Posted on by Pat DeCola

Chase Briscoe reminded everyone on Sunday night why Joe Gibbs elected to turn to the Indiana native to replace the future Hall of Famer Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 19 JGR Toyota, capturing a second straight Southern 500 crown-jewel win at Darlington Raceway. Will Austin Cindric, Briscoe’s former Brad Keselowski Racing teammate back in their Craftsman Truck Series days, join him in the Round of 12 this weekend?

NASCAR.com’s Pat DeCola ranks the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs contenders after the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway and before Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

HOW TO WATCH: NASCAR on NBC, USA | Driver Cams on HBO Max

Analysis: The defending Southern 500 champion delivered a dazzling show of dominance at Darlington, leading 309 of 367 laps to become the first driver to win two in a row since Greg Biffle accomplished the feat in 2005 and 2006. With his Round of 12 spot locked in, Briscoe heads to Gateway, where he’s yet to land in the top 15, but will be confident in his No. 19 team’s current form and his ability to control his own playoff destiny.

Analysis: The top playoff seed struggled to 19th at Darlington, but his 38-point cushion provides comfort heading to Gateway, where he finished fourth in 2023 and 10th in 2024. Despite concerns about his summer form, Larson’s proven playoff track record and solid Gateway history (8.7 average finish) position him well to rebound as the championship favorite.

Analysis: The Darlington master started on the pole but couldn’t convert, though still walked away P7 with a 43-point buffer to keep him secure. The veteran also has strong Gateway credentials, riding consecutive runner-ups as he looks to inch closer to Round of 12 status this weekend.

Analysis: Reddick hustled valiantly at the end but ultimately secured a strong second at Darlington to jump from 14th to fourth in points, now sitting 35 points above the cutline after his clutch performance. He ran fourth at Gateway in 2024 and crashed out in 2023 while running competitively, but his recent form and ability to rise under pressure make him a serious Round of 12 threat and in good position to advance.

Analysis: The Regular Season Champion struggled to 21st at Darlington, one of his best tracks in a race he was expected to compete for the win, dropping to sixth but maintaining a 25-point cushion. His Gateway record shows some minor inconsistency, but Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports team typically finds speed when it matters most in the playoffs — and, particularly, when it needs to rebound.

Analysis: As expected at one of his lesser venues, Blaney got off to a slow start to the playoffs but still sits seventh with a 22-point buffer heading to Gateway, where his Team Penske organization has won twice in three Cup races. His first two races at Gateway averaged a top five, and he turned in a near-win in 2024 (led until running out of fuel), showing he has the speed to contend for a Round of 12 spot this weekend.

Analysis: A solid sixth-place finish at Darlington in a banner night for Toyota moved him into a tie for fifth in points with a crucial 25-point cushion above elimination. Wallace finished 21st at Gateway in 2024 for his “best” showing there yet, but his breakthrough Brickyard 400 win earlier this season proves he can deliver when pressure ramps up. He should keep it rolling.

Analysis: Chastain showed some life at Darlington despite ultimately finishing 11th to sit eighth in points with a 21-point buffer, though his inconsistency lingers as he searches for the speed that carried him early in the Next Gen era. He finished eighth in his first Gateway start in his revelatory 2022 season, but has since finished 22nd in 2023, 12th in 2024, showing decent results at the track where his aggressive style could either pay dividends or create trouble.

Analysis: The defending Gateway winner enters the weekend 12 points above the cutoff after a 12th-place showing at Darlington, returning to the scene of a raucous triumph could provide the spark he needs to escape the Round of 16. Anything close to the dominant performance like last year (scored 56 points) should have him very well positioned before he enters the gauntlet that is the cutoff race at Bristol a week later.

Analysis: Bell did not enjoy the wholesale Toyota success at Darlington, finishing 29th despite entering as a title favorite and now sitting 10th with only 11 points separating him from elimination. He was strong at Gateway in 2024, before engine issues, and averaged a top 10 in the other two races, showing he could have the speed to bounce back if he can avoid the mechanical gremlins that have haunted him lately.

Analysis: The Hendrick driver’s 17th-place finish at Darlington was Hendrick’s best result — which … yikes — and he now sits 11th with just nine points above the cutoff heading into a crucial stretch. His Gateway record is concerning, with finishes of 21st (2022) and 13th (2024) — with one fewer start on his resume than others after missing the 2023 race — and needs to find speed quickly or risk becoming a former champion eliminated in the opening round.

Analysis: The three-time champion finds himself in familiar territory below the cutline, sitting 13th and three points behind after a 20th-place finish at Darlington. However, Logano won Gateway’s inaugural Cup race in 2022 and has an exceptional track record there (wins in 2022, third in 2023, fifth in 2024), making him extremely dangerous despite his precarious points position.

Analysis: Major pit-road issues relegated Bowman to 31st at Darlington, leaving him tied for last in points and likely needing either a win or chaos ahead to survive. His Gateway results are concerning, but Bowman has proven he can deliver clutch victories, though the mountain appears steep this time.

