2024 Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway - NASCAR Cup Series

a NASCAR Labor Day weekend tradition the southern 500 at Darlington Raceway annually since 1950 500 miles at NASCAR's oldest racetrack is still the biggest challenge of the year and tonight this Crown drill event sets the field for the 2024 cut series playoffs welcome everyone to countdown to Green presented by Sonic all of the greats Like Richard Petty Dale Jeff Gordon and Kell yor have won the southern 500 Dale Jarrett what makes this race so special Marty you know every week the drivers are the stars and they yes they have to do their job here tonight to win this race but the racetrack is the star make no mistake about it it is the hardest test as a driver in NASCAR that you will ever find and you have to complete 500 miles to go to that Victory Lane and collect the trophy that every driver wants to have in his trophy case Yeah you mentioned it Marty it's the history of this place no other Speedway holds the history or the ghost of the greats who have crossed across that finish line out there and hoisted the Darlington trophy over their head one of NASCAR's Crown jeel events a win in the southern 500 means so much the peacock fit box located right in the middle of Pit Road along with Kyle Petty and three-time Cup Series winner here at Darlington Dell Jared I am Marty Snider so KP where would you rank Ben a southern 500 win as a career defining moment for a driver I grew up in the wrong household for this question Marty my grandfather thought it was all Darlington all the time because he grew up racing in the 50s won Daytona in 59 Daytona became the Crown Jewel the place but Darlington still ranks in our family right there equal with it yeah I kind of have to agree with that the day total 500 is the epitome of what we do in stock car racing but I'm telling you with the test that you have to go through everything that a driver must do to win this race uh ranks it right there at the top because you won't find anywhere that's harder to win so DJ you mentioned that test this race is over four hours long and literally the drivers are inches from the wall the entire time so how do you hold your concentration and keep it that dialed in for that long how do you yeah I don't know that I'm best person to ask this because I won three of the 400 miles races but I could never get to that one that took 500 miles to to win the race and get the trophy it is such a level of concentration that uh it's unmatched in any other drive any other races that you go to you know as a driver that there's times that you're just going to have to give that wall a little bit of a break because challenging it lap after lap after lap even the very best and even when your car is the very best it's easy to find yourself into the wall and that could take you right out of your opportunity to win a southern 500 well you can see why it's one of NASCARs Crown Jewel races and oh by the way the race that decides who's in and who's out of the playoffs in 2024 so KP if is there some Merit tonight to a driver quote earning it if they race their way into the playoffs Bubba Wallace and Chris busher this week have said it's the collective work of the 26 races 25 races that got us here it's not all about this one race having said that buddy Bubba's crew chief booty Barker has a saying there's no free lunch which means you got to work for it and Bubba said at Richmond they knew it was going to be a dog fight that came down to the end guess what Darlington dog fight they go together it's the end something Big's going to happen tonight well a new driver raced his way into the playoffs last week at Daytona it was Harrison Burton earning the 100th win for the Wood Brothers I cried the whole Victory lap this is a great opportunity right here you're going to have to be very aggressive cop make it happen to the green green white CH Bott bottom bottom bottom bottom top top top top top suar flag suar flag suar flag je your little boy has done it Harrison Burton wins in Daytona thank you thank you thank you my screen turned into a cry pretty quick thank you guys far three years but we got a 100 baby been kicked in the teeth over and over and over again and then to Rise Up from that to get a chance in the playoffs yeah boy then to get the Wood Brothers their 100th win in the same breath never forget it till the day I die that's for sure all right let's take the time now to bring in the winning Dad here from that race and and Harrison Burton what a great job he did Jeff I'm going to tell you a little story that I was reminiscing about this at Daytona last week the 1993 Daytona 500 that I was fortunate enough to win my dad being in the booth calling the race uh excited just as you were and well you should have been I'm just going to tell you something you have to look forward to that smile is going to go on for the rest of your life because it's the one thing that the fans bring up more than anything else that my dad or myself ever accomplished in this sport so congratulations Bud well thank you and uh you and your father uh Ned have really been my guid in light and how do you uh go up there and talk about the race and also watch your son and uh Ned always did such a great job of treating us competitors that weren't his son like he cared about us and he was going to treat us fairly and and uh not take favoritism and that's been uh my like I said that's been my guid and light all along uh you guys and you you know both Petty's Jarrett's up on the pit box not going to get any better than that and you guys know what it's like to have family in Victory Lane it just means a ton yeah Jeff I'm going to I'm going to keep it on the family side uh the two biggest care wins of my career was my dad's win as a crew member I was on that team in 1979 when he won Daytona and my son Adam who won the ARA race in 98 at Charlotte where does this win rank in your career well I mean look it's it's way up there for sure I I hate to I hate to rank them because I wouldn't trade one win for another because they all had their own special stories but uh seeing you know seeing Harrison uh struggled the way he struggled the last three years but never quit and I think that to me as a father you know we try hard to instill uh things in our kids that last a lifetime more than just how you hold a steing wheel and how you mash the gas and uh seeing how Harrison has has handled himself uh around his team uh around everybody and mainly with himself and that's the most important thing I've been exceptionally proud of that and then uh to overcome and the win it proves hey look if you don't quit if you keep your attitude right uh all that matters and it all means a lot so uh that win because of all that KP is is certainly way up on my list well Jeff we're honored to share in that moment with you and again congratulations to the Burton Family which by the way has a a terrific reputation here at Darlington as well because Jeff has six Darlington wins on his resume so speaking of former Darlington winners let's hear from two of them starting with Kyle Larson who's with da Burns well Marty just a little bit on the line tonight for Kyle Larson could he repeat as a southern 500 winner and oh by the way could he be the regular season Champion so what's front of M for you you is get ready to get going uh I think a lot of that you know I mean obviously winning the southern 500 for a second time would be great um maintaining the lead in the owner points which I think has been overlooked a lot so uh and then yeah I mean if we could have a good day and and get the driver um regular season as well that'd be that'd be great so yeah just uh look forward to it it's a long tough race you know probably the most challenging of the season so yeah hot temperatures out here slick surface should be a lot of fun good start to his weekend Marty fourth in qualifying Brad Kowski has two Darlington wins the 2018 Southern 500 and then you won most recently this spring how much discipline does this track demand from drivers in order to be successful I think it's a it's a tricky track Kim you know it just the speed is right up next to the wall and it's great until it ain't when you hit it um and you know over 500 Miles like you're going to have laps where you make mistakes so it's like what buffer do I want to give myself and I don't want to leave too much speed out but I also don't want to hit the wall and just that's like a a challenge every corner every lap you know and uh the tires are changing and just a lot going on here but that's what I think makes this race so special and uh you know I I tell people all the time what makes someone really good at dowington is if they can run like in the top three or four the whole race and not hit the wall and I ain't done it yet hopefully today we can do that with our our fast Mustang and uh get another win and Brad has a very special paint Scheme running the names of over 250 veterans on the number six forward here tonight I don't think it's any coincidence Kim that the two Darlington winners we just talked to two former Cup Series champions as well coming up for the second straight week could a driver currently out of the playoffs race their way in tonight and could that be Bubba Wallace he's on the poll we'll hear from Michael Jordan's driver next did Larson really say this is going to be fun yeah you're watching countdown to Green presented by Sonic who's up for a little bit of chaos a dash of drama a touch of temper Who's down to take it to the streets to ring the triangle to hit the bricks who's game for a little fireworks between friends see that's a trick question with the playoffs coming there are no friends countdown to Green is brought to you by Sonic live free eat Sonic boy I love that historic footage of kale yarell driving around Darlington so DJ do you really get to drive this car in a few minutes I mean you've done a lot of cool stuff in your career but what an honor yeah it really is you know there are certain things that happen in your life and you're not exactly sure at that time what it's going to do for you but Kell ybar gave me the opportunity to get into the cup series driving for his team and and help me along uh I just owe him so much but just knowing him I watched him race against my dad with my dad and then to race for him and against him uh was just incredible the toughest driver I've ever known to come through this series well here's what's on the menu presented by Sonic the 2025 Nascar Cup Series schedule was announced this week highlighted by a stop in Mexico City it marks the first time in 73 years at the cup series will have a points paying race outside of the US Bubba Wallace as we met mention on the poll this evening and one of the more impressive qualifying efforts in quite some time almost willing his car to the top spot yesterday that's important because tonight's final race of the regular season for the cup series currently Chris busher has the final spot in the playoffs while Wallace and Ross chain hope to race their way in tonight yeah there's always those races that haunt you looking back and we just got ped frustrating all the way down to the line I don't have that thicker on my this means more one uh I'm going to live in my head forever I need someone else to be more mature about it I'm smart enough to understand there's time and place some reason we don't have a chance to win it then make sure that we're maximizing points on the day walking into the cup garage of all the nerves I have all the feelings the butterflies this season hasn't went won I really didn't think we'd be in this position as we got closer and it all became a little more clear then you realize it's another one we get to go try to win got to win got to win Michigan car capable of winning getting wiped out in somebody else's mess knowing how good our team is both a 23 and a 45 gives you a ton of confidence go our best race ever is on the table sorry about turn one but got to three and four today's a damn good day so I live for it Chris busher comes into tonight's race with the last playoff spot 21 points to the good so you can make it in on points but a win would be much easier so with that in mind how do you approach tonight's race easier might be a relative term but um it certainly be cleaner uh I think you know for us we've been so fast here uh we've been um you know close enough to uh to feel like we had a shot at winning the last two races in Darlington so want to do that same thing here tonight with our build Subs Mustang um you know feel like we're able to make that final round so that was good going a night here I always feel like we get better as the sun goes down and um seems like we're off to a pretty decent start so go figure out how to win this thing that would certainly be the best way and then um you know if we need to to play defense a little bit there towards the end then um we'll cross that bridge when we get there speaking of Defense how much information do you want to know about the other drivers that are kind of around that elimination line points wise not much to start um I want to race