Darlington Raceway rarely plays favorites, but the renowned Lady in Black definitely has a crush on Chase Briscoe.
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Briscoe dominated Sunday night’s Cook Out Southern 500, leading 309 of the 367 laps and all three stages to punch his ticket to advance to the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup playoffs. For all intents and purposes, Briscoe can essentially coast in the next two races (Gateway and Bristol), knowing he’s heading to the quarterfinals.
Briscoe’s win, a back-to-back triumph to go along with his win in the race last year, was historic. He’s the first driver to lead 300-plus laps en route to victory in this Crown Jewel race since Bobby Allison did so in the 1971 edition (led 329 of 367 laps).
The 30-year-old pride and joy of tiny Mitchell, Indiana (90 miles south of Indianapolis), population of 3,900, also became the first back-to-back Southern 500 winner since Greg Biffle in 2005 and 2006.
“The fact I’ve been able to win it twice is just unbelievable,” Briscoe told the Motor Racing Network (MRN) in victory lane. “I never thought I’d win the Southern 500 once, let alone two.”
So where does he go from here, knowing his future is assured, at least into the second round. “We just need to keep stacking up points, continue to win races, continue to win stages and try to get more playoff points,” Briscoe added.
What makes Briscoe’s win Sunday night even more unique is that he won both ends of the back-to-back editions of the Southern 500 with different teams. He did so last year with the now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing team, and this year with his new organization, Joe Gibbs Racing.
Briscoe was so excited after the win that he climbed into the grandstands to celebrate with fans who high-fived him, fist-bumped him and patted him on the back for a job well done. Even those fans who cheered for other drivers during the race gave Briscoe a huge and well-deserved round of applause, with several even giving him a standing ovation.
“I’ve watched (the No. 19 Toyota) as a fan with Martin (Truex Jr.) driving, but it was incredible to drive it,” Briscoe continued. “It was definitely on rails. We took the lead today from the get-go and never looked back.
“It’s crazy to do two in a row. You have to have the whole package, pit crew, car, all of it. Just an amazing night and a lot of fun when you have a car like that.”
Briscoe started sweating late in the race
Briscoe is normally a confident driver, but he admitted some worry crept into his mind late in the race, including when he slapped the wall several times, slowing his forward progress. But he was able to keep things under control and held on to take the checkered flag.
“That last run I knew it was going to be a struggle if it went green to the end,” Briscoe said. “I got into the wall and hit it a few times. With 20 to go, I didn’t think I was going to win, so I had to dig deep. Now I’m looking forward to the rest of the playoffs.”
Briscoe also was part of another bit of history: along with runner-up Tyler Reddick and third-place finisher Erik Jones, it marked the first time that three different Toyota teams finished 1-2-3 in a Cup race, as well as collectively leading all but 16 laps in the race.
Actually, Toyota had a 1-2-3-4 finish if you include John Hunter Nemechek, who earned the highest finish of his Cup career in fourth place. Indeed, the Toyota camp has never looked stronger in a race.
While it unfortunately came a bit late for Jones and fourth-place finisher John Hunter Nemechek, who both missed the playoffs, it still gave the Jimmie Johnson-led Legacy Motor Club organization a huge boost of confidence, making both of its drivers potential spoilers in the nine remaining playoff races.