Analysis: The Cup Series rookie sits 12th with just three points above elimination after a respectable but unspectacular Darlington playoff debut, in a race he was counting on big time. Gateway represents more uncharted territory, and he’ll really need to surprise us over the next two weeks to stay above that elimination line.

Analysis: Dillon’s 23rd-place finish at Darlington left him 14th and eight points below the elimination line, but he has legitimate reason for optimism heading to Gateway. The Illinois track is one of the few bright spots for Richard Childress Racing in the past handful of years, with teammate Kyle Busch winning there in 2023 and Dillon, himself, turning in a P6 there last year.

Analysis: Berry’s playoff debut couldn’t have gone worse, spinning on Lap 1 and finishing 38th to sit dead last in points, 19 behind the cutoff. The No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing driver also crashed out of his Gateway debut last year and faces an uphill battle requiring near-perfect execution and significant help from competitors’ misfortunes to advance.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

DARLINGTON, S.C. — It was a race that didn’t follow form — not anywhere close.

The presumptive favorites for the NASCAR Cup Series championship didn’t perform like favorites in Sunday night’s Cook Out Southern 500, the opening race in the 2025 playoffs.

Defending series champion Joey Logano, whose Fords typically spring to life in the postseason, drove a lethargic No. 22 Mustang to a lackluster 20th-place finish at Darlington Raceway.

“Yeah, it was surprising,” conceded Logano, who heads for next Sunday’s playoff race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway three points below the current cutline for the Round of 12.

MORE: Full Southern 500 results | Best weekend photos

“I thought we would be able to run in the top 10, just based off of history and because we’ve been there in the past, but when everyone got better, we didn’t.”

If there was a positive side to Logano’s performance in the first playoff race, at least he kept his car out of harm’s way for most of the evening.

“We just had no grip,” Logano said. “There isn’t much to say outside of that. It wasn’t good enough. This has been a good track for us in the past, but I don’t know. Some of our cars were decent at times, but not like we have been here.

“It’s a bit of a head scratcher to try to understand. I don’t know where we are in points, but it’s obviously not the day we wanted. We just did a good job of not making a bad day worse.”

Clearly, it was an inauspicious start to Logano’s title defense and to Team Penske’s hopes of winning a fourth straight championship for the organization.

The night was perhaps even more disappointing to Hendrick Motorsports, which entered the postseason with the top two seeds on the playoff grid — 2021 champion Kyle Larson and Regular Season Champion William Byron.

RELATED: Pit-road disaster causes 40-second stop for Alex Bowman

It was Chase Elliott, however, who led the Hendrick contingent with a 17th-place finish. Byron never recovered from a slow pit stop, and Larson faded in the final 48-lap green-flag run. Larson finished 19th and Byron 21st. Neither performed like a champion.

“It was a good thing we were able to get those stage points early,” said Larson, who finished sixth in Stage 1 and fourth in Stage 2. “I felt pretty average all night. We had a lot of stack-ups on the restarts. I’m not sure why, but we had a big one there in the final stage, and we just struggled after that.

“I’m not sure if the splitter got bent up or what happened, but it just took all my problems and made it all worse. We also had radio issues and all sorts of other problems, so to have a bad race and still gain on the cutline is rewarding …

“It’s typically a good track for us, so I’m not sure, but we’ll regroup and hopefully rebound in the next two races.”

Larson did gain 12 points on the elimination line and is now 38 points to the good. But neither he nor Byron nor Elliott turned in a performance that suggests a championship may be in the offing.

Their efforts stood in sharp contrast to those of race winner Chase Briscoe, who led 309 of 367 laps and swept the first two stages. Thanks to the victory, Briscoe knows he’ll be racing in the Round of 12. There are no other guarantees issuing from Sunday night’s race.

MORE: Analysis: Chase Briscoe sprints ahead as Cup title favorite

There was a silver lining to the relative disappearance of a handful of favorites. It allowed others to shine, notably Bubba Wallace, who overcame one slow pit stop to finish sixth.

Fifth in the first stage and seventh in the second, Wallace climbed to fifth on the playoff grid, tied with Byron at 25 points above the cutline.

Then again, it was a night for Toyotas to excel at the expense of the Chevrolets and Fords. Behind Briscoe and runner-up Tyler Reddick, non-Playoff drivers Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek of Legacy Motor Club were third and fourth, as Toyota drivers occupied six of the top seven finishing positions for the first time in Cup Series history.

RELATED: Reddick’s last-gasp effort leaves him just short

Byron summed up the outlook for the teams that didn’t perform up to potential.

“As good as we normally are (at Darlington), it’s definitely a bummer,” he said. “ … We’ve definitely got some work to do. We’ll go to Gateway and try to be better there.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Editor’s note: Birches Health is a national provider of Responsible Gaming educational resources and the leading gambling addiction recovery program in the United States, offering specialized care from the comfort of home, covered by insurance.

As the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs get underway and excitement continues to build, it is important to also recognize that September is Responsible Gaming Education Month. Led every September by the American Gaming Association (AGA), this annual campaign aims to educate and empower bettors and fantasy players with the knowledge and tools necessary to engage with those activities in responsible ways.

