Chase Briscoe is playoff-bound after he stunned the NASCAR Cup Series field and won his way into the playoffs.
The Indiana native entered the weekend in a must-win situation, and he delivered when it mattered. He took one of the remaining playoff spots and eliminated such bubble drivers as Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, and Bubba Wallace.
Kyle Busch crossed the line second after nearly winning his way into the postseason. Christopher Bell finished third. Kyle Larson, who dominated the race by leading 263 laps and sweeping the first two stages, finished fourth. Chastain crossed the line fifth.
MORE: Briscoe wins, full Darlington results
The final laps of the race were a battle between Briscoe and Busch, two drivers who required a win. Briscoe jumped to the lead on the final restart after staying out on older tires. Busch jumped from multiple rows back to second on fresh tires. He then began to chase down the Stewart-Haas Racing driver.
Busch pulled within half of a second and he even decreased the deficit to two-tenths of a second. He just couldn't pull off the race-winning pass before the checkered flag waved.
What a finish! What a win by @ChaseBriscoe_14! pic.twitter.com/2zKCrb2u8P
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 2, 2024
Ty Gibbs took the final playoff spot by finishing 12 points ahead of Buescher. Tyler Reddick, who finished 10th, captured the regular-season championship by one point over Larson, locking up 15 bonus playoff points in the process.
Reddick also accomplished this feat after dealing with a sickness that plagued him throughout the race and led to requests for crackers, bread, Tums, and medicine.
"At one point, I was just waiting to puke all over myself," Reddick said after the race. "Thankfully they kept that from happening. A whole lot of other gross stuff.
"We were able to avoid a lot of that, which was nice, but it was extremely uncomfortable in the car all night."
The 16-driver playoff field is now complete after the regular-season finale at Darlington. This list includes Larson, Bell, Reddick, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, Daniel Suarez, Alex Bowman, Harrison Burton, Chase Briscoe, Martin Truex Jr., and Gibbs.
This win was particularly meaningful for Briscoe, who finished 14th at Daytona International Speedway. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver said that he promised his crew chief that he would make up for his performance at Darlington.
Briscoe followed through on his promise behind the wheel while his pit crew delivered consistently strong stops all night long. As a result, they were all able to celebrate in the infield and then in victory lane.
This team also won a crown jewel race for good measure. Now they have the opportunity to pursue a championship in Stewart-Haas Racing's final season as an organization.
Stage 1: Kyle Larson won stage 1. Bubba Wallace, Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, William Byron, Josh Berry, and Chris Buescher were all top 10.
Stage 2: Kyle Larson dominated and won stage 2. Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs, Josh Berry, Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, and Brad Keselowski were all top 10.
Next: The playoffs begin on Sunday, Sept. 8, at a new location. The 16-drivers will begin the quest for the championship at Atlanta Motor Speedway.