Who… should you be talking about after the race?
He and his team were informed they’d be out of a job at the end of the year. His only shot at taking his team to the payoffs one more time was winning. And Chase Briscoe rose to the occasion, winning the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, one of NASCAR’s most prestigious events.
With a perfectly executed dive to the inside on a late restart, Briscoe got past Kyle Larson, the driver he’d been dogging for much of the night. He dispatched Larson, Kyle Busch and finally leader Ross Chastain, then survived another late restart, holding off a charging and hungry Busch to win by a couple of car lengths.
A second career win has been a long time coming for Briscoe, whose first came at Phoenix Raceway in the spring of 2022. The former dirt racer is one of NASCAR’s good guy figures, hand-picked for the No. 14 by Tony Stewart.
The victory was an emotional one for the 29-year-old, who shed tears on the cool-down lap, understanding the weight of his victory. He’d made the playoffs, but he’d also won the Southern 500, a race where drivers must face not only the field but a track referred to as The Lady in Black because of how difficult she is to navigate.
But Briscoe raced the track first, getting into position, and his competition second, making his move when the race came to him. Briscoe’s duel with Busch for the win was classic Darlington, and should go down as an all-time classic as well.
And don’t forget Kyle Busch. He restarted eighth on the final re-rack and immediately staked a claim at the front, sweeping by all but Briscoe in what seemed like a single pass, and setting his sights on the lead with slightly fresher tires than Briscoe. He closed on the leader, and each time, Briscoe parried the move, taking away his runs.
Busch had one last shot entering the first turn on the final lap, and he threw the No. 8 into the corner with a run that would have put some drivers in the wall. He got just inside of Briscoe’s left rear, but Briscoe had the momentum off the top of the corner and held him off. He didn’t have enough to make a run into turn 3 or off turn 4 and had to settle for second.
Yet in that last run, Busch showed both the hunger to win and a new-found maturity, which was also evident in how he handled himself in his post-race interview. A win this year would mark 20 years in a row that Rowdy has gotten to the winner’s circle. A few weeks ago,…
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