our own our own race and darington is um well known for uh for being its own own battle so fight the racetrack first um you know figure out how far we can get in this thing try and get some uh some stage points just simply by running up front here the first uh first half and then get down the end we need to uh be aware of scenarios But ultimately it's for us to go out here and do what we've been doing here and most of that will just take care of itself Chris busher looking for a coveted playoff spot well Kim so is Bubba Wallace and he started things off the right way here at Darlington grabbing the pole yesterday your first one here at Darlington how big was that it was huge we've been uh we've been been decent here in qualifying you know we qualified second what a in the last year's Spring Race So thought we had that one um we've been really good here qualifying and executing obviously the finishes have follow with that so just need to uh keep it all in check tonight and make the most of it and go out and have some fun last week after Daytona you told us this week just got to go get it done how much was yesterday the whole day including the poll a step towards that and getting the win tonight or even just pointing your way in yeah well like I mentioned Dave last week I take that responsibility on my shoulders and proud to carry that weight and I wanted to show up here and make a statement and and flip the pressure switch to the to the enemies so uh I think that's what we did but we also know it's a new day it's new opportunity for everybody in the field you know for me I I wake up excited every Sunday morning because I know one of us is going to be in Victory Lane and hopefully it's us tonight Marty considerate pressure switch flipped so KP let's talk about that pressure that Dave and buba talked about right there does being on the poll add to or take away from the pressure he's feeling tonight that's a great question because I think it did does put the pressure on the other teams because they say hey they showed up Bubba Wallace showed up this this week Bubba made the statement I have to portray the best race this week that I've ever portrayed in my whole entire career to make the playoffs that means he's putting pressure on himself so he lived up to that pressure on qualifying day will he live up to that pressure today I think he is in the mindset and that team is ready to come here and take this take that position and move on into the playoffs DJ is uh his car owner Michael Jordan and your buddy Michael Jordan texted him this week said quote things you want cost more does Michael Jordan being his owner bring out the best in Bubba Wallace 100% this is a perfect match for Bubba to to have Michael there uh there was no one more confident in his own ability than Michael Jordan in any sport he's the best athlete of that I've ever seen in my entire life for him to be able to talk to Bubba about those things only makes bub a better driver all right KP time to put your money where your mouth is for the final spot is it just a battle between the three drivers that are near the bubble and if so who has the edge uh I'm going with Ross Chastain The Watermelon Man and all I'm going to say is Martinsville 2022 I'm telling you you see that car you see that man but you can't see his heart you don't know what he's willing to reach down and grab and make happen my money's on Ross Chastain I'm not going to be surprised to watch all three of these drivers inside the top 10 the majority of this 500 miles I will tell you and won't be shocked if all three of them are in the top five who can get down the most and get the job done Chris Bucher is the one that has shown me that at this particular racetrack he's ready to go to Victory Lane so those are your bets for this evening how about the DraftKings odds how they shaping up for tonight DJ well I think they got the you know unlike last week where we had everybody that could win they've got it you know the favorites here certainly Kyle lson Tyler reck and Denny Hamlin you have to look at them Ryan blay I think was maybe the very best car in practice yesterday and then but you got Bubba Wallace got 12 to1 odds on the pole sitter who is very fast here yeah draftking Sportsbook is an authorized gaming operator of NASCAR and this week beautiful evening at a completely soldout Darlington Raceway where lately the tempers have been about as hot as the temperatures here in South Carolina Kyle so why does this track lend itself to angry drivers at the end of the race for four plus hours you're stuck in that car not being able to go a lot of places slipping and sliding 90° plus weather and the RAC track you got to race it you got to catch people and get around them but you got to use the racetrack it's got to be your friend I'm sure one group doesn't help either does it they're always in your way two cars in one place doesn't always work because it was built for what cars to go 120 mph Kyle 120 mph on an 8 in tire and now they're running what 160 70 miles whatever they're running uh so to that point as a driver who's the biggest competition here the other competitors or the track itself you you are your biggest competitor getting your head straight to use this racetrack to your Vantage and you got to do it for 500 miles the most grueling race of the year it's a Crown Jewel and it decides who will be in and who will be out of the playoffs time for the pre-race ceremonies from the track too tough to tame race fans please rise as you are able remove your hats and Veterans render a hand salute as the Spring Valley Junior rooc Color Guard presents our nation's colors and to hear and to offer our today's invocation please welcome from God sheeper Presbyterian church in Florence South Carolina Pastor Stacy sance let's bow together in prayer Lord God we give you thanks for the city of Darlington for this Racetrack and everyone involved in today's race bless those gathered to enjoy it both here and at home and keep these drivers and teams safe and healthy we give you praise for all of our freedoms bless those who serve to protect our lives and Liberty and finally God we plead for our great nation that you would not turn us over to our sins but that you would guide our hearts toward the grace and truth that is found only in the Lord Jesus Christ who had no sin but became sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God in the name of Jesus Amen and here to perform our national anthem please welcome from the University of Mount Olive Carolina Sound [Music] [Applause] [Music] tlight and bright St [Music] The Rock [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the [Music] of and the of the [Applause] final race of the regular season for the cup series is moments away we'll get the engines fired here at Darlington next on USA countdown to Green is brought to you by Sonic live free [Music] Sonic Southern 500 baby hell yeah 500 winner Southern 500 hell [Music] yeah dfh what I'm talking about great work man hell yeah baby hell yeah hell yeah guys great job today the first most proud of is you k you believed in yourself and you did it we won we freak of you we got [Music] it a win in the southern 500 can be a career defining moment for a driver in tonight it could also mean a spot in the playoffs who has a gamechanging night this evening in Darlington it could be Tyler renck who's also battling for the regular season title and have the best car in the field in fact one creu crew chief in the garage area told me this afternoon the 45 car is quote lights out canny put an emphatic stamp winning at the southern 500 and also claiming the regular season title Kim Marty the playoffs will be officially set at the end of tonight's race and Ross Chastain currently finds himself outside of it 18th on the playoff grade 27 points behind the elimination line pointing his way in is still an option but Ross said it would just be way easier to come out and win this thing he almost did that here last year in May leading until a very late caution crash with Kyle Larson he did win the truck race here in the spring I asked that that gave him confidence he said a little but he told me Dave this place humbles you very quickly Christopher Bal knows that very well his best finish here is fifth he's never won the southern 500 would like to do that tonight he's got three wins so he's in the playoffs but the bigger pitch for him is that he's got a couple of positions he can gain in the regular season more playoff points more more points you can carry through throughout the championship Dave how about this from the pit box to kale yard Ball's race car for Dell Jared that's pretty that's pretty cool moment isn't it co that is a awesome moment here at Darlington uh by the way how about this hurdle I don't know what's better the uh the drive in the kale yard bars car but getting over the pit wall that's pretty impressive Kyle can you do that there's a reasion Dale Jared sele okay and that just added to the legend of Dale Jared uh but you got to drive your dad's car around this place just like this I mean what a moment what a moment got to drive my dad's car got to drive the the 72 Mercury for the Wood Brothers David Pearson this is an honor after more than 8,000 miles of racing over 28 weeks it all comes down to this time to get the engines fired and set the cup series playoff field darling turnon Raceway this is the moment we've been waiting for please welcome cookout representative Rue Reeves driver start your engine [Applause] every race car driver wants to be a southern 500 Champion it's one of the most prestigious trophies in all of Motorsports because it's one of the most difficult racetracks in the entire world it starts with this asphalt this stuff is coarse it eats the rubber right off the tires car drives horrible and then to do well you got to put the car right here on the boards you got to be be right against it you got to All Night Long find a way to be literally this far from it you get too close you hit it your night's over green flag next welcome to Darlington South Carolina one of the toughest racetracks on the NASCAR circuit because of its egg shape turns three and four are more narrow than turns one and two why is that the case because Carol Brad inton on the property where the racetrack is built but his neighbor owned this minnow Pond and Mr brazington did not want to disrupt The Minnow Pond did I say thank you Mr brazington the winners of Darlington are Hall of Famers think about who's won here it's the best of the best it is also about the tradition of family the petties the jarretts the best there are in the sport to tame this track tonight the drivers must put the call in the edge and an inch from this wall generations of drivers have been branded with the Darlington strike it can Ru your night but it's also a ride of Passage when you dance with this old track this race is a Labor Day tradition what better way to end the regular season than a party in Victory Lane One driver will add their face to this legendary trophy the tradition the history a win in this race is career defining let's set the playoff grid this is the southern 500 it can be the race that you will remember forever if you drive to Victory Lane Darlington defines the best who can handle the biggest challenge of a track that is uncompromising oh and by the way throw it into the mix that it's your last chance to make the playoffs the wait's over the cookout Southern 500 the annual classic is here again and yes we are talking playoffs time welcome to NBC Sports on USA's coverage of this time honored tradition let's show you how they're going to line up because it was a terrific qualifying story following on from last week in Daytona where it was all front row more surprises yesterday with buba Wallace breaking almost a oneyear drought grabbing the pole and Carson josar starting alongside him well he is the youngest to ever start on the front row here at Darlington in cup competition let's get going with things we kick it off with Dave Burns d a little bit more Lee on the Bubba Waller story remember he last week told us he was going to put the weight on his shoulders to do well here and he knows about last chances to get into the playoffs he is the first man out just below the cutoff line 21 points behind the cutoff line so he's got to do well here he has won the poll as you said and that's the best start he could have given his team so far Kim Dave Ryan blay qualified seventh here so where does the defending championship team stand as the regular season comes to an end well crew chief Jonathan Hassler told me compared to last time this year or last year they are better all around their speed is better they know the direction they need to go they have been better on Pit Road Hassler said their strategy should be straightforward tonight and their goal is to leave here fourth in the regular season point standings Marty Kim one final shot for two-time champ Kyle bus to make the playoffs for the 12th straight year bush is a two-time Darlington winner but Randall Brett told me they have a bit of work to do tonight it is win or bust if the