As a proud AGA partner, NASCAR supports its new “Play Smart from the Start” campaign that encourages bettors to always understand why they’re playing, know the upside and downside of every bet beforehand, and set personal limits. When bettors play smart, they’re in control throughout the entire experience.

Playing smart also isn’t a one-time action; it is a cycle players return to every time. A positive betting experience begins before placing that first wager.

With that in mind, the AGA is also transparent about the likelihood of bettors turning a profit:

The House Really Does Always Win in the Long Run
“Casinos and sportsbooks maintain the ‘house advantage’ — a mathematical edge built into every game that ensures that over time, they always win. Depending on what you’re playing, it might be called the “vigorish,” “the vig,” the rake, hold, edge or juice. Whatever you call it, it’s keeping the casino or sportsbook in business so they can keep providing an exciting gaming experience for everyone… While sports bettors use knowledge of teams, players, etc., to inform their wagers, the mathematical reality remains: the odds ultimately favor the house. This isn’t hidden or deceptive — it’s simply how gambling economics work.”

Responsible Gaming tips and best practices

Responsible Gaming Education Month is a great time to run through some reminders about best practices for playing in a sustainable manner. Let’s run through a few of the most important tips.

— Approach betting as paid entertainment: As the AGA points out, you are statistically likely to lose money in the long term if you choose to bet. Therefore, you should view it as an entertainment expense, similar to paying to go to the movies or attend a NASCAR race. Bets can provide extra rooting interests to increase excitement while watching, but winning them should never be something you depend on financially.

— Bankroll management: It is critical to determine your “bankroll” before betting. This can be thought of as a betting budget and needs to be an amount that you can afford to lose entirely without it impacting your financial wellbeing.

— Set limits: Sportsbooks and other gaming platforms nowadays offer Responsible Gaming tools that allow users to set limits that help them play responsibly. These act as helpful guardrails for all bettors to keep their play in check. They can include Deposit Limits, Bet Limits, Loss Limits and Time Limits. And if you’d ever like to take a break, they often offer “Cool Down” periods to suspend your account for a set time frame.

— Never chase losses: Counselors at Birches Health have found that “chasing” losses is the at-risk behavior exhibited most commonly in gambling recovery clients before entering the program. Loss chasing involves betting more — additional wagers and often larger amounts — in attempts to win back what was lost. You are never “due” for a win, so accept losses as the cost of entertainment and move on to another (non-gambling) activity.

Gambling Addiction treatment & resources

Even if you are betting responsibly, there’s still the potential that you or someone you know may end up having a gambling problem. Therefore, it’s also important to know where you can turn for support if that ever happens.

Nowadays, there are gambling-specialized treatment options available nationwide. Birches Health offers the leading virtual gambling recovery program in the United States, featuring a team of counselors who have been specially trained to help individuals struggling with gambling addiction and related challenges. Treatment with Birches is confidential, available from the comfort of home, and can be covered by insurance or state funding for eligible residents.

If you or someone you know would like to speak with a Birches Health care specialist, simply click here, email [email protected] or call (833) 483-3838.

Posted on by Staff Report

Editor’s note: Birches Health is a national provider of Responsible Gaming educational resources and the leading gambling addiction recovery program in the United States, offering specialized care from the comfort of home, covered by insurance.

September is officially Responsible Gaming Education Month, but learning and following recommended best practices for betting and playing fantasy responsibly needs to be a year-round focus. Therefore, NASCAR has collaborated with Birches Health to provide guidance around responsible play to help try to ensure that fans who engage with these different forms of gaming do so in a healthy, sustainable way. 

Here are 10 tips to keep in mind if you are of legal age and choose to bet on NASCAR races or any other sporting events. 

1. Determine your bankroll

Your “bankroll” can be most simply thought of as a budget for betting and/or fantasy. This should be a portion of your disposable funds and an amount that you can afford to lose fully without any impact on your finances. Your bankroll should be sustainable for multiple weeks or months to avoid feeling a need to increase it or deposit more into your account. 

2. Pick a unit size and stick to it

Related to bankroll management is the concept of unit sizing. A “unit” in sports betting is your usual amount for a single wager. Some recommend that this be between 1-4% of your total bankroll. Being disciplined and keeping your unit size small should allow you to maintain funds during inevitable “cold streaks” without the need to deposit again or increase your bankroll. 

3. Set limits

Setting limits is an easy process nowadays. Sportsbooks and fantasy platforms provide tools to let players set personal limits that can help them play responsibly. These can be seen as an extra set of guardrails that assists all users (not just those who may have a problem) keep their play in check. Platforms generally offer: Deposit Limits (this can help with bankroll management, as noted above), Bet/Entry Amount Limits (set these to align with your unit size), Loss Limits, Time Limits and “Cool Down” periods.

4. See betting and fantasy as paid entertainment

The reality is that you are more likely than not to lose money in the long term when betting. Knowing that, it is recommended that bettors and DFS players approach it as an entertainment expense, such as buying tickets to a NASCAR event to elevate the experience of watching the race. Picks and lineups can create another level of engagement, but their outcomes should not ever impact your financial health. If your picks are correct and you do win, it can be a pleasant surprise. But in the (more likely) case that they result in a loss, it should be seen as a cost that helped increase your excitement throughout, not something you need to try to win back.

