Chase Briscoe aims for his third consecutive win in the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway this Sunday night. One year ago, the driver of the No. 19 put on a clinic in the NASCAR Cup Series Crown Jewel race, pacing the field for 309 of 367 laps around “The Track Too Tough to Tame.”
This Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 is the Chase opener, which gives Briscoe a major opportunity to climb the standings. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is seeded fifth in the Chase standings, 45 points behind leader Denny Hamlin.
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Briscoe secured dominant Darlington victory last year
In the waning laps of last year’s Cook Out Southern 500, it looked as though Briscoe was on his way to a dominant. Then came a challenge for the lead.
Tyler Reddick, who was seeking his first win of the 2025 season, was breathing down the back bumper of Briscoe’s No. 19 Toyota. In the end, Briscoe came out on top to claim his second straight Southern 500 victory.
Reddick finished second, followed by Erik Jones in third, John Hunter Nemechek in fourth and A.J. Allmendinger rounded out the top five.
One year prior to Briscoe’s dominant 2025 run, he was in a similar position in the 2024 Southern 500. In what was the final race before the NASCAR playoffs, Briscoe, who was driving the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford at the time, needed a win to make the cut.
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Much like in 2025, Briscoe had some competition. Kyle Busch, who also needed a victory to advance in the playoffs, was stalking Briscoe in the closing laps behind the wheel of his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.
Ultimately, Briscoe would prevail in what was his second career Cup victory, while Busch was forced to settle for second. The win was also the final for Stewart-Haas Racing, a team co-owned by three-time Cup Series champion Tony Stewart that ceased operations after the 2024 season.
Can Briscoe win three straight Southern 500s?
Winning at “The Track Too Tough to Tame” once is difficult enough, let alone winning at the prestigious track two times in a row.
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This Sunday in Darlington, South Carolina, Briscoe will look to etch his name in the NASCAR history books. The Indiana native is seeking to win three straight of one of NASCAR’s most prolific races, the Southern 500. Briscoe would be the first driver to win three straight Southern 500s since Jeff Gordon won four straight from 1995-1998.
The question is, can Briscoe do it? If last year’s race is any indicator, Briscoe has to be an odds-on favorite. Yet, he might have to battle the same driver he did one year ago.
Earlier this year, Tyler Reddick claimed a win at Darlington Raceway in the Goodyear 400, his fourth of five wins in 2026. Aiming to get out of a mid-season slump, Reddick could be one for Briscoe to contender with this Sunday night.
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