playoffs are in the cards for Kyle Bush this evening meanwhile another two-time champ Joey Lano is locked in the playoffs and he told me he's hoping to continue the momentum the 22 team has been building over the last few weeks Lano said we're peing at the right time diff we'll see if Lano can get Darlington win number two this evening it's going to be a great night ahead Marty that's for sure hi folks Lee DIY along with a crew chief who won here in the southern 500 Steve lart Stevie when you come here the history just grips you you're a huge golf fan right it's like going to AUST National in Georgia but why has it been so special for so long well it starts because the challenge has stood the test of time it doesn't matter but for the last 75 years the speeds at this egg-shaped original NASCAR Speedway is always been the challenge of the track you race the other competitors but this venue it's historic it's Fenway Park Lambo field Madison Square Garden every once in a while the venue is as famous as the event the drivers quite often say you've got to respect the track more than the competitors how do you get it done done that's what Cliff Daniels wants to do let's dial him up let's check the cooie for the five he's found his way to Victory Lane here see if I can catch him hey Cliff it's lard and the guys in the booth you got a copy hey Cliff it's l tarting the guys in the booth you got a copy all right I think we give that a little try later for CLI well listen I want to let everybody know that Cliff the crew chief for Kyle Larson he's found his way to there he is sitting right there he's found his way to Victory Lan in the southern 500 he's agreed to take his time and he's going to talk to us I'm going to jump on and talk to him a couple times over the course of the evening this is a nearly 4H hour event sometimes over four hours and we're going to hear the challenges that cliff and his team are facing from on top of the hit box mty what you got hey D Ty Gibbs does not need a win to make the playoffs but he does need a simple solid night right now plus 39 above the cut line Chris Gale told me the way I'm looking at it I honestly have to assume there will be a new winner tonight so I'm approaching it like the 17 is the car I'm racing I cannot be it further than a couple of points away from him in each stage fascinating battle within the battle tonight to watch Kim Chase Elliott ran yesterday's Infinity Series race finishing fourth and Chase admittedly has struggled at Darlington and wanted the extra seat time to better himself for tonight's race he said running that race last night he definitely feels like he learned a couple of things that will help him here today this team is still in the hunt for the regular season Championship just 18 points behind Tyler reck but they've got some work to do tonight Dave rolling off from the 20th position Kim there's only one way in for Chase Brisco and that is to win tonight the southern 500 the 14 car is good but it needs to win the race it's out of the points as far as making it in so what did Chase do he qualified third is that a one- hit wonder no not according to crew chief Richard Boswell they had a practice where they ran long runs and over the long run the 14 was very good as well he said we just hit the balance right and qualifying to put ourselves up front we want to stay there we want to win our way in Lee Dave let's remind everybody at home just what's at stake here again by looking if you're in yellow you're good you're going to the playoffs next week in Atlanta if you're in white if you're above that cut line or below there's a lot on the line here tonight feeling a little more confident if you're Martin TRX Jr but the closer you get to that red line the more nerve-wracking it is the more pressure filled it is like the pole sitter in the Air Force Camry Bubba Wallace who is 21 on the wrong side of that cut line and we've talked this is your first trip to Darlington Lee and you continue to ask like what makes it special from a competitor and it's just the lack of gimmicks there's nowhere to hide there's no secret to be good at this racetrack you have to have a great pick crew a great race car driver and a great race car that's very hard to do and then be nearly perfect all day long if you think you're going to be perfect you're crazy you're absolutely going to touch this wall Jeff you talked about it you were just out there in the pre-race you showed us a nice clean painted wall but you can see all the scuff marks from the years you have to accept mistakes are going to happen they are going to happen Steve and the key is how they happen the angle at which you brush the wall if you hit it you know with the right front too hard it's going to damage the car if you hit the right side at the same time the right front the right rear you can get by with that as long as it's not too hard of a hit and Lee the key is for 500 miles you have to operate at 99.9% you can't go right around and say I'm not going to hit the wall because you're going to get laped so you got to operate right at the edge of grip and if you cross over it you're going to hit the wall ready to operate at 99.9% is Al Mar Snider Marty what you got well let's go for not quite a 100 as you said 99.9 let's chat with Cliff Daniels so the guys in the booth talking about how you you can't quite be at a 100% all night long here why is that the case at Darlington yeah really Darlington is just all about racing the track and uh you know our team is we've learned that the the good and the bad way in the past and you know so much confidence in our team tonight so much confidence in Kyle uh going into tonight we're leading owners points that's something we tried hard to earn you know all year uh of course we want to go try to get the driver points tonight but uh big thanks to everybody at hendrickcars.com and Chevrolet um hat to the boss back at home and you know we're going to stay locked in race the track do our thing and uh we'll see where we end up and if they're also going to try and defend their southern 500 win from last year good stuff Marty thank you let's go inside the 23 team for that last minute pep talk have a listen you got me bubba I got youg all right man proud of you go after it no pris yes sir thanks good stuff this man showed tremendous resilience and guts yesterday Bubba Wallace not once but in two qualifying runs to show how determined and how driven he is to race his way in into the playoffs just like Harrison Burton did it's time to bring the action at Darlington Raceway it is time to continue one of the best traditions in racing it's time for the southern 500 listen to that awesome Roar Wallace and then Here Comes lson host of ours being shuffled back a couple of positions as reick moves his way up to Third and the question begs does the guy we saw in qualifying as renick was ducking low to try and make an early move then thinks about it twice does the man we saw yesterday in qualifying in Bubba Wallace does he continue that Trend here tonight well when I talked to booty Barker today he had two simple words he always gives me kind of their Mantra what they're going to be as you see three wide racing back in the pack he said Stevie all out we're going to be all out all night and it's either going to make it or it isn't I love that Mantra I think that's what it's going to take well they're going all at it right now you race that hard this early on this race track and you'll be lucky to get by with it three wide Steve that is aggressive contact Mar TRX Jr he's lost it takes blany up into the wall with him two of the best cars in practice I thought blay had the best long run car idiot and here you heard him I'm an idiot TRX says he's an he knows he made a mistake only two laps into the race TRX 58 above the cut line mathematically not a guarantee but I thought everything was going to be easy this is an uphill battle already that is a huge moment in this race and perhaps in the year how much damage do TRX car have it hurts Ryan blay from the standpoint of potential stage points and then the overall points he's locked into the playoffs but this was what neither driver wanted TRX just simply got into the corner too hard for the amount of grip that he had that's part of this though lap three he doesn't really know it chases the car up the racetrack makes contact with William Barron overcorrects the car big damage to blay he wrecks himself because he knew the option two was to wreck the 24 that's not TRX a style at all he didn't want his mistake to affect the 24 unfortunately taking himself out got Blain that's that's one of those wrecks look at As We Ride Along he just got up the racetrack that's one of those wrecks on lap three at Darlington do you really want to be three wide getting into turn one this is something that 15 years ago we never would do right the the drivers have gotten more and more aggressive in how they approach turn one Chris busher sneaking by look Martin TRX Jr is one of the our Sports best period just a little too much aggression early in the race every body talks about racing the racetrack 25 times Martin TRX Jr has run Darlington he knows what this RAC track holds and yet a mistake like this this just proves all the hyperboy about Darlington the track too tough to Tain it's true it's on display two laps in it's true and Martin has an extraordinary record here as you see Ryan blay stepped from his card you'll see him in the playoffs but this is far from an ideal situation let's have a listen to his radio take you back a few moments it's kill man you okay I think I don't know oh I'm hurt get him Qui we can and you can see him paying extra attention to one of his hands and forearms yeah that's that impact you could hear in his voice how much it hurt anytime you're on the outside and a car hits you that hard and shoves you into the wall with all of the force of the car underneath you you those are a massive impact Steve those are some of the biggest wrecks I ever had M this is just massive for the playoffs as everyone has talked about Martin TRX Jr came in plus 58 and the word just now from James small telling Martin Truex Jr to get out of the car TRX came in the weekend said we just need a clean smart race and early on they're going to be out of it and man can they make the playoffs now that's something we're going to be watching all evening long look at that currently dead even no more points to gain for the 19 Gibbs busher Chastain still on the racetrack and that's without a new winner we know that's Bobba Wallace's goal tonight the race had only just got going and one of the playoff contenders is [Music] Out The Legend Continues here Darlington Raceway do you get out of here without getting the fame Darlington stripe does the track treat you well do you respect it and do you get in the tunnel on the Champions wall all questions to be answered well the track has already bitten a couple that's Martin Truex Jr and Ryan blay both drivers out of the race blay going to the playoffs Martin TRX Jr is going to have to sit and watch he had a 58 Point buffer above the cut line he's now at zero so it's going to be an interesting night to see the least for those guys and we will update you when we know more about Ryan Blay's physical condition uh as he was headed to the infield Medical Center so as we check in with Dale Jarrett Kyle Petty fellas points implications already at such an early stage in the race pretty crazy yeah Lee it's just amazing we sat here and talked about the difficulty of that but we also did it just like Jeff Burton said been there you know and you understand what's at stake here but you know you're still a race driver and that's your mentality KP yeah it's amazing as you watch this and and they called it perfectly in the in the booth we see TRX just get in over his head a little bit wants to stay off the 24 overcorrects and takes blay open into the wall what's fascinating is we sat here as we watch all these angles we sat here and talked about Gibbs talked about busher talked about Wallace and chass we never mentioned Trux no a rookie mistake by a guy who has won at this Racetrack and knows you have to race the racetrack every lap um I I don't believe I am shocked right now and hopefully this will send a message to these other guys step back a little bit Yeah the impact for the playoffs possibly and Ryan Blain came in here fourth in the regular season certainly going to drop from there and those points could be valuable in the playoffs great point and these images from a few moments ago Truex stepping from his car and also heading to the infield Medical Center Just For a Check Jeff you highlighted it in one of those replays Chris busher one of the playoff hopefuls just narrowly avoiding that incident sometimes luck on your side it wasn't for blay it was for Chris busha yeah you have to have those things go your way and look I've been in that situation you heard DJ KP talking about it you make a mistake when you you know it's your job right it's your job not to make that mistake but you're pushing you're trying to make something happen you feel horrible uh because