Darlington NASCAR race winners, losers: Martin Truex in playoffs

Chase Briscoe is in the NASCAR playoffs.

Kyle Busch just missed a postseason berth and a much-needed win.

Briscoe won the NASCAR race at Darlington Speedway in South Carolina, holding off a late charge by Busch. Both drivers needed a win to earn the automatic berth into the playoffs.

Here are our winners and losers after the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington.

Winners

Chase Briscoe

Briscoe won for the first time since 2022, but this win might be the biggest of his career. It also gives Stewart-Haas Racing one driver in the playoffs in the team’s final season.

Tyler Reddick

Reddick raced while sick at Darlington, but he never let up. He finished 10th in the Southern 500, edging Kyle Larson by a point for the regular-season points championship. Larson, however, has the most wins this season and will be the top seed in the playoffs.

Martin Truex Jr.

Has a driver who finished next to last ever been called a winner? Probably not. Truex was involved in a wreck on Lap 3 and finished 36th, in front of Ryan Blaney. However, he’s a big winner this week. He clinched a spot in the NASCAR playoffs after the second stage when Chris Buescher failed to earn a point.

Losers

Chris Buescher

Buescher couldn’t catch a break. Chase Briscoe’s win guaranteed himself a spot in the playoffs, leaving just one opening for a driver without a win. That gave Ty Gibbs the last spot. Buescher missed the playoffs by six points.

Kyle Busch

Busch may be a regular in this space, but he came so close to being a winner and getting in the playoffs. Richard Childress Racing has come a long way the past month, but it took too much time for Busch, who is winless this season.

Bubba Wallace

Wallace and Buescher battled for much of the race in hopes of a playoff berth, but that changed when Briscoe pulled out the win. Wallace, who started from the pole, finished 27 points out of the playoffs.