Southern 500 Win Secures Chase Briscoe Spot in NASCAR Playoffs

The NASCAR regular season finale, ends with Chase Briscoe racing his way into the NASCAR Playoffs securing Stewart-Haas Racing a chance at a championship in their final year before disbanding. Briscoe entered the race far below the cutline, knowing the only way of racing in the NASCAR Playoffs was to win the Southern 500 on Sunday Night. Chase Briscoe fended off Kyle Busch in the final laps.

Both drivers needed a win to make it into the playoffs, for Busch it was the second week in a row in which he found himself in the same situation, running second with a win being the only option to secure a playoff spot, one that he's had for the past 11 years.

Briscoe held off the multi-time champion, even after scrubbing the wall coming to the white flag.

Once he crossed the finish line, Briscoe broke into tears, winning his second race after a 70 plus race winless streak, securing himself and SHR a playoff run in their final season, and winning one of NASCAR's crown jewels.

Briscoe's team never gave up on him, in his victory lane interview Briscoe told NBC Sports that they talked that week about not giving up.

"We all looked at each other and said we're all in this to the end, we have a bullet in the chamber," Briscoe said. "That bullet hit."

Briscoe's win did not come easily as he took the lead on a restart where he restarted fifth and made a bold move around the bottom to slingshot to the front.

With under 30 laps to go, Josh Berry attempted to go three wide between Ty Gibbs and Kyle Busch and spun himself and Gibbs collecting Noah Gragson and Bubba Wallace. Wallace was flirting with the cut line all race flipping back and forth with Chris Buescher, with Briscoe's win neither of them would advance to the Playoffs.

On the final restart Briscoe pulled away at first but never escaped a charging Busch.

"Yeah," Briscoe answered when asked if he felt the pressure from Busch. "I was sideways, counter-steering like I was as in a sprint car. This night went perfect, the pit crew did an incredible job."

With Wallace knocked out of the playoffs by a racer below the cutline winning. The team couldn't slip into sadness as on the other side of the same coin, Tyler Reddick secured the regualr season championship over Kyle Larson by one point. By finishing within the top-1o while driving with a stomach bug.

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