you feel like you let your team down but it's just you can't get it back well in all of that now it's back to the task at hand we have Bubba Wallace and Larson on the front row reck Brisco hoso far back to fifth but I thought Carson you know 21 youngest guy to ever be on the front row at the southern 500 Jeff you just was patient early right like he gave up a few spots making sure he didn't make that mistake long night ahead all right am safety team done an excellent job helping the situation clearing the situation we're ready for a take two let's get this cookout Southern 500 going again let's do it huge crowd here in Martinville and we're back to action Wallis and lson Chase Brisco in that black and white High Point Ford right behind here comes Tyler reick the 2311 cars are on the charge and that begs the question what kind of a role will Tyler reic play in helping his teammate make the playoffs tonight he'll help to a point but he wants the victory himself and I think you're got to see this right here as he gets to the back bumper of Wallace I think reic he knows what's at store you know at stake for the 23 boss man here Michael Jordan in attendance I'm impressed you know when MJ got into the sport we knew he was a Nascar fan but this is a guy that's in so many business interests globally right he has so many different things but I'm going to tell you Lee he comes to a lot of races and not just on Sunday on a Saturday qualifying you'll see him standing out on Pit Road it shocks me to have one of the most famous if not the most famous sports figure in the world be so consistent in the NASCAR garage Ty Gibbs running side by side with his jgr teammate Denny Hamlin who has just an unmatched record in this field Jeff at Darlington Raceway he is the best of this current crop on every number you can see can Denny's KN it can be Denny's Knight Denny has the mentality that's needed this RAC trck he has the ability to attack the racetrack but not step over it see reic applying pressure little bit higher entry into one that's going we're going to see the CH the lanes change throughout this night V does a really nice job of approaching the corners just against the wall that helps this car see how close he is compared to Larson watch what happens in the middle that allows reic to not have to turn the wheel as much carries a lot of speed to the center I think Larson's car is a little better right now though we ride on board the hendrickcars.com Chevy for the man who led 55 Laps on route to Victory here in the southern 500 last year we'll get back to that let's hear from Kim Kon with Ryan blay for the latest yeah Ryan blay part of that incident with Martin TX Jr we heard you talk about your arm or your hand are you okay and what happened yeah I'm all right um I don't know I I I saw Martin get loose and uh kind of Hit the 24 I thought he was going to spin to the bottom and uh so I kind of gassed up to get around him and he like terrible time and he overcorrected and we were right there so just gosh I hate it wreck on lap two but yeah I just it's one of those things it's like you think he's going to spin to the bottom and then it like his rear hooked up and he just came up so just I hatte it for everybody monards and Ford I thought our car was and just didn't even get a run any laps but um hopefully next week goes a little bit better great to hear from Ryan that was some scary radio that we heard after the incident but nice to hear him talk to Kim and I'm with him I thought it was one of the best cars in practice as well we'll just never know look at SP Carson josar in the 77 running well last time he started on the front row was in the Truck Series last year at Homestead Miami Speedway and that great performance came from that so I wonder if the same Trend continues the same for the youngster for the 21-year-old here tonight in Darlington so we've heard from Ryan blay Kim tell us the Martin Truex side of the story yeah Martin TR J out of the Care Center out of the race first of all we heard you say idiot on the radio clarify what you were talking about and what happened H clearly me um yeah it was it was all my fault all my doing and um yeah I just I got a run on the 24 and went to the inside and thought everything was going fine and the car just took off and I ran into him so obviously that one's on me and uh I hate it for my guys and Bass Pro Shops and Toyota everybody we had a phenomenal race car and I know this is the long like the longest race of the year um just a dumb mistake on my part this is your last full-time season in the Cup Series right now as it stands you are not a part of the playoff picture describe the emotions attached to that yeah I mean it sucks uh you know we just we've had a miserable two months fast cars nothing to show for and and again tonight you know tonight was all me so just sorry to my team and all the guys that work so hard classic TRX you know he is in the best of times and in the worst of times has always been a class sack giving the times to the fan to us and the media uh taking ownership of this issue right here I think that's why he's so kind of beloved in the fan base and in the garage as we see Christopher Bell battling busher and we're just going to have to wait and see much like TRX to see if he has enough points now it's up to guys like busher to see if TRX advances this is the fight for seventh position between the guy who won the exfinity series race yesterday back to the teammates the two Toyotas at the front of this field Wallace Tyler reck they just got a narrow margin over Kyle lson in this early running talking the garage this morning was that these two cars had a lot of speed on the early part of the run there was also some talk that they were not good on the long run uh we'll see you know that it's one thing to do that in practice it was in the middle of the day clearly the sun's still out out the tracks going to continue to cool down as this night goes on but currently you know they that short run speed is there and also the long run speed is just to remind everybody on the left that playoff bubble that's with Wallace leading right that's a new winner taking the 14th spot that makes the TRX busher Chastain situation even more precarious if Wallace is not leading the raise that complex will change completely but we saw Harrison Burton a week ago why not bubble Wallace why not Ross Chastain there's other hos ofar running six he's playoff eligible if he won this race and let's not discount Eric Jones a two-time winner here at Darlington who just so happens to be the biggest mover in the field so far he's up 10 positions Jeff H how can it be I mean Legacy motor club will admit they've switched to Toyota they're still trying to improve it's been a little bit of a Down year does it still surprise you because it does mean that Eric Jones shows up to Darlington and the light switch just flips how can it just be I don't want to use the word easy but this straightforward for this driver he knows exactly what he wants he knows exactly the field he's looking for when his car doesn't have it he does a great job of describing it and he's not going to push too hard get himself in trouble typically and that's kind of Eric Jones right I mean if you think about the success he's had in this sport he's a very consistent race car driver and he loves a racetrack I think that's part of it Steve some guys come here and they just don't like it they just simply say I don't like this facility Eric has always liked it Dave tell us more and part of the reason for that is he said ever since I started coming here I just like the way that I was able to adapt to the way the track changes the way that the uh feel of the car will change over time it was just always very comfortable to me and then when he won remember he's only won three times in the series two out of three have been here yeah that just adds to that Comfort level when I talked to him before the race he said we got close in practice but a bad starting spot because of a mistake I made in practice so good to see that he's that big mover Marty Dave I'm fascinated by the point that Lee brought up a moment ago with Tyler reick his teammate Bubba Wallace is right in front of him currently leading the race but Jeff how would you approach this race if you were Tyler reic you're also fighting for a regular season championship by the way your closest competitor for that right behind you with Kyle lson so would you help your teammate as much as you could and if you do help your teammate Jeff if you're Tyler reic how do you do that how do you help out Bubba Wallace tonight well look if I'm Tyler reic I got to go out and try to win this race I'm not going to move Bubba Wallace out of the way to do it but if I can get track position on him and drive away from him that's what I'm going to do and that's what I get paid to do I get paid to win championships that's why he was hired and to do that winning the regular season Championship will go a long way to helping him to make it happen he's got the full attention of Michael Jordan here's a quick reminder that you can join NASCAR's free Rewards program and start earning points that turn into member only rewards you can earn every time you check in for a race trade in points for free tickets exclusive gear autograph merchandise and oneof aind race day experiences simply head to nascar.com rewards how cool is this shot aboard the builds submarines decom Ford RFK racings Chris busher let's go for a little ride have a listen [Music] all right Mr Southern 500 winner you like what you see you like what you hear I do like it I you know against the wall but not inches away from it the way he will have to be but with only 33 laps in this race is now the time to be right against the wall probably not I tell you what I see in the front of this pack though Bubba Wallace still leading this race but look at how they've all stacked up right behind him that tells me that the pace isn't quite what he needs it to be everybody starting to catch him just a little bit still with good Pace but the fastest race car Hamlin Bell they're starting to run this group down let's build the positives for Bubba Wallace this is his 13th visit here and he has led more laps this evening than he has Stevie combined in the 12 other visits off to a great stop off to a great start and it really started in qualifying what we saw yesterday I don't think can'd be over you mentioned it didn't take one effort but two efforts and and I mean he's kind of taken the performance of the 23 and putting it on his own shoulders he said we have to be better we have to win races I have to do better behind the wheel I like that approach from Bubba and what we're talking about if you went with us for qualifying yesterday right here Bubba grazed the wall as an understatement he hit the wall twice on his first qualifying lap to make it into the fast 10 into the top 10 and then it was a pretty electrifying run for him to grab the pole so he backed it up twice and here we go pit stops are happening race leader is in Kyle Larson follows Bubba to pit Lane Marty Snider standing by take it away Kyle Larson comes to his pit which is down turn toward turn towards turn four also Joey loano here on Pit Road everybody should fit in a very small window here Cliff Daniel said hey how's your car to Kyle Larson he simply said really good Dave bubble wall seemed very happy with the 23 car when he was asked to give a balance check by his crew he said it's just a little greasy when I'm running really hard that's not something they really adjust for that's just what they want to hear from the driver in terms of what he's feeling he'll get four Goodyear tires and a fuel F here and he's got that first pit Marty Tyler re ran second to his teammate Bubba Wallace for much of that run said at the very end I feel like I'm burning up the rear just a little bit so I could s to be a hair tighter otherwise very happy as green flag pits up the first set happening here at Darlington in the southern 500 and look how busy Pit Road is lead and successful for Kyle L on the five beat the 23 off yeah that first pit off of the 23 will be a big Advantage under yellow but under green no real Advantage almost a disadvantage because you're so close to getting up to speed as we see reic pull away Kyle Larson overtook the 23 car still some cars to come to Pit Road but the five will assume the lead of the race when it Cycles this is one of the crazy things about Darlington staring into that sun driving down the back straight away makes it really difficult to judge where the wall is run straight away no problem here comes William Byron Mar's headed away and he nearly lead avoided some contact with uh Martin TRX Jr he was the car that Trux almost got into before he got into Ryan blay he said his car is just a little bit too free so Steve these cars R running just a little bit longer here will there be an advantage for them on the back end of this run I don't think so I don't think they've run long enough for the fresh tires to be an advantage I kind of dissected the last two or three races here now if you can run 