Chase Briscoe wins his way into the playoffs with wild Southern 500 victory

Chase Briscoe held off Kyle Busch to win the Southern 500 at Darlington, locking himself into the playoffs in a dramatic showdown on Sunday night. The race came down to a series of cautions that threw the race into complete chaos. Strategies were all over the place and when the smoke cleared, the driver of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang emerged victorious.

Earlier this year, it was announced that Stewart-Haas Racing will shut down at season's end, but before they do, they will have one more shot to win a third Cup Series title.

"Everybody knows I'm a diehard Tony Stewart fan," said Briscoe through tears. "To get this No. 14 car back in Victory Lane for all 320 something employees, and to be able to race for a championship in their final year is unbelievable. God is just so good. It's like deja vu there at the end with Kyle [Busch], with the Xfinity race here in 2020. I was so loose. I didn't know if I was going to be able to do it."

Speaking on the closure of SHR, Briscoe said: "The day we found out the team wasn't going to exist anymore. We went over to the shop floor and we all looked at each other and we said, we're in this to the end. We're not gonna give up. We kept saying 'we got one bullet left in the chamber' and that bullet hit."

When Ross Chastain stayed out on older tires with under 30 laps to go at Darlington, it presented an opportunity for drivers to break the stranglehold Kyle Larson had on the event after dominating the first two stages. Briscoe made a sensational three-wide move for the lead, moving into the top spot just before a multi-car pileup ensued behind him.

CRASH💥 @BubbaWallace involved and his playoff hopes may be over! 💔

🎥 @NASCAR pic.twitter.com/Uzt229t52C

— Motorsport.com (@Motorsport) September 2, 2024

Josh Berry and Ty Gibbs tangled, collecting playoff hopeful Bubba Wallace and effectively ending his chances. Under caution, Kyle Busch led a group of drivers down pitroad for slightly fresher rubber in the mad dash to the finish.

At the restart, Busch quickly cut his way through the pack. He ran down Briscoe, desperately looking for a way around him. He never got alongside. Briscoe clawed his way to the checkered flag, winning the Southern 500 and earning just the second win of his NASCAR Cup Series career. Busch ended the regular season with back-to-back runner-up finishes, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2012.

Christopher Bell finished third in Sunday's race, Kyle Larson fourth, and Ross Chastain fifth. Chris Buescher, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Corey LaJoie, and Tyler Reddick rounded out the top-ten. Reddick, who battled sickness all night, won the regular season title by a single point over Larson.

While Briscoe, Ty Gibbs, and Martin Truex Jr. (who wrecked on the third lap of the race) locked themselves into the playoffs, several big names just missed out. Buescher, Wallace, Chastain and Busch will not be part of the 2024 championship fight.

Cla	Driver	#		Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Interval	Pits	Points
1	C. BriscoeStewart-Haas Racing	14		Ford	367	3:55'14.165		12	57
2	K. BuschRichard Childress Racing	8		Chevrolet	367	+0.361 3:55'14.526	0.361	14	35
3	C. BellJoe Gibbs Racing	20		Toyota	367	+5.210 3:55'19.375	4.849	13	46
4	K. LarsonHendrick Motorsports	5		Chevrolet	367	+6.092 3:55'20.257	0.882	12	53
5	R. ChastainTrackHouse Racing	1		Chevrolet	367	+6.694 3:55'20.859	0.602	16	32
6	C. BuescherRFK Racing	17		Ford	367	+7.150 3:55'21.315	0.456	13	32
7	D. HamlinJoe Gibbs Racing	11		Toyota	367	+9.665 3:55'23.830	2.515	13	43
8	J. LoganoTeam Penske	22		Ford	367	+9.877 3:55'24.042	0.212	13	29
9	C. LajoieSpire Motorsports	7		Chevrolet	367	+9.958 3:55'24.123	0.081	13	28
10	T. Reddick23XI Racing	45		Toyota	367	+10.461 3:55'24.626	0.503	13	37
11	C. ElliottHendrick Motorsports	9		Chevrolet	367	+11.060 3:55'25.225	0.599	13	26
12	R. PreeceStewart-Haas Racing	41		Ford	367	+11.533 3:55'25.698	0.473	17	25
13	A. CindricTeam Penske	2		Ford	367	+11.901 3:55'26.066	0.368	14	24
14	B. KeselowskiRFK Racing	6		Ford	367	+14.127 3:55'28.292	2.226	14	24
15	A. DillonRichard Childress Racing	3		Chevrolet	367	+15.517 3:55'29.682	1.390	14	22
16	B. Wallace23XI Racing	23		Toyota	367	+26.211 3:55'40.376	10.694	14	32
17	T. GillilandFront Row Motorsports	38		Ford	367	+27.687 3:55'41.852	1.476	15	20
18	D. SuarezTrackHouse Racing	99		Chevrolet	366	+1 Lap 3:55'23.449	1 Lap	16	19
19	A. BowmanHendrick Motorsports	48		Chevrolet	366	+1 Lap 3:55'32.693	9.244	13	18
20	T. GibbsJoe Gibbs Racing	54		Toyota	366	+1 Lap 3:55'41.191	8.498	14	26
21	H. BurtonWood Brothers Racing	21		Ford	365	+2 Laps 3:55'31.419	1 Lap	13	16
22	R. Stenhouse JrJTG Daugherty Racing	47		Chevrolet	365	+2 Laps 3:55'35.242	3.823	12	15
23	Z. SmithSpire Motorsports	71		Chevrolet	364	+3 Laps 3:55'27.071	1 Lap	13	14
24	E. JonesLegacy Motor Club	43		Toyota	364	+3 Laps 3:55'28.122	1.051	17	13
25	J. NemechekLegacy Motor Club	42		Toyota	364	+3 Laps 3:55'30.319	2.197	15	12
26	S. van GisbergenKaulig Racing	16		Chevrolet	364	+3 Laps 3:55'32.430	2.111	13
27	J. HaleyRick Ware Racing	51		Ford	363	+4 Laps 3:55'31.263	1 Lap	14	10
28	M. McDowellFront Row Motorsports	34		Ford	363	+4 Laps 3:55'31.660	0.397	14	9
29	D. HemricKaulig Racing	31		Chevrolet	362	+5 Laps 3:55'40.553	1 Lap	16	8
30	W. ByronHendrick Motorsports	24		Chevrolet	344	+23 Laps 3:39'55.281	18 Laps	12	17
31	J. BerryStewart-Haas Racing	4		Ford	343	+24 Laps 3:36'34.978	1 Lap	11	12
32	N. GragsonStewart-Haas Racing	10		Ford	343	+24 Laps 3:36'35.975	0.997	13	5
33	C. HocevarSpire Motorsports	77		Chevrolet	335	+32 Laps 3:28'23.835	8 Laps	11	4
34	K. GralaRick Ware Racing	15		Ford	332	+35 Laps 3:55'37.997	3 Laps	15	3
35	T. HillMBM	66		Ford	278	+89 Laps 2:55'14.435	54 Laps	11
36	M. Truex JrJoe Gibbs Racing	19		Toyota	2	+365 Laps 1'02.372	276 Laps	3	1
37	R. BlaneyTeam Penske	12		Ford	2	+365 Laps 1'02.709	0.337	2	1