5. Never “chase” losses

Chasing losses involves betting or playing more – additional bets/picks, often at larger amounts – in hopes of winning back what was lost before. Our partners at Birches Health have seen first hand that loss-chasing is the most common at-risk behavior exhibited by individuals before entering their problem gambling recovery program. No matter how many times you’ve lost or come close to a win, you are not “due” for a correct pick. Betting more can result in compounding losses that may reach unforeseen levels.

6. Only bet with a clear mind

Your decision-making skills and risk-assessment abilities are critically important when betting or playing fantasy, so it’s paramount to only do so when able to think clearly. If you’re in a highly emotional state or have been drinking, you should not be risking your hard-earned money on sports picks.

7. Never borrow to bet

If you don’t have the funds for betting, you should not be wagering in the first place. Using borrowed money or credit to bet can be extremely risky and result in debts that you may not be able to pay.

8. Take breaks

Be sure to maintain balance between gaming and all other parts of life. If making picks, setting lineups or researching plays is taking up too much of your day, take time away to focus on other activities and priorities. The “Time Limit” options on gaming platforms can be a big help in making sure you’re not dedicating too much time to gaming. 

9. No such thing as a sure thing

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a “lock” or “guarantee” in sports betting or fantasy. There is an incredibly large number of variables that can impact the outcomes of sporting events and make it difficult to predict their outcomes correctly, so no pick is ever guaranteed to win. Always keep this in mind when making a pick – huge upsets and highly unlikely results happen regularly in the world of sports, including NASCAR.

10. Know where to turn for support

In case sports betting or fantasy ends up leading to issues for you, a friend or family member, being aware of the specialized resources available is also very important. 

Birches Health has a nationwide team of counselors specially trained to help people dealing with gambling-related struggles. Birches offers the leading gambling recovery program in the United States, with costs that can be covered by insurance or state funding for eligible residents. Care is fully confidential and available virtually from the private comforts of home.

If you or someone you know could benefit from a conversation with Birches Health, you can simply click here, call (833) 483-3838 or email [email protected].

Posted on by Staff Report

Editor’s note: Birches Health is a national provider of Responsible Gaming educational resources and the leading gambling addiction recovery program in the United States, offering specialized care from the comfort of home, covered by insurance.

Since the Supreme Court’s 2018 repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, 39 states have legalized sports betting in some form. During that time, NASCAR has seen significant increases in betting popularity and the number of bet types available at sportsbooks. As more racing fans get involved with sports gambling and new states launch it (Missouri is slated to go live on December 1, 2025), it’s important to know how to engage with NASCAR betting in a responsible and sustainable manner. 

The excitement of NASCAR races often involves many lead changes, penalties, weather impacts and critical strategic decisions that regularly result in exhilarating finishes. For many fans, placing bets on different types of outcomes adds another level of engagement and rooting interests as they watch. But with hundreds of betting options available every race week, taking a measured and disciplined approach is key. 

Betting on NASCAR in a responsible, sustainable manner

The same general best practices for responsible sports betting naturally also apply to NASCAR betting, but there are nuances with making picks and predictions for NASCAR races that warrant special attention. So let’s run through some Responsible Gaming tips for NASCAR specifically. 

Limit your bets and risk

There are countless NASCAR bets available every race week, especially when you factor in live-betting opportunities. Therefore, it’s critical to enter with a plan for how many bets you’re comfortable placing and how much money you can comfortably lose. Ask yourself, “if all of these picks lose, what will my total losses be?” It’s common to think that at minimum some of them will win, but that is not always the case (even when diversifying with different bet types), so calculating your entire risk exposure is key. Always check beforehand that your total amount wagered isn’t going to surpass what you can afford to lose.  

Don’t increase your exposure for big races

The excitement around popular races like the Daytona 500 and NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs events may lead some bettors to risk more than usual. Increased exposure can quickly lead to heavier losses than expected, potentially your entire bankroll. Stay disciplined and don’t let the high stakes of an iconic race lead to your own stakes getting higher than usual. 

Learn the race format and rules

The variety of tracks, stage lengths and race formats creates excitement and intrigue throughout the season and playoffs. So before betting on a race, be sure to have a full understanding of all factors that could impact your wager(s).

Research the “house rules” of your sportsbook

Rules for grading wagers can vary from one sportsbook to another, so be sure to check your preferred platform’s individual set of rules before betting. Some will even have specific rules published for NASCAR, as approaches to grading certain bet types in unusual situations like post-race inspection penalties, multiple overtimes or weather-shortened races can differ notably and potentially be the difference between your bet winning or losing.

Steady as you go

The NASCAR Cup Series season spans February through early November this year, so taking a measured approach is strongly recommended. The cliche “marathon, not a sprint” applies here, as almost all bettors who wager throughout the season will encounter cold streaks. Therefore, betting exposure for any one race should only be a portion of your total bankroll. 