10 laps longer it kills you you lose like 20 seconds but you do have those fresher tires the whole next run the problem is it seems like you just burn your tires up so much working through traffic you see Kyle arson easily drive by Denny Hamlin the question for demy Hamlin is you know with 76 to go are they trying to stretch us out to the point where they maybe eliminate an entire Pit Stop and Save a set of tires that would be a really aggressive call but maybe Chris gabart is concerned about yellows later in the race lson goes by so to Wallace and mean you see how quickly they go by you now the advantage to this strategy is if a yellow comes out right now you see a bubble Wallace on back or a lap down so Danny Hamlin will pit everybody would take the wave around but he instantly would be the first car on Fresh tires it would be a huge Advantage for him there's only three drivers following the or two other drivers following the Hamlin strategy that's Kyle bus and Shane Van gburg and everybody else has come to Pit Road about two seconds a lap maybe not quite two seconds a lap right Jeff I'm impressed with that you know I I think that Denny Hamlin their ability to R run this Pace on this many lap tires I think that's allowing them to play this strategy 2 seconds is a lot but we've seen it much more than that here he comes to Pit Road dive Kyle Bush has come to Pit Road in the eight car he was running second to Hamlin crew chief Rand Bernett told me that they needed something special to happen tonight didn't have a lot of pace and practice like they thought they would need he'll get four tires and fuel here Marty considering they started and pack oh hlin runs a little bit long in a stall we'll see if that cost him any time at all Chris gabart told me this morning he said listen if I can finish top seven in stage one I'll count that as a win he's also very close to the wall so we'll see if that stop maybe a slow stop here for the 11 cost him a little bit in this green flag cycle so as Hamlin leaves we want to take you back and show you this that involves Kyle Bush boom it's pretty good little contact right there flat luckily but just take a listen that's a part of the racetrack where the wall actually comes back out into the track off of turn two it's very very easy to hit the wall there when this race is over though he won't be the only one to do it the 11 came in and Marty said that he slid a little long I don't know if that's what's got the timing but watch this right front tire changer tire off goes to put the other Tire on this lug nut had fallen out that single lug nut magnetizes to the socket he had reach down grab it and then on the left side tight quarters enough room room to do the work but it definitely messes up the timing with that little a little bit of space the 11 was about 4 and 1/2 seconds behind the leader before anyone came to Pit Road he's currently all the way back at 21st 20 seconds behind so fresher tires for sure but we'll just have to see over the next 20 or 30 laps can the 11 make up that time we cut off to a pretty eventful start with Martin Truex Jr having to watch anxiously the remainder of of the Southern 500 on a beautiful Labor Day weekend long weekend Sunday evening here in South Carolina please to let you know it is a sellout crowd for this cookout Southern 500 thank you to the race fans for supporting and continuing this awesome tradition and the five of Kyle lson would like to continue the tradition that is winning here in the southern 500 he'd like to defend his win of a year ago leading Bubba Wallace by just under two seconds Chase Brisco is having a nice start to the night no surprise whatsoever Chase bis Brisco ran fifth here in the spring and all of the steuart hwks racing cars had performance in that race and they had it in practice Dave and Jeff what telling words from the 29-year-old as he tries to make his way by winning to get into the playoffs on that first caution he had lost a spot on the track so Boswell as crew chief was concerned about what was going on with the driver the 14 he said it's fine just being careful you know there's times Jeff when you just have to be careful here and watch what you're doing and not let happen what happened to Truex it can happen in an instant well if you can if you could be careful and make this pace Steve that's a great thing right if you if you're out there and you're having to give 100% right now to run this pace and maybe back up a little bit and give up a tenth of a second but if you can comfortably sit here and run third place that is a great sign that there's even more for this car to go get and I love the confidence between Crew Chief and driver that hey do you need something no it's okay that's it but we don't have to keep discussing it I'm going to believe you and we'll sit back kind of watch watch the show still 62 laps to go in this stage though Lee and I expect another round of green flag pit stops they're not going to try to take this set of Goodyear Tires all the way to the finish of this stage brisco's got that positive memory of when he had that unbelievable victory in NASCAR Xfinity series competition here a few years ago as we climb back aboard Kim the Rous Fenway keslowski Ford of Chris busher tell us more about the 17 yeah with 62 laps to go in this stage Chris berer currently one spot out of the top 10 in the stage and you have to be top 10 to earn stage points and that was a goal for this team crew chief Scott Graves told me they will be paying very close attention to points their goal was to try and put pressure on the 23 of bubble Wallace and the 54 of Ty Gibs both those cars though right now stly in the top 10 looking to earn points buer right now moving up to the 10th spot Marty this team they just cannot get a car that is turning well Kim speaking of Ty Gibbs it was actually Kyle lson in the preest show who said quote the southern 500 is going to be fun tonight Ty Gibbs must have listened to that here's what he said on the radio a moment ago D everybody's ready to be so nice this is so awesome thank you guys thanks everybody look I love my competitor it's nice today 450 more miles to go so keeping it light only 50 mil into the southern 500 sometimes you got to have that attitude when you're running the southern 500 Jeff right well I love how relaxed he is and you know we keep thinking about Tai Gibbs the win right around the corner they have the pace many races they can't they seem to lose a little bit as the race goes on but they have mean every race we look up and there he is running sly in the top 10 if you do that long enough you're going to get your wins solidly in the top 10 Jeff and solidly in the top five seven times this year he has kind of been like the quiet achiever of the Cup Series this year and look at the points on the bottom left of your screen green to the good of 24 positions at the moment night off to the right start for Ty Gibbs Kyle lson up front has increased his lead by I know second and a half or so over BBA Wallace then Tyler reck two teammates still running well then Brisco Christopher Bell fresh from his win last night and then William byon and Josh Barry who had that highly dramatic Daytona race last weekend when he was running at the front involved in that huge wreck and ended up going upside down and was able to step from the car when the AMR safety team rescued him incredible scenes he's rebounded beautifully to be running seven just ahead of Gibbs the front row starter Carson josar runs ninth ahead of Chris Pusher this is I believe you're starting to settle in what makes this R such a challenge is the lack of yellows lately you know we saw one early and we normally get them late in this race but this first and second stage we see a lot of green flag racing and you know it's it's not a lot of time not a lot of break I mean there are straightaways here where you can adjust your visor take your times your right hand or left hand off the wheel and kind of rest your wrist or your grip but every time you go into the corner there's just really no room for error draftking sports book is an authorized gaming operator of NASCAR and this week new customers can bet $5 and pocket 250 in bonus bits instantly download the app and use the promo code speed when you sign up draft King sports book The Crown is yours what numbers and drivers jump out to your St well Larson was the favorite earlier he just continu his odds continu to drop down at plus 320 so a little over three times your money Hamlin reic no surprise Toyota's right behind lson with bell also and Wallace you got to look down for a little bit value do you think it could be Kyle Bush's night is so 16 to1 and how about Chase Elliott rarely do we see Chase Elliott with longer odds like that he currently runs 15th you could BET live Chase ell 16 to1 let's talk more about the man who started on the pole position in the 23 Bubba Wallace with Dave right and I thought Steve made an interesting point about that green flag Pit Stop uh the number one pit stall not being such an advantage Steve I want you to get back to that but Bubba has stayed focused since that pass for the lead that happened as a result of that pit cycle Steve they told him there's going to be one more green flag stop if this stays green before the end of this stage so be ready again what is the disadvantage more time Steve well so basically the advantage of the number one stall is it's very close to the camera which is where they score you under yellow when you're racing off per road but under green you leave your pit box in first gear and you start to accelerate and you actually cross over the yellow line where they're the speed limit ends and you're not even up to the speed yet by 5 or 10 miles hour everybody else when they hit the yellow line they're already at Pit Road speed so they're leaving at you know 50 m hour but for the 23 car he's so close to that yellow line he crosses over at say 40 mph it's not a huge disadvantage here and I would absolutely take it because under yellow it's a huge Advantage only 22 ft to that scoring line and under those late cautions I'd take the stall number one anytime Kyle Lawson leads Bubba Wallace and Tyler reck and John H gets a Darlington stripe in his fifth cup [Music] appearance did you know you can down download the official app of NASCAR and follow the action with free live scoring incar and radio broadcast and you can upgrade to premium for full access to driver audio channels and completely ad free experience search NASCAR in your App Store to download and start a free trial welcome back to Darlington Raceway the cookout Southern 500 continues Lee dippy Jeff Burton Steve lart let's show you something that is fascinating here at Darlington Jeff you had a magical year in 1999 winning the spring race winning the southern 500 how did you manage this we were talking about it yesterday the imperfection of the shape of the wall it's just crazy I mean if if this race track was to be built today it wouldn't be built this way but that's what is the beautiful part of the character of this that's what I love about it you look at turn three the wall actually goes to the right that creates opportunity watch the drivers they actually turn into the right to get up by the wall where there's more grip Marty Jeff the second round of stops here in stage one starting with the leaders you see Tyler reedit coming down Pit Road said the last adjustment made the car a little bit better he comes in running third Dave his teammate Bubba Wallace on Pit Road in front of you he givs up second place Marty after that first round of pit stops remember lost one position in that cycle and hitting his pit stall here remember the important role of the driver they've got to be perfect as well he does it good there so the crew can change he needs the car to be a little bit tighter into three Marty since that first round the stops Dave Kyle Larson LED all 25 laps between the two stops the pi crew got him the lead last time we'll see if they can keep him the lead this time what of no changes to the five car five stopped one lap after reck and those but he had massive 3se second lead which has allowed him probably to run that extra lap we will see if that's what pays off here at a penalty for the two of Austin citric for an uncontrolled Tire we talk about mistakes for the driver we've really focused on that because the difficulty of the racetrack but Mistakes by the pick crew can be just as costly so as we see the five leaving Pit Road on this slippery slippery apron in one and two we'll kind of take a peek up we're looking for the 23 above Wallace he's going to be the first car off Pit Road and kind of there he is right at the top of your screen that bright blue Hood so the extra lap did not hurt the five Marty Ty Gibb said his car started a little bit tight but came to him the longer they ran Chris Gale making the call to come down Pit Road for four fresh good your tires so Steve his teammate Denny Hamin still is not pitted Chris gabart made the call for run long before the first stop how long would he leave Denny hlin out here in the second stop well I thought