NASCAR
Chase Briscoe Takes First Playoff Race in Cook Out Southern 500
DARLINGTON, S.C. – Calling Chase Briscoe and Darlington Raceway a match made in Heaven is very apt. The reigning Southern 500 champion and 2020 Xfinity winner at The Track Too Tough To Tame had a career night in 2025’s Labor Day weekend classic. Leading a personal best 309 laps, team 19 was unbeaten in any aspect of the opening Playoff race. Now locked into the Round of 12, this team may be only more dangerous in two weeks.
Stage 1 largely belonged to defending Southern 500 champion Chase Briscoe. After starting second, Briscoe took the lead away from Denny Hamlin on lap one and hardly ever looked back. The No. 19 Toyota took the opening checkered flag, and went onto sweep both stages.
The only major on-track issue across either stage happened on lap one. Third-place starter Josh Berry lost control in turn two, sending the Playoff contender spinning amidst a pack of traffic. After spending over 100 laps in the garage, the Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 did return to the track for Stage 2.
Even after briefly losing the lead to start Stage 3, Briscoe came storming back by Tyler Reddick only a few laps later. The 19 had its tail in the wind for all but 48 laps between both stages. The 19 showed no signs of stopping this dominant night in Stage 3. Through the opening 308 laps, Briscoe eclipsed 250 circuits out front with a blistering pace. This number soon ballooned to 309 laps out front, with no charge able to get by Briscoe’s bumper. Even with the 19 brushing the wall in the closing laps, Briscoe was not to be denied a second-straight crown jewel triumph.
“There at the end, that was way harder than it needed to be,” Briscoe said. “Man, just incredible, Bass Pro Shops. As a fan, I’ve watched Martin [Truex Jr.] dominate a lot of races, and it was fun to be behind the wheel of it.”
“So cool to win two Southern 500s in a row. This is my favorite race of the year. Just because you race fans, every time we come here the place is sold out, the atmosphere here is like nowhere else. A great way to start our Playoffs. That was a lot of fun.”
“I think this is definitely what we’re capable of doing. We haven’t been able to go out and dominate a race like that. The potential has been there from day one. Yeah, so thankful once again that Joe Gibbs, Toyota, Johnny Morris, J.P. Morris, to be able to run this red, white and blue Bass Pro Shops car into Victory Lane, it’s the most American brand there is. To have the Star Spangled Banner on this is pretty cool.”
Toyotas were the manufacturer carrying the banner in this year’s Southern 500. Briscoe was closely followed by Tyler Reddick, Erik Jones, John Hunter Nemechek, and AJ Allmendinger. The rest of the top-10 were: Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Carson Hocevar, and Chris Buescher. Hear from some of these drivers below.
Briscoe is now a Round of 12 lock with the Playoff-opening victory. The rest of the updated postseason grid can be seen below, with a few drivers in deep holes after 500 tough miles at Darlington.
From one technical track to another, the NASCAR Playoffs roll onward from Worldwide Technology Raceway at Gateway. The St. Louis green flag flies Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on USA, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The Enjoy Illinois 300 has the chance to define a driver’s season with a breakthrough victory in Playoff race two.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credits to Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