Problem Gambling Treatment

Learning and following best practices for betting responsibly may help reduce the chances of it ever turning into a problem, but it doesn’t fully eliminate that risk. Therefore, all bettors should be aware of the specialized resources available in case gambling-related issues arise. 

Birches Health has a nationwide team of certified counselors specially trained to help people dealing with gambling-related struggles. Birches’ leading gambling recovery program can be covered by insurance or state funding. Care is fully confidential and available from the comfort of home across the United States. 

To book a consultation or learn more about Birches Health, just click here, call (833) 483-3838 or email [email protected].

 

Posted on by Cameron Richardson

DARLINGTON, S.C. — Chase Briscoe may be a Hoosier by birth, but if the last two years in Darlington’s crown-jewel race have taught us anything, he’s become a full-fledged Southern boy.

After a night where he led 309 of 367 laps and won both stages en route to his second consecutive victory in Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500, Briscoe asserted himself quickly as a top contender to win the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship.

In a year where no one has been dominant enough to secure the moniker as title frontrunner, the driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing delivered a masterclass at the South Carolina superspeedway that crew chief James Small envisioned earlier that day.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

“I woke up this morning and sent the guys a message, and I just had this feeling it was like we just need to go and lay a old school beat down to them, and that’s exactly what we did tonight,” Small said in Sunday’s post-race press conference. “Chase did a remarkable job lap after lap. The pit crew — on song tonight, they did an incredible job. They’ve been getting better and better all year, and really hit their stride in the last eight weeks or so. Just really proud of everyone.”

The improvements have been noticeable across the No. 19 team since the start of the season.

With a new driver and new crew members all looking to mesh together quickly, 2025 didn’t get off to the best of starts for Briscoe and co. They had just one top 10 through the first five races and struggled in practice and qualifying early in the year, with just three starts inside the top 10 through the first 12 events.

Small attributed it to everyone trying to jell and said that it took one race in early May for the switch to flip.

“I think it was like Kansas — final stage of Kansas — that was like the light switch when things started coming together and him really understanding it from that point on,” Small said. “There’s been a few hiccups along the way, and there’s been some issues on pit road along the way as well, but qualifying speed came in really well. We’ve been working really hard on that. When you qualify up front, it sets yourself up for a really successful Sunday in terms of getting as many points as you can. I think you’ve seen it not only our average finish, but our stage-point accumulation in that period is ridiculous compared to what we had in the first 10 races.”

What’s starting to blossom for Briscoe in his five-year Cup career so far is a knack for delivering in the brightest of lights. Becoming the first driver to ever win pole awards in the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600 and Brickyard 400 during the same year is already a ludicrous stat, but when you think back through the Hoosier’s young career so far, he’s been excelling in pressure-filled moments time and time again.

While driving for the now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing, Briscoe pointed his way to the Round of 8 in 2022 and nearly clinched the unlikeliest of Championship 4 berths at Martinsville before being passed by now-teammate Christopher Bell with just five laps to go. Briscoe then won his first Southern 500 last year in what was the regular-season finale to secure SHR a playoff berth before closing its doors and rode a top-10 result at Bristol two weeks later into the Round of 12.

From the time he hopped in a stock car, Briscoe has been made for intense moments. For him, it’s been the definition of his racing career.

“I’ve always just loved high-pressure situations,” Briscoe said. “I feel like I just perform better for whatever reason. I feel like my whole career has always been a high-pressure situation, right? Like, there was no backup plan. You might only get one race you had to go perform and show your worth. I’ve always felt like I mean every week, I feel like I’m still auditioning to prove that I belong here. Certainly, the higher the pressure, the better I feel like I do.”

briscoe with playoff bracket
Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media

Amid a crop of Hendrick Motorsports, Team Penske and JGR competitors in the playoffs, Briscoe may be the least-discussed name when it comes to winning a championship. While it’s never been a concern for the 30-year-old driver, he now knows that the expectation in his first year with a Gibbs car is to make it deep into the playoffs, rather than having it come as a surprise.

“It seems like at JGR, it’s really the final four, but certainly if you don’t make it at least to the Round of 8, it is a huge failure,” Briscoe said. “When you look at the sport in general, there’s eight to 10 really good cars. If you aren’t one of those top eight, that normally means you didn’t have the most successful season. I mean, for us, I think starting the playoffs, as a team, we feel like we’re definitely capable of being Championship-4 caliber and, truthfully, even a champion. It’s just a matter of putting 10 weeks together, and obviously, we started week one the way we need to.”

Having worked with a past series champion in Martin Truex Jr., Small knows what will be asked of Briscoe and the No. 19 camp for the next nine weeks, and while a victory to start the postseason automatically moves them into the Round of 12, Small is not pumping the brakes heading to Gateway and Bristol.

“We can start focusing a little bit on the next round, but I feel like to win this championship as well, you need to be all in 36 races every time, just come try to beat everybody down,” Small said. “I guess the engineers can go to sleep a little earlier this week and not have to worry as much. But I think all the people on our team … we’re not going to change the level of effort we put into these next two. It’s just, you don’t have to worry, or if there’s a situation that might be opportunistic for not scoring stage points or whatever, but it’s going to set you up to win the race, you get the ability to do that.”