it was a net loss the first time so I believe the 11 of Danny Hamlin might flip to the shorter strategy we'll see if he does that Jeff we talked about the walls of one and two in the difference but how about pit entry here at Darlington very difficult it's one of the most difficult race places to get on Pit Road Suarez you know that is legal he he just beats simply beats Larson two Pit Road turns Underneath Him Larson being a little bit safe which is a smart thing to do here it's so easy to overshoot Pit Road and here's that replay of what happened with Austin synr team and that Aaron wheel and that's what was the Catalyst for the penalty for the driver of the two we still have Hamlin Elliott and Bush kind of waiting to make their Pit Stop you know Denny Hamlin's never had a dnf here that is shocking he has got the most incredible numerical record but then throw in on top of that no dnfs that that is unbelievable and now the one advantage of Hamlin running long you know I'm looking at it by like the tenth of a second or the half a second I do think he's losing a little bit of time to Larson but you know what he isn't doing he's getting himself out of the chaos right on and off Pit Road we just saw that 99 in the five that can easily turn bad for of them five runs a little long Denny understands the plan I mean look at it he's got clear track out front sometimes it's not all about time Marty sometimes it's about just avoiding the eye of the storm trying to stay out of the mess Steve it's interesting where Darlington falls on the calendar this year it has normally been the first race of the playoffs it will again be in 2025 but this year it's the last race of the regular season you can see how much Danny hin struggling with the handling of the race car so I'm wondering how much that changes the game and opens up the playbook for Chris gabart to make a call like this it's interesting I I you know I'd have to it's I have it on my list to call Chris this week and see exactly what he's seeing because I don't see a Time Advantage I've seen Hamlin net out about the same on positions but net time to the leader lost but the nine of Chase Elliot cam is kind of on the same strategy as the 11 sort of sort of yes just finished up their stop about a lap ago and Chase Elliot reporting he was tight in traffic he told the team though he hurt the rears too much that run they reminded him this run to the end is going to be slightly longer so take care of those tires Kyle Bush on this strategy as well and Steve Randle Bernett told me there really wasn't a great opportunity to flip the strategy at this track because of the tire wear but they would try to do what they could so bring a little extra long here as well he'll fall back in the queue after he has for good your tires and fuel Marty so Denny Hamlin pitch from the lead here at lap 77 working lap 7 right now 38 to go here in the stage no complaints for the handling of the race car but see you're starting to see this group now maybe running a little bit longer you saw Chase Elliott and his race team Kyle bus and now Denny Hamin kind of taking this longer strategy here in stage one yeah to the defense of the 11 strategy remember first time down Pit Road a little bit of a botched Pit Stop trouble with the right front with the lug nut too close to the wall for the driver that pit stop right there looked extremely clean for the 11 37 laps to go we see where he'll blend out and probably if you just just outside the top 20 but with those brand new Goodyear tires will easily start to overtake cars that pitted just a few laps ago Denny proudly displaying the flying 11 which is a tribute to Roy hendrik who passed away he was a regular competitor at Denny's home track Southside Speedway so a lovely tribute yeah I race with Roy South Boston Speedway he he was the very first late model stock card champion at South Boston Speedway really legendary family you see Sport Clips on the side of that a longtime partner for Danny and Joe Gibs racing down here at Darlington we see that scheme and if you're going to have a track where you decide to kind of anchor your coverage Danny Hamlin at Darlington has been a pretty good choice well and this could be the this could be the night and this could be the race that turned things around right the engine issue and that huge penalty the loss of points and then getting caught up in one of the big ones last week in daytoner he's you're going to need to change that Trend I actually think this race is more important to handling than perhaps other than winning the first one of the year and getting the playoffs this one for that momentum I think it's the points are one thing but it felt like a lot of air out of the balloon on that engine penalty right even when he talked about it shoulders down it's not what he said it's how he said it he wasn't that kind of pound your chest Denny Hamlin ready to thunder into the playoffs a good run here perhaps could correct that if you've never been to Darlington Raceway and wherever you're watching from around the world we're about 100 miles Southeast of Charlotte North Carolina we're Northwest of Myrtle Beach South Carolina NBC Sports coverage of NASCAR on USA is brought to you by Straight Talk wireless Sam's Club join the club and by Progressive Insurance save when you bundle Auto home or motorcycle insurance visit progressive.com Sun slowly starting to go down here in South Carolina at Darlington Raceway one thing that hasn't changed out in front for now 35 laps is the hendrik cars.com Chevy of Kyle lson hot in pursuit of Tyler reick in the regular season points now while the overarching theme and the headline is the race for the playoffs right who's going to make it who isn't Kyle lson said that it's deeply important to him to win the regular Championship to win the regular season he wants to do that here tonight I think some of that goes back to remember him missing the Coca-Cola 600 went to Indianapolis ran the IND 500 had a great plan but you can't control the weather the weather got him delayed he missed the start so he got zero points there and I think lson you know he might not say it but in the back of his mind you know he's only 15 points behind he probably easily could have scored 15 points in that situation if he could have started the car so I think if you win the regular season season kind of no harm no fou Jeff you don't want to carry a you know missed opportunity into the playoffs yeah it's so important because of the points it allows you to start the playoffs with there goes Kyle Busch fresher tires you can see the the big difference there and here is Tyler reic who by the way happens to lead the regular season points Marty tell us what's happening at the 2311 machine yeah Lee they certainly focused on that tonight for the 45 of Tyler reck he has not run worse than third so far in the 500 but is he not well feeling well physically behind the wheel listen in can you have some ready for me stage one under yellow yes that was a request for Toms I did confirm with Billy Scott this afternoon Tyler's been feeling a little bit sick on the stomach so far today so Jeff I can't imagine number one the southern 500 is the toughest race all year long but when you're not feeling 100% how big of a challenge is that going to be for reic tonight well what you hope is that as the race goes on in temperature comes down he starts to feel a little bit better he knows he has a long night ahead of him and temperature makes everything worse you see Brisco trying to get underneath him right now but sometimes it also allows you to just focus right I'm not feeling well so I have to focus a little bit more we see a lot of athletes have their best days when they are sick the old Flu Game you the the Michael Jordan Flu Game remember may or may not was pizza delivery isn't that what we learned the documentary remember that move that we we saw Daniel Suarez in a 99 car he got by Kyle Larson getting on to Pit Road that when he did that that got him back in the lead lap yeah and since he made that move he has sat there you see Kyle Bush getting by him Kyle's got newer tires than Suarez but Suarez is the he's the last car on the lead lap but he has stayed in front of Kyle Larson that in this entire run so that move there is Kyle lson lurking but that move has allowed them to say with 23 laps to go that could be the difference in their race that he's able to stay on the lead lap and you may have noticed the news this week that the 2025 Nascar Cup Series schedule has been released and with the addition the exciting news of Mexico City on that calendar which was music to the years of Daniel Suarez so excited there's been a lot of hype about that that'll happen next June as lson goes to the low line to try and take Daniel Suarez off the lead lap and Suarez is going to fight as hard as he can to stay on the lead lap remember Suarez got taken out of Daytona last week in the most bizarre incident when he was pitted ahead of Denny Hamlin Hamlin fired up the 11 went to take off there was fly there was a little bit of excess gas on the ground and a fire ignited and Daniel had to bring his then Coke machine back to pit Lane and he was a retirement he's he's fighting tough right here these are hard passes at Darlington it's always been difficult to pass Larson going to try to drive right here this is tight marson's being aggressive but not overly aggressive no one's really pushing him so he wants to lap him but he doesn't want to get himself in trouble doing it now he trying to run the bottom of the racetrack it's hard to get grip down there if he can stay side by side with him here which he can't do it it's so intense inside that race car oh I like this move though the higher entry he's going to turn to the bottom very tight side by side but think he has momentum now heading to turn three yeah so is he going to try to slide him overdrive the entry to the corner there he goes torz with great entry speed trying to stay even with him he can't do it he'll get momentum on EX on the exit on that High Line oh he got there but not quick enough Kyle Larson closes the door on Daniel Suarez and puts him a lap down as for his track house teammate Ross Chastain runs 15th here's a reminder of what went down a week ago it was a pretty crazy scene for Suarez and that thing lit up fast yeah scary very bizarre uh fire department right there to put it out as quick as you can you look inside the car you see the flame pouring out of the trunk a backfire of the 11 right here you see the left side kind of spark it lights the fire the fuel that's on the ground which is chases forward and goes into the trunk and that was Daniel that was a replay of Daniel watching a replay of of of how it all transpired so 17 laps to go in this opening stage of the cookout Southern 500 and Kyle lson has led the most laps 46 over buba Wallace's opening 34 laps LED and Wallace is about 2 and 1/2 seconds behind the hendrik Motorsports driver and has had a really solid night Chase Brisco ahead of Tyler reck and then Christopher Bell having a nice quiet run by himself in the top five determined to win the regular season is what Kyle Larson did when he won the overall Championship a couple of years ago that's my team out there if our Network goes down lives are at stake our comms have to work or the mission won't that's why we partner with Verizon Frontline the network that truly prioritizes First Responders so we don't worry about getting through and they're the most reliable 5G Network in America out here reliability is everything extreme or routine Verizon Frontline delivers the number one network choice in public safety learn more your mission is our purpose and Doug and if we win we get to tell you how Liberty Mutual customizes car insurance so you only pay for what you need isn't that what you just did [Music] service time out only pay for what you need liy liyy $5 all you can eat pancakes are back at IHOP for a limited time or free with select combo purchase now you can get stacks on Stacks at IHOP we don't just put food on your plate we put a smile on your plate I was drowning in debt I had over $36,000 in debt if I would have just made the minimum payments it would have taken me 59 years to pay off national debt relief can significantly reduce the amount you owe national debt relief reduced my debt by over $27,000 with national debt relief you have a power powerful team that knows how to talk to your creditors national debt relief they got me out of debt call or visit National Deb relief.com to get started you can only get Wendy's new Saucy nugs at Wendy's so if anyone ever tries to tell you they have Saucy nugs at home you might want to see what else are hiding cuz that person lies for a whole new way to nug got to be Wendy's after the 26 we grind 16 gather Heroes hopefuls Hot Shots Hot Heads their demeanor may vary their determination does not Fortune brought them to this moment now it's up to them the NASCAR Playoffs begin in Atlanta on USA the night is moving fast here in the southern 500 just 11 laps to go in stage one how about the man who started on the front row Spire Motorsports 