DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) — The pressure has ramped up for defending Southern 500 winner Chase Briscoe as the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs approach.
Then again, all playoff drivers feel things heating up at Darlington Raceway as the postseason begins.
A season ago, Briscoe was on the outside hoping to squeeze into the field of 16 as NASCAR came to Darlington for its final regular-season event. A late pass of three others pushed Briscoe to the front and gave soon-to-be-shuttered Stewart-Haas Racing a surprise
chance at a Cup title.
Briscoe lasted through the second round, which he and his old SHR organization considered success. Now with Joe Gibbs Racing, Briscoe has been locked into the playoff grid for some time and carries increased expectations into Sunday night's race.
“If you just make the round of 16 (at JGR), it's not a successful season,” Briscoe said Saturday. “It's kind of a failure.”
The round concludes at Gateway outside of St. Louis and Bristol the next two weeks before the playoff field is cut to 12.
Regular-season champion William Byron and Briscoe's JGR teammate Denny Hamlin understand that the line between a long playoff run and early exit is razor thin.
Byron doesn't see a track ahead where his No. 24 Chevrolet can't be as fast as any of his competitors, starting at Darlington where he won the spring race in 2024. “So I think at the same time, though, you never know what everyone else is going to bring and how fast they’re going to be. So we’ve just got to keep working," Byron said.
The race comes just days after a hearing on the legal fight over charters between NASCAR and the teams of 23XI Racing and Front Row Racing.
“What we shared was just talk among ourselves that doesn't have anything to do with the case,” Byron said.
Hamlin won the pole for Sunday's race after what he said were struggles in practice Saturday. “What drives me is the competition knowing that I can still go out and win races,” he said.
Hamlin, a four-time winner this season for Joe Gibbs, is also co-owner of 23XI with Michael Jordan and will balance his unofficial status as NASCAR's best current driver without a title and his ownership duties helping team playoff drivers Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick advance.
“It’s just another chance to roll the dice," said Hamlin, who is in the playoffs for the 19th time.
He believes his No. 11 JGR Toyota is as strong as ever, but he knows too well how bad luck, a caution at the wrong time or a mistake on pit road can thwart a championship. “Those are the small things that decide whether you move on in the playoffs or not,” he said.
Next to Hamlin for the Southern 500 is Briscoe, who qualified second. Playoff drivers took the top 10 spots for Sunday's race, with Josh Berry third, followed by Reddick, Larson, Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell, Wallace, Austin Dillon and Austin Cindric.
Shane van Gisbergen won four times this year for Trackhouse Racing, tying Hamlin for most on the circuit. His victories have come on road courses in Mexico City, Chicago, Sonoma and Watkins Glen. The Charlotte Roval is the only playoff race not run on an oval.
Gisbergen's plan to improve? “Just time,” he said. “I don't know anything different. It's taken me a long time to learn the ovals, particularly because I haven't done them before.”
Van Gisbergen finished 20th at Darlington this past April. He was 16th last week at Daytona, an improvement from February when he finished 33rd there.
The New Zealand racer accepts that many will write off his chances of a deep playoff run. He's fine with that. “Hopefully, it will be nice to prove people wrong,” he said.
Kyle Larson, the 2021 NASCAR champion, is the betting favorite for the Southern 500 at 4 1/2-to-1, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. Tyler Reddick is next at 5 1/2-to-1 along with Hamlin, who is seeking his first NASCAR title; Ryan Blaney, last week's winner at Daytona, and regular-season champion William Byron are next at 6-to-1. ... Defending series champion Joey Logano looks to end an odd — over even — quirk with a fourth overall title. His three championships have come in even years (2018, 2022, 2024). “Just got to make it happen,” Logano said. “I don't understand the whole even-odd things. I'd really like to break that cycle this year.” ... Hamlin leads all current drivers with five Darlington victories. A sixth would give him the fourth-most in track history behind David Pearson (10), Dale Earnhardt (9) and Jeff Gordon (7).
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