MORE: Playoff standings after Darlington | Gateway schedule

Minus the chaos the Charlotte Roval can bring to end the Round of 12 or the wild card at Talladega, which will be even more pivotal as it moves to the Round of 8, there are very few weak points for Briscoe during the remainder of the postseason.

Both Small and Briscoe dropped the phrase ‘Championship-4 caliber’ after Sunday’s win, but the No. 19’s stats have spoken for themselves this year.

If Briscoe continues to start races out front and be mistake-free, he’ll have more dominant performances over the next two months like he did in Darlington and be the true frontrunner for the Cup Series title.

“I feel like the playoffs really round out well for me statistically, and even at JGR, it’s all really great race tracks,” Briscoe said. “I mean, the Round of 8 is obviously the hard one just because you do have Talladega in there. But I definitely think that, if we can get there, I feel confident going to Phoenix, too.”

Posted on by Alex Cadavid

The opening race of the Round of 16 delivered plenty of action from Lap 1 to the very end. Ten of the 16 playoff drivers found some sort of trouble at Darlington, leaving loads to unpack before the Cup Series treks to World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway next Sunday (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

WINNER.

Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Talk about message sent. Briscoe not only successfully defended his crown-jewel win, but he flat-out dominated the evening by leading 309 laps and becoming the second driver since Martin Truex Jr. to sweep stages and win at Darlington Raceway. He now becomes the first driver locked into the Round of 12 and even looks like the title favorite after Sunday.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

WHO’S HOT?

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet. From the get-go Chastain established himself as a frontrunner in his 250th career Cup Series start. He spent nearly the entire 500-miler as a top-10 car with an average running position of 5.5. He gambled with fuel mileage at the end, getting told he was two laps short, dropping him to 11th at the checkered flag. Despite that, Chastain jumps to eighth in the playoff picture and has a 21-point cushion to the good.

Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. The polesitter was dancing up front at the “Lady in Black” early in the race, finishing third in Stage 1. However, pit road missteps faltered Hamlin’s race, dropping him from fourth to 23rd early in the middle frame. But in the final stage, the veteran’s experience showed as the No. 11 soared back into the top 10 to finish seventh and move to second in the standings, 43 points above the cutline.

WHO’S NOT?

Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford. It goes to show how much can change in a week in the Cup Series. Last week’s race winner was running as high as second in the major event, but turmoil slowly crept in. On Lap 154, Blaney fell from ninth to 20th after a major block from Carson Hocevar. As salt added to the wound, Blaney spun while running 13th in the closing moments of Stage 2, stalling his progress and ultimately finishing 18th.

Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Entering the playoffs as the No. 5 seed, Bell found himself in contention during the first half of Sunday’s prestigious race. However, he suffered splitter damage after contact with Carson Hocevar on pit road, forcing repairs and costing momentum as he finished 29th, two laps down. Gateway is a chance to right the ship, as Bell contended for the win last year and owns an average finish of ninth in three starts.

MORE: Josh Berry involved in Lap 1 crash | Alex Bowman suffers 40-second pit stop

BUBBLE WATCH

RankDriver+/-
7Ryan Blaney+22
8Ross Chastain+21
9Austin Cindric+12
10Christopher Bell+11
11Chase Elliott+9
12Shane van Gisbergen+3
CUTLINE
13Joey Logano-3
14Austin Dillon-8
15Alex Bowman-19
16Josh Berry-19

NASCAR INSIGHTS

The almighty Hendrick Motorsports found that none of its four cars were truly in the running for the win, as shown by its fastest car — the No. 5 driven by Kyle Larson, which ranked eighth in speed and fifth in passing but finished 19th. The other three drivers — Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Alex Bowman — ranked 17th or worse in speed and 13th or worse in passing, according to NASCAR Insights, resulting in none of the four finishing inside the top 15 of Sunday’s playoff opener.

QUOTABLE

“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. ” — 2025 Cook Out Southern 500 winner, Chase Briscoe.

NEXT RACE

The stakes keep rising with Gateway looming in the playoffs for the first time, creating little margin for error as the cutline tightens. The flat 1.25-mile egg-shaped oval rewards precision, as demonstrated by Team Penske, which has won two of the first three races at the Midwest track. But conversely, Hendrick has only scored a total of three top 10s in 12 combined starts.

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

DARLINGTON, S.C. — On the final lap, Tyler Reddick pulled all the way to Chase Briscoe’s door in a fight for Southern 500 glory in the final set of corners.

That’s as close as Reddick got to tasting that glory.

A slide through Turn 4 forced Reddick to settle for a hard-fought second-place finish in Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, crossing the line 0.408 seconds behind Briscoe, who won the crown jewel for the second year in a row.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Briscoe dominated the event with 309 laps led, the most led in the Southern 500 since 1971, and advances to the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs with a statement of an opening salvo. But Reddick found himself on Briscoe’s back bumper multiple times — never closer than in the final set of corners. For him, Darlington continues to live up to its nickname: “Too Tough to Tame.”

