Chase Briscoe Kicks Off The NASCAR Playoffs With A Repeat Win At The Southern 500

Chase Briscoe booked his ticket to the second round of the NASCAR Playoffs with his second Southern 500 win in a row.

Briscoe qualified second behind his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin, but quickly took the lead and was in front when Josh Berry crashed on the first lap to bring out the yellow flag.

Briscoe took the green for the restart and took command of the race from there, winning both stages.

He came under pressure late in the race from playoffs driver Tyler Reddick, but was able to hold him off for the win, leading 309 of 367 laps.

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Reddick was followed by Legacy Motor Club drivers Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek for a Toyota sweep of the top four spots. A.J. Allmendinger was fifth with Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin behind him, who were the only other playoffs drivers in the top 10.

Briscoe’s back-to-back wins were the first since Greg Biffle in 2005 and 2006 and he was the first driver to lead more than 300 laps since Bobby Allison in 1971, according to NASCAR.

“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,” Briscoe said during his post-race interview on USA.

“A great way to start our Playoffs. That was a lot of fun.”

The win put Briscoe at the top of the playoffs standings ahead of Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Reddick and Wallace.

The Cup Series heads to World Wide Technology Raceway for the second playoff race on Sunday, Sept. 7.