Chase Briscoe won the Southern 500, for the second time, at the Darlington Raceway on Sunday. The victory secured him a spot in the Round of 12 of the ongoing Cup Series playoffs and firmly cemented him as a worthy replacement for Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 19 Toyota Camry. Although his achievement is being lauded highly, not many seem to understand its actual weight.
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Kyle Petty noted this in a recent race analysis for NASCAR and underlined how hard it is to win a crown jewel event back-to-back in the Next Gen era. Eight people in history have won the Southern 500 back-to-back. Briscoe is the eighth of them and is unique in a particularly striking way.
Petty said, “Chase Briscoe did it with two teams, Stewart-Haas Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing. Chase Briscoe did it with two manufacturers, with Ford and with Toyota. Chase Briscoe did it with two different crew chiefs, two different pit crews, two different everything. He did something that no one else has ever done.”
Last year, Briscoe came to the fixture in a must-win scenario. He had to win the Southern 500, of all races, to secure himself a playoff spot, and he got the job done.
This year, he has made a crucial advancement in his hopes of being a Cup Series champion by making it to the Round of 12. For Petty, this is hugely admirable.
He added, “I look at this as one of the greatest back-to-backs ever. And I think, I am going to say this, that it’s harder to do it today than it’s ever been.” Petty continued to explain why he thinks so.
Why it’s harder to win consecutive Southern 500s today
Before Briscoe, it was legends like Cale Yarborough who won the Southern 500 consecutively. But Petty firmly believes that they had it easier than Briscoe does now.
He said, “That was tough, but, at the same time, there were only six or seven guys who could win. When we look at this right now, there have been so many winners in the past twenty years who haven’t been able to go back-to-back.”
The last time a driver went back-to-back in the Southern 500 was Greg Biffle. He completed the achievement after winning in 2005 and 2006. For twenty years, no driver could do what Briscoe has done now. This makes Petty shower him with heavy praise. He, without question, believes that the Joe Gibbs Racing hero must be celebrated for this well past his racing career.