“Makes me sick,” a dejected Reddick said. “I feel like late in this race, especially this one, the Southern 500, I always find myself second or third in the last green flag run, trying to pass the leader and just don’t get it done.”

There were plenty of bright sides to Reddick’s result: His 53 points scored were second only to Briscoe’s 60, and he leaves the track fourth in the standings, 35 points above the provisional cutoff line. That was of very little consolation to Reddick after working lap after lap to chase down Briscoe.

“I think Monday morning, I’ll wake up and be thinking playoffs. Right now, I’m just thinking about this race, Darlington,” Reddick said. “Yes, those things are great for us, but, man, I’ve done everything but win at this place, and it’s really starting to drive me nuts.”

His last-gasp effort was reminiscent of his attempt in the 400-mile spring race in 2024. That day, a desperate move into Turns 3 and 4 put both him and Chris Buescher into the outside wall and handed the win to Brad Keselowski. That experience wasn’t lost on Reddick this time around.

“Last year, in the spring, I gave it my best effort, and it didn’t stick,” Reddick said. “And that time (Sunday), it didn’t stick either. It’s just a pretty similar story last spring with Buescher. This time, I remembered what happened in the spring, and I was able to get ahead of it just a little sooner and not wipe out Chase.”

Despite the dive, Briscoe had confidence he could fend off any of Reddick’s advances.

“I just knew that I could not let him (Reddick) get to the inside of my bumper,” Briscoe said. “So in (Turns) 1 and 2, he almost got there twice and I would just have to force my car down there, even though it was not the proper lane that it wanted to be in.

“I just had to take his air away because that’s a huge thing, obviously, in these cars, and it would give me a big enough gap to where I could back up my Turn 3 and just try to run the fence.”

WATCH: Reddick makes incredible save after contact with Berry

And while he was distraught over his missed opportunity Sunday night, Reddick nearly had his night come to an end on Lap 1. Josh Berry started alongside Reddick in Row 2 but bottomed out through Turn 2, sending the No. 21 Ford into Reddick’s door and nearly into the wall as Berry crashed behind him.

After the race, 23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan greeted Reddick and immediately brought that perspective into Reddick’s focus.

“He just reminded me, Lap 1, it looked like we were going to be wrecked,” Reddick said. “And we fought back from it, got the damage where it needed to be on that first pit stop. Lost some time but drove back up there.

“This day could have went really, really bad on Lap 1 and we didn’t let it. I think I can hang onto cars pretty good, but I think I got pretty fortunate on that one.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

DARLINGTON, S.C. — Chase Briscoe was perfection in a world of mistakes, a no-funny-business driver in a comedy of errors.

And at the end of the final green-flag run on Sunday night at Darlington Raceway — after a 20-lap stint of unrelenting tension — Briscoe was a back-to-back winner of the Cook Out Southern 500 and a guaranteed participant in the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Briscoe led 309 of 367 laps and swept the first two stages, but he had to hold off a determined charge by Tyler Reddick after the race restarted on Lap 319. Reddick got close in the final 10 laps, driving beneath Briscoe entering Turn 3 coming to the checkered flag, but didn’t have the impetus necessary to complete a winning pass.

Briscoe crossed the start/finish line 0.408 seconds ahead of Reddick and 0.537 seconds ahead of non-playoff driver Erik Jones in third to secure his second victory of the season, his second at the “Lady in Black” and the fourth of his career.

“Yeah, I think this is definitely what we’re capable of doing,” said Briscoe, who led Toyota drivers to their third 1-2-3-4 finish in Cup Series history, the last coming at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2017. “We haven’t been able to go out and dominate a race like that. The potential has been there from day one.

“So cool to win two Southern 500s in a row … A great way to start our playoffs. That was a lot of fun.”

Briscoe is the first driver to win consecutive Southern 500s since Greg Biffle accomplished the feat in 2005 and 2006.

SHOP: Chase Briscoe winner gear

John Hunter Nemechek was fourth in his No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Camry. Chevrolet driver AJ Allmendinger ran fifth, followed by Toyota drivers Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin, as Toyota placed six drivers in the top seven positions in a Cup race for the first time.

Driving from the outset with a tire mark on the driver’s side of his car — the result of a Lap 1 collision with Josh Berry — Reddick kept the pressure on Briscoe for the final 20 laps, but Briscoe didn’t buckle.

“We were better than he was on long runs,” Reddick said. “He could fire off a whole lot better. I think that was the difference tonight. I could get close. Yeah, I know we had a long run there, but it just unfortunately seemed like the last run, the balance wasn’t quite as good as it had been the rest of the night on the long run.

“All in all, a really solid night for points in the playoffs. Really want to win here. It’s frustrating to finish second …”

With Briscoe already qualified for the Round of 12 with the victory, Reddick improved his position to 35 points above the cutline.

If Briscoe had a night to remember, most of the other 15 playoff drivers spent the evening recovering from mistakes — or failing to do so.

WATCH: Briscoe on high-pressure situations | James Small on No. 19 team’s pre-race message

Wallace had a solid day in finishing sixth in the playoff opener, ending the evening 25 points above the current cutline with two races left in the Round of 16.

Hamlin, a four-time winner in the regular season, overcame a slow pit stop on Lap 154 and spent the rest of the race clawing his way back to seventh at the finish.

Playoff drivers Ross Chastain and Austin Cindric came home 11th and 12th, respectively. Chastain’s No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Camaro was the highest-finishing playoff Chevrolet; all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers scored outside the top 15.

Chase Elliott, the 2020 series champion, was the best of the Hendrick lot in 17th and heads for next Sunday’s race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) just nine points above the cutline.

Top-seeded Kyle Larson and teammate William Byron ran 19th and 21st, respectively, to hold third and fifth in the playoff standings, but others weren’t as fortunate.

On the first lap of the race, the “Lady in Black” struck quickly, and Berry’s championship hopes took a nosedive.

Moments after taking the green flag in the third starting spot, Berry’s No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford broke loose beneath Reddick’s No. 45 Toyota in Turn 2.

After contact with Reddick’s Toyota, Berry’s Mustang slammed into the outside wall, severely damaging the left rear and the undercarriage. After completing two laps, Berry drove his car to the garage for extensive repairs.

Berry returned to the track 119 laps down but finished last (38th) and fell to 16th in the playoff standings, 19 points below the cutline.

“The car bottomed out five or six times and just wrecked,” Berry said. “It was definitely unexpected. We didn’t really fight that too bad in practice. I saw a replay of it when I was sitting in the car while they were fixing it, and you could tell that it bottomed out four or five times, and you can’t save them when they’re like that.”

Alex Bowman was the next of the playoff drivers to suffer brutal misfortune. Thanks to a malfunctioning air supply to the front tire changer’s pit gun, Bowman spent 40 seconds on pit road during his second green flag stop and was down a lap when pit stops cycled out.

On Lap 93 of the first stage, Briscoe passed Bowman to put the No. 48 Chevrolet two laps in arrears. After three wave-arounds, Bowman finally returned to the lead lap as the beneficiary under caution at the end of Stage 2 (Lap 230).

The No. 48 Chevrolet pilot couldn’t hold his position in the final stage and finished the race two laps down in 31st, tied with Berry in the standings.

MORE: Cup Series standings | Cup Series schedule

Christopher Bell’s Toyota collided on pit road with the Chevrolet of non-playoff driver Carson Hocevar on Lap 154. With the handling of his car destroyed, Bell finished 29th, two laps down, and fell to 10th in the Playoff standings, 11 points above the cut line.

Road course titan Shane van Gisbergen was burned by an inopportune caution after running long before pitting in the final stage and finished 32nd, spending most of the 22 playoff points he earned with four wins during the regular season.

Van Gisbergen is 12th in the standings, just three points ahead of 20th-place finisher Joey Logano, the first driver below the cutline. Richmond winner Austin Dillon came home 23rd and is 14th on the playoff grid, eight points behind van Gisbergen.

NOTE: Post-race inspection in the Cup Series garage concluded without issue, confirming Briscoe as the Darlington winner. No cars will return to the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina.

Posted on by Staff Report

Wood Brothers Racing’s Josh Berry was involved in an opening-lap crash during Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs opener at Darlington Raceway.

Exiting Turn 2 on the initial start, Berry, who qualified third for the Cook Out Southern 500, got loose and tagged postseason pilot Tyler Reddick before slamming into the outside wall. The wreck happened in front of several other playoff drivers, including Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson and Joey Logano, but they all made it through the crash unscathed.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Berry limped his No. 21 Ford to pit road and went to the garage for repairs. He returned to the race on Lap 121, finishing 128 laps off the pace in 38th place.

“It’s kind of hard to even really know, but the car bottomed out five or six times and just wrecked,” Berry said after Sunday’s race, which was won by Chase Briscoe for the second consecutive season. “It was definitely unexpected. We didn’t really fight that too bad in practice. I saw a replay of it when I was sitting in the car while they were fixing it, and you could tell that it bottomed out four or five times, and you can’t save them when they’re like that.”

Reddick, driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota, stayed on track with minor damage and eventually battled back, finishing the race runner-up to Briscoe. Kyle Busch, Chris Buescher and Daniel Suárez all suffered damage and continued.

Both Berry and Reddick are fighting for their first Cup Series title. Berry won his way into the playoffs earlier in the year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March, while Reddick secured one of two spots available on points last weekend at Daytona International Speedway.

MORE: Read about Reddick’s runner-up

Entering next Sunday’s race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App), Berry sits 15th on the playoff grid, 19 points below the cutline. He finished 36th in the St. Louis-area race last year and will look to turn his misfortunes around with the first elimination race looming in two weeks at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Despite just two top 10s in the last 15 races, Berry remains optimistic ahead of his second trip to Gateway.

“It looked like a lot of people had a bad night, which we know how this goes,” Berry said. “We just need to avoid a bad night. I obviously haven’t seen it yet, but I feel like we’re still within striking distance, that if we just go have two good weeks, we’ll at least be in the mix once we get to Bristol.”