77 Carson hos let's get an update with Dave Burns Dave hasn't really said too much on the radio lead not really that uh crazy over the radio about the race car he's been making better speed through the corners as spotter tells the team so that's good for them back to 11 from a second place starting spot Luke Lambert said we weren't too surprised about the second place starting spot by the way we think we're that good and he's one of the guys Kim who could still win his his way into the playoffs tonight as is Josh Barry currently running in the eighth position which should surprise nobody he finished third here in the spring and that was the starting point for their setup this weekend brought something very similar they felt like they had really good long run speed and practice they worked on making it better on the front end of the road and this team extremely complimentary about Josh because of his history on The Late Model swort track circuit they feel like that gives him the ability Marty to manage tires really well here at Darlington a moment to go Tyler reic lost third to chase Brisco and then almost immediately gave another health update listen in is okay I'm just really fighting it right now here get some crackers or something to do just playing crackers I don't know something get you so that is what the team has done they have fashioned a bag that they're going to hand to Tyler reic once he makes the stop here at the end of stage one in that bag does have the TS and also two packs of crackers and some regular crackers as well so Steve I can't imagine being in Billy Scott's shoes right now so put me in those shoes you kind of feel I'm you're helpless as a crew chief right you can't do much to help your driver what would you do if you were Billy Scott Steve to let your driver make sure that he can make it to the end of the race well we would definitely want to Aid him with whatever he needs whether it's hydration or some nutrition if that settles the stomach but the other thing is you know Martin Trix Jr's out of this race a fellow Toyota driver a guy that knows how to get it done now the physical limit would be a little bit challenging Tyler reic much shorter than TR X I don't know how much adjustment there is in that seat if you could get maybe even change the the seat liner itself although then you're talking about perhaps losing a lap under yellow here but if TR X is somewhere here in the infield I might reach out to TRD or Joe Gibbs Racing and see if there's any way he can hang out remember we're not even to the end of stage one right yet diff this is statistically around a 4our 4our and 10 minute race so if you're ever going to feel poorly this is not the one this is going to be a tough SLO for Tyler reck want to take you back just a moment ago we were talking about Carson josar not long ago he's Chris busher on the low side and a close call between two guys trying to race their way into the playoffs buer used all of the RAC trck got the 77 car up into the wall a little bit buer sit running 11th place trying to get a stage Point bubble Wallace running in second look right now bub if it goes just like it is now he's going to get nine points buer will get zero and the updated playoff bubble situation bottom left of your screen as they run who's in who's out on that cut line for the top 16 busher is agonizingly close but out at the moment but such a long way to go four to go in stage one to open up the cookout Southern 500 59 laps to the good out in front Kyle lson coming up on one of his Hendrick Motorsport teammates in Alex Bowman Bowman's down in 23rd position at the moment and about to go a lap down had a pretty badly damaged car last week Alex Bowman and ried the team the 48 team rallied really well Alex drove it back to the highest finishing Hendrick car in 16th at Daytona this right now diff is a really oh you see forward 48 a Bowman really loose on the bottom of the racetrack this a really important part of the race because this is the time that the drivers really need to be having conversations with their crew chiefs Sun's starting to set there's no sun on the racetrack track temp starting to come down what is my car doing give the crew chief a little bit of time to think about it let's see what happened not long ago Ross Chastain Kyle Bush whoa watch the rear of Bush's car Kyle just way up the racetrack ran chest staying up at the wall Chastain's not having the night he needed he's a good solid run on board with Denny Hamlin at Coca-Cola cam up to six only 7 seconds behind the leader 14 seconds behind before running long so while the first strategy of running long didn't wasn't a Net game this one almost a 7sec game good to note for the next stage in how people are going to decide to break it up final lap of stage one Kyle Lawson it has been a very strong performance it's his ninth stage win of this 2024 season his fifth at Darlington and some more valuable playoff points and if you're Bubba Wallace mission accomplished right you you started on pole you stayed within touch you finished second in stage one things are cooling off a little here in Darlington some 8° from when we started this cookout Southern 500 one of the three stages complete NBC Sports coverage of NASCAR on USA is brought to you by Coca-Cola zero sugar is it the best Coke ever Credit One Bank NASCAR American Express card and by Toyota Let's Go Places stage one complete and pit stops are about to happen we talk about the history here at Darlington Raceway and have a look at this from the very first running back in 1950 in the victory by Johnny Manz it was a whopping 6 hours 38 minutes the man who's led the most lap so far and the defending race winner of the Southern 500 did it 2 and a half hours faster that's how far things have advanced let's go to pit Lane Marty's there impressive stage win for Kyle Larson who said The only adjustments I would want is if you feel like the track is going to change for kler reic this is part car maintenance part driver maintenance he said anything you can do to help me feel better I would appreciate it they're going to hand two bags inside the car to reic they asked him are you worried about getting sick inside the car he said yes Dave Chase Brisco hits his Mark Touch free un entry then free across the middle that hurts his exit as for Bubby Wallace still he is uh no front grip off the corner he needed an adjustment on that car and he's going to hold his position does not gain this time with that first pit stall Dave that's a good hold the positions look at all of the zeros on there for lack of change and fans NASCAR and its Premier Partners want to say thank you for your support let's take a look at one of NASCAR's biggest super fans NASCAR and his experience at Michigan International Speedway welcome back to Darlington Raceway cookout Southern 500 we're in that pause period between stages 1 and two Kyle Petty what did you make of the start of tonight before the green flu where we got to see our friend and teammate Dale Jared enjoy very special moment a very special moment Darlington has always been about history but one of the most special moments for me came tonight when my friend Dell jerck got to drive that number 11 Kell yarar special yeah thank you KP and it was special for me too someone that helped me get a good start in my career to get in this Southern 500 winning C never been in one of those cuz never won the southern 500 but to do this to honor Kell yber the great three-time champion and Hall of Fame driver that he was the toughest driver out there and uh also look at this helmet this is from the 79 Daytona 500 KP remember what happened there on the last lap as he and Donnie Allison were racing listen I this this could have been you tonight this could no no this is spectacular this is and that's how tough kale was Kale's in here he's on the gas he's stabbing he's steering and look the helmet that Kale's swinging right there looks an awful lot like the helmet you were wearing tonight that's exactly the helmet where he was trying to find off the two Allison Brothers as he did that so huge honor and it's great that we could be here to honor him uh his wife Betty Joe his daughters Julie uh and Kelly were there along with the grandkids so just a very very special moment another piece of Darlington history great night to be a part of it hey I will add this too Marty tell him to get Tyler retic ice cold Coca-Cola that always work for me well that was special that was significant and it was just plain cool DJ because we were standing up here in the booth watching you do those laps really neat that was awesome you know Dell Jared is you see everybody choosing which lane D jar Kyle peny were lucky to have those two guys Legends of them on their own Marty so Jeff following the health of Tyler reic listen into this radio conversation just curious for CJ's feedback here you worried about throwing up or no just stomach stuff yeah throwing up myself all of it all right so it's both we got you cover pills you will chew those are TOS the rest of them you swallow with water two to chew to swow grab pills are too small dropped all of them got the TOs but yeah I got the small one the two medium Siz pills they just like I couldn't get them out of the damn back so what Tyler reic is going to do on the next stop Billy Scott is going to mix up all the medicine he needs Steve they're going to hand that to reic because he did not get the medicine that he wanted but yes he is very sick inside the car it's so difficult to get any type of medicine pills into your mouth because your helmet the the eye Port is very small it's hard to go underneath the chin to get it especially with gloves on so they're going to have to do that in some sort of form like you just talked about putting it in liquid and you heard him mentioned on the radio he's worried about throwing up he is not feeling well ready for stage two here of the Southern 500 Kyle Lon and poan BBA Wallace let's go here in Darlington this is going to be a tough SLO for Tyler reck can he hang in there he's up on that High Line Chase Brisco is doing the chasing of Kyle L and reck around his teammate to Third and ever present is that 11 of Denny Hamlin he's just been creeping and sneaking his way forward and Ty Gibbs his teammate is going with him Brisco blocks reck reic with a stoic performance feeling sick worried about throwing up but that foot is to the floor best thing you can do when you feel badly is just go attack focus on what the task is it's been a great night for Chase Brisco in that high point forward since second there for Stewart har racing wouldn't it be something if he raced his way into the playoffs he's only had one appearance that was two years ago the man who crashed out tonight Martin Truex Jr in the 19 that is exactly the ride that chase Brisco is taking over next year Bell on the inside of his teammate Denny Hamlin Bell won the xinity race yesterday driving the car that normally we see Danny Hamlin run on Saturday here at Darlington now goes past Hamlin inside to the top five Coca-Cola on board showed us exactly that view Here Comes Tyler reic in the yellow black and blue Toyota Camry that Upper Deck machine right behind Chase prisco lon's now racked up 73 laps at the head of this field stage two the same length as stage one so a little bit of rinse and repeat we expect two green flag pit stops the big difference and you talked about it temperature cooling off 8 or 10 de cooler light starting to come on how are the cars driving differently and is Tire degradation just as severe or does it improve as the Night Comes look saw the 45 reic a little bit of contact with the wall watch the three different approaches as they ENT turn one watch reic look how high he enters the corner compared to the other two immediately against the wall the 14 of Brisco he enters lower Dave so Chase Brisco running in second now I think we saw that Highline on the restart maybe uh work to the advantage here it is a it is a big Advantage but Chase just after he got going got this word from Richard Boswell as crew chief deep breath here man I want you to find out what the five cars strengths are and what his weaknesses are that's who we're going to race all night long almost 240 laps left in this race so he wants Chase no down the line Jeff that's so important for him to know where Kyle Larson might be weak here you're exactly right you got to find where your car is a little bit better than his and then continue to make it B better you see the 45 retic right against the wall Brisco slides in front of him that takes a little air off of that car then Brisco just Taps the wall I'm sorry reic Taps the wall and another incident have a look at this watch Todd gilland top right of your screen oh heavy contact sometimes you can kind of get stuck into that wall and that's what it looked like for the 38 yeah that's the way to describe it too Steve you get in the wall and he just won't leave it and here comes the flying number 11 Hamlin on the inside of Bubba Wallace do you know several days ago long before he wasn't feeling so well Tyler reck on Sirus XM NASCAR radio