my guys, (sponsor) Bass Pro Shops, Toyota, everybody. We had a phenomenal race car, and I know this is like the longest race of the year — just a dumb mistake on my part.”
The early exit put Truex’s Playoff hopes in temporary jeopardy, but by the end of Stage Two, he had clinched a playoff spot on points.
Playoff driver Christopher Bell finished third, followed by Larson and Chastain. Buescher, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Corey LaJoie and Reddick completed the top 10.