By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service
DARLINGTON, S.C.—Chase Briscoe took the checkered flag in Sunday Night’s 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 3 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,…
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