Chase Briscoe secured his spot in the NASCAR playoff field with a victory at the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on September 1, during the final regular-season race of the year.
This marked Briscoe’s first Cup win since his triumph at Phoenix Raceway in March 2022. The victory was crucial for Briscoe to earn his place in the NASCAR playoffs, which feature a field of 16 drivers.
Kyle Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion and the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion, also needed a win at Darlington. He made a late push to challenge Briscoe, but Briscoe managed to maintain his lead, finishing strong to take the checkered flag.
“For all 320 employees, everybody, to be able to race for a championship in their final year, man, unbelievable,” Briscoe remarked after the race. “This group, the day we found out the team wasn’t going to exist anymore, we went to the shop floor, looked at each other, and said, ‘We’re in this till the end. We’re not giving up.’ We kept saying all week we had one bullet left in the chamber, and that bullet hit.”
Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Ty Gibbs and Martin Truex Jr. also secured playoff spots on the final day. Truex, 44, plans to retire after this NASCAR season, capping an 18-year career with 34 Cup Series victories.
Meanwhile, Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace, and Ross Chastain needed a win at Darlington to qualify for the playoffs but fell short.
“We weren’t good enough, simple as that; last two-thirds of the race I said I hope the 11 [Denny Hamlin] and 5 [Kyle Larson] stay up there because the 14 (Briscoe) is fast,” Wallace said after the Darlington race.
Tyler Reddick clinched the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Championship, the first of his career.
Chase Briscoe drove his way into the NASCAR playoff field with a victory at the final regular-season race of the year at the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sept. 1.
It was Briscoe’s first Cup victory since winning at Phoenix Raceway in March 2022. Briscoe needed the win to earn a spot in the NASCAR playoffs, which will include 16 drivers.
Kyle Busch, the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion and the 2015 and 2019 Cup Series champion, also needed a win at Darlington Briscoe and made a late move to challenge Briscoe. However, Briscoe was able to get wide, finish strong, and earn the checkered flag.
“For all 320 employees, everybody, to be able to race for a championship in their final year, man, unbelievable,” Briscoe said after the race. “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.”
Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Ty Gibbs and Martin Truex Jr. also clinched playoff spots on the final day. Truex, 44, plans to retire after this NASCAR season after an 18-year career and 34 career victories in the Cup Series.
Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace, and Ross Chastain needed a victory at Darlington to qualify for the playoffs but came up short.
“We weren’t good enough, simple as that; last two-thirds of the race I said I hope the 11 [Denny Hamlin] and 5 [Kyle Larson] stay up there because the 14 (Briscoe) is fast,” Wallace said after the Darlington race.
Tyler Reddick clinched the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Championship, the first of his career.
Reddick, who drives the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota, won races at Talladega Superspeedway and Michigan International Speedway this season. He had 11 top-five finishes and 18 top-10 finishes.
“Yeah, it’s just a testament to all the hard work that everyone at 23XI, here at the race track, week in and week out, back at Airspeed, puts into this,” Reddick said after the Darlington race. “We’re on year four of their goals, right? It’s just been really, really fun the last two years to be a part of this process, building up to where we want to be.”
On Aug. 24, Burton qualified for the playoffs after winning the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona. Entering the race, Burton was not among the top 20 in points, but now he can win a title. The playoffs begin on Sept. 8, at the Quaker State 400 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. There will be three rounds of 16 before the field is pared to 12 for three rounds.
The NASCAR Cup Series Championship is scheduled for Nov. 10 at the Phoenix Raceway at 3 p.m. ET. Larson is the favorite to win the title, followed by Hamlin, Reddick, and Blaney.
The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs field consists of:
1. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet: 2,040 points
2. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota: 2,032 points
3. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota: 2,028 points
4. William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet: 2,022 points
5. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford: 2,018 points
6. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota: 2,015 points
7. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet: 2,014 points
8. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford: 2,008 points
9. Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford: 2,007 points
10. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford: 2,007 points
11. Daniel Suárez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet: 2,006 points
12. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet: 2,005 points
13. Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford: 2,005 points
14. Harrison Burton, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford: 2,005 points
15. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota: 2,004 points
16. Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota: 2,004 points