he said I think if I look at the landscape Darlington Southern 500 I'm saying it's me it's the five and it's the 11 the five's leading reck's running third the 11 is in fifth well the unfortunate thing for the competition is I can list a lot of tracks for those are the three you're going to have as we head into the playoffs right we start thinking about now the playoffs have a different look this year with Watkins Glenn in the playoffs now Atlanta kicking off the playoffs is something new so we have a road course and a speedway in each of the first and second round but then if you are fortunate enough to move on Las Vegas Kansas those high speed mile and a half still await those are the types of tracks that that Larson reic Hamlin Trio seems to always find their way to the front was Chase Brisco run we're not surprised to see Chase Brisco running well at this racetrack because he always seems to have speed here but think about this company steuart H racing they've announced that they're going out of business they've sold their Charter they're changing their their structure completely a lot of employees have been laid off you see the battle going on right here they're searching for jobs but they're still bringing speed to the racetrack and that is exceptionally impressive I give a lot of props to the leadership there Greg zipadelli a lot of guys there still bringing the fight no Gregson Ross Chastain and Cory lejy in the seven little bit of push and shove going on there Here Comes Alex Bowman in the background last weekend's winner in the 21 Harrison Burton yeah the 30 the 34 and the 21 they are battling hard to be the first car of one lap Down zaye Smith behind them he's also in that battle as well as Daniel hemr we show you the battles up front but can you imagine trying to run four hours like this and this is what it looks like back here for a lot of the race the right rear on that seven car it looked like the good year was missing like he had made some wall contact or contact with another car you see the nine of Chase Elliot In the Mix running 23rd he's on the lead lap so this battle with hemrich and Burton in these cars are actually in front of lead laap cars they're trying to get their lap back a little debris on the nose of the 21 you think the battle for the lead is intense you ought to be back here it is wild racing trying to be the first car one lap down Michael McDow great competitor there's trying to build some momentum off that win last week cleared McDow and cleared Daniel hamr who had a good top 10 last week here's Tyler reick in his Upper Deck Toyota Camry's take a look at the Toyota driver update he is the highest place than Christopher Bell Denny Hamlin it was a Toyota pole yesterday for the fourth time in succession here in Darlington with thanks to BBA Wallace but it's still Kyle Larson at the front he's been leading for 83 laps Kyle Larson in the hendrik cars.com Chevy continues to control this cookout Southern 500 as you we welcome you back we're at the beginning of stage two and as you've seen in each and every race here on NBC Sports this cup season we like to go embedded in the second stage and that's where We join Dave Burns Dave Lee we're with the 43 Legacy motor club crew today that's Eric Jones as a driver and I'm standing by with his Jackman Kellen Mills from Mesa Arizona how does an Arizona guy get into NASCAR well I'll tell you what first of all he's a tough guy because it was a walk-on at Arizona State that's the first question I want to ask you Ken what's it like being a walk- on and making your way into football that way yeah it's I'd say it's actually a lot like working yourself on to a NASCAR pit crew there's you got to kind of find a way to fit yourself in the situation and then just work really hard and hopefully things turn out right they've turned out well for you how's your situation tonight how are the 43 pit stops it's been a good day so far obviously it's a long race it's a really hard race so we're going to try make sure we keep the ball in Eric's hands and try to be it there at the end and have a good finish all right good luck to the rest of the way Kell Mills one of the stars for the 43 group Hardy Dave Brandon Johnson the Jack man for Kyle lson has a terrific story he was actually a running back at Pinn State and the backup for saquan Barkley in his fres freshman year he was actually going to make the Pittsburgh Steelers and got a concussion in the pre-season the guys who helped him through that none other than Le'Veon Bell and D'Angelo Williams who he is still very good friends with so he decided to stop playing football and try out NASCAR he said nothing gives me the thrill of football but NASCAR is pretty close to that it's like running a touchdown when you know it's on you as a jack man to be able to make the pit stop happen and Stevie said something funny to me he said you know what I'm so thankful for NASCAR because I can never work a 9 to-5 job I think that covers about most of the garage area that's what they love this why they love the sport so much I've been saying that for 30 years if I don't there's no chance I can handle going to the office every day I've been fortunate enough to work either in the garage or now in the booth now for 30 years Brandon Johnson I'm going to tell you the pictures they don't do him Justice when you walk up and down pet Road there was a point where it looked like a bunch of mechanics and over the last 15 years it is very clear it is athletes front to back just the physical stature of the Jackman and the fuelers the athleticism of the Changers it's an impressive lineup it looked like a bunch of mechanics because that's what it was you know and now they're specialized uh athletes and you know he he would really see a great battle right here you would see Josh Barry underneath Joey loano Joey giving that spot up yeah leg running 11 just a quiet night for legano but this is kind of signature Lano esque right that you hang around inside the top 50 for a couple stages and then figure it out at the end Pensky are always known for their kind of short run Sprint and I think we've had a lot of the green flag racing they're just kind of hanging in there but he has methodically crept his way forward because started 23rd for the longest time in stage one Joey and that sha Penzoil forward was kind of running around the high teens around 20th so for him to LEAP Froggy's way forward to 11th is a good step forward here's Marty quickly closing in on pit stops here in stage two another health update from Tyler reic listen clarify you're going to give me drink bottle bottle yes yes confirmed four not really sure where to go on balance right now think I don't know maybe leave it alone and see what the track does after that radio communication he said I'm just trying to take care of me inside the car Steve I did talk to Billy Scott just moments ago I said We Believe Martin TRX Jr is still here have you reached out to him he said we have not reached out to him yet but he would be the only consideration to put in the car and he made the same point you made Steve I'm just not sure he would fit in the seat plan a right now keep Tyler in the car until until he tells us he can't and I almost like that hey we're not going to put anybody else in it reck's our guy yeah and I know that's crazy in the big business of NASCAR but we we're going to ride or die he's our man and if he can't run if he's so physically ill he can't race we're going to park it and get ready for the playoff off and that sounds crazy but I don't know if I'm the driver I wonder if that wouldn't feel like a good support to think that you know the teams are going to do anything to give me an opportunity to compete pit stops a stting Kims there and Ryan bti electing to bring his driver in on the earlier side tan saying still too tight for fresh goodye tires sooco fuel as Joey Lano Mak Kim a moment ago Lee mentioned that Joey lano's kind of leap frogged his way through the field Paul wolf making a strategy call to come very early here on this window here in stage two Kim as you see Brad kaslowski making his stop under green flag conditions Brad said I could use a little bit more drive off and more turn as they complete a pit stop here for fresh Goodyear Tires entry night blad he said he just again needs more turn as Chase Elliott making his stop the last stop they made under green was a little bit slow taking four fresh good your tires chasing it's the best I've been all night but I still could have a little bit more turn in the car still plenty of activity on Pit Road Marty they're coming your way yeah here comes William Byron Rudy fugle told me this afternoon we've been good not great here at Darlington so we're bringing a completely different setup so far Byron says of that I'm going to need to turn a lot better as it gets into the night Dave buba Wallace back on Pit Road the car was good at the start of the run but then the radio from the driver was that the car is coming back to us so not a big change if any he will get four fresh Goodyear tires and fuel Marty [Music] so interesting Here Comes Denny Hamlin down Pit Road and Chris gabart playing it much more straight up in this run H said the car started a little bit too tight for him a little bit too free the longer he ran we expect Tyler Reit to come in the next lap and again more driver maintenance when he does come down Pit Road on board the final Larson yep down Pit Road Steve yeah there's Kyle Larson who again said the car has been so good for them they dominated here in the southern 500 tonight trying to win backto back races meanwhile Here Comes Tyler reic who once again wanted to clarify with Billy Scott what am I getting on this stop in terms of nourishment so they're going to hand on the bottle there goes the bottle inside the car that's a fresh water bottle and the B bottle with the medicine that he needs and wants Dave Chase Brisco the 14 car the guy that's been keeping the pressure on Kyle lson up front his car was going Freer at the end of that run needs an adjustment for that good stop by the crew nice work from the Stewart har group Chase Brisco serviced and sent and let's see what the rest of the night looks like for Tyler reading just battling those health issues can he hang in there he still leads the regular season Championship a lot of valuable bonus points on offer as Austin Dylan brings the Toys for Tots Chevy to Pit Road Dave Burns is there and he will come to the attention of the crew here again four tires there's not even a chance you'll take two here at Darlington because the track wears the tires so hard four and fuel for Dylan in trouble on the right rear once again we see another lug nut fall out of the socket the tire changer has to go find one you're looking at normally 9 second 9 and 1 half second pit stops that one 14.8 losing valuable time Dave Kyle buit Road in the eight car he's getting beat in a couple different places in the track been working with his spotter on how to take that on he'll get four tires and fuel as well now top of your screen we'll see Kellen Mills the Jackman and the rest of the 43 crew go to work for Eric Jones on that first stage Eric gained 10 positions we know he's good here a two-time winner and the car is just almost to the perfect balance for Jones Bush's stop is complete and he's back out and at it yeah Josh Barry I think is trying to get to the bottom to come to Pit Road he was trying to protect it busher was coming by that's exactly what's happening because now the four try to turn off the banking he was in there pretty deep I did a nice job of getting slowed down make Pit Road Kim Josh Barry's headed your wife yeah Josh Barry pitting from the lead earlier in the Run he said he was too loose but then that car it built tight he has to be freed up for this next run crew on the right side they'll put four fresh Goodyear Tires on that machine as well as sooko fuel looks like team service here for Josh Barry as he finished up and with the Overstock Fords service now things cycle back to the norm so to speak with Kyle Larson resuming the lead 3.8 seconds to the good over Chase Brisco reminding you that you can sign up for the NASCAR newsletter to stay up to speed on all the latest from the track and to get your chance to win two tickets to a 2025 race of your choice simply scan the QR code that you see on your screen visit nascar.com/racebuddy [Music] right now how did the playoff points look so far well Bubba after starting on poll in the US Air Force Toyota he's seven on the wrong side of the line Chris busher is seven to the good and this story you get the feeling it's just going to go all the way to the end can buba get that second appearance in the playoffs or is it going to be a heartbreaking story at the end of these 367 laps yeah Bubba did a great job ran second in stage one has slowly kind of Fallen back still okay running seventh currently which would be some stage points but you know very valuable he cannot afford to get passed here by Ty Gibbs well let's take a look at the Xfinity fastest lap and it belongs to the man on your screen and he did it on the second lