In the NASCAR Cup Series regular season finale, Chase Briscoe came in clutch to win the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, Sept. 1, punching his ticket to the Cup Series playoffs in the process.
With the window of opportunity to make the postseason closing at The Track Too Tough to Tame, bubble teams threw some hail mary pit strategies to try and get above the cut line.
Perhaps no call was gutsier than No. 1 crew chief Phil Surgen keeping Ross Chastain out while everyone else pitted for four tires on lap 337 at a racetrack that is well known for chewing up rubber.
While that decision did not work out, as Chastain ended up missing the playoffs, there was another strategy call that made the difference at Darlington.
Chase Briscoe, Kyle Busch’s Dueling Pit Strategies
When the race’s seventh and final caution came out on lap 344, it set the stage for one last strategy split among the lead lap cars.
With only a small handful of green-flag laps on their tires, the leader Briscoe and several cars stayed out while the back half of the lead lap put on four fresh Goodyears. Kyle Busch won the race off pit road and took the inside of the fourth row for the final restart on lap 350.
Two laps later, Busch was already up to second and closing on the back bumper of Briscoe, who opened up a lead of about seven car lengths with a strong restart. Try as Busch might, though, Briscoe held him off for the win.
Ironically, on a night when four tires was the way to go due to Darlington’s old surface, it was the choice to stay out by No. 14 crew chief Richard Boswell that helped boost his driver Briscoe into the playoffs.
No. 45 Crew Aids Ailing Tyler Reddick
Cup Series drivers are accustomed to servicing the race cars, whether it be putting on fresh tires, adding fuel or making adjustments to help the handling.
For the No. 45 23XI Racing team, they had an additional task throughout the evening at Darlington: taking care of their under-the-weather driver. Earlier on Sunday, Tyler Reddick came down with a stomach bug, impacting his ability to focus behind the wheel of his Toyota.
To help Reddick feel better, No. 45 crew chief Billy Scott provided him with crackers and medicine to settle his…
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