Chase Briscoe was able to secure the win in the Southern 500, completing a miracle drive that sent the No. 14 Ford into the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs at Darlington.
However, he was far from the only wheelman at the front racing with a purpose as the laps dwindled down on Sunday evening. On the latest episode of Actions Detrimental with Denny Hamlin , the No. 11 Toyota driver elaborated on the front of the field’s motives coming to the checkered flag.
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“I mean, it’s interesting. Everyone up front was racing for something, right?” Denny Hamlin said , regarding the end of the Southern 500. “I mean, you know, I was in a position where I, you know, with the No. 12 [Ryan Blaney] going out early, if I finish in the top five, I get two more spots in the regular season. That’s like, two stage wins. Like, everyone had something that they were racing for.
“ Kyle Busch and Chase Briscoe were obviously racing for a position in the playoffs, trying to win a race at the end. Kyle Larson was racing for the regular season championship. Tyler Reddick , the same. Bubba Wallace up front, he’s racing for his playoff spot. So, everyone in the top 10, it still came down to where this race meant something for everyone, which is why you saw how aggressive everyone was.”
Perhaps that’s what made the final laps of the race so compelling. Briscoe and Busch had the playoffs on their mind, as did Ross Chastain and Wallace, while Hamlin, Larson and Reddick were thinking about the bigger picture, as being multiple-time winners in 2024 allowed them to.
Still, it was Briscoe who pulled it off at the end of the night, and he put it all into perspective while speaking with NBC following the win.
“For all 320 employees, everybody, to be able to race for a championship in their final year, man, unbelievable,” Briscoe said . “God is just so good. It’s like déjà vu there at the end with Kyle, with the Xfinity race here in 2020. Obviously I didn’t know if I was going to be able to do it.
“Yeah, just can’t thank HighPoint.com, Mahindra Tractors, Rush Truck Centers, Rinnai, Zep, everybody that makes this deal go around. Go to Atlanta and try to steal another one.”
Time will tell if Chase Briscoe can make like his soon-to-be-former boss Tony Stewart and go on a tear in the playoffs, leading to a title in Stewart-Haas Racing’s final season. What a story that would be. Even if he doesn’t, the victory at Darlington is something to marvel at.
The post Denny Hamlin: ‘Everyone up front was racing for something’ at Darlington appeared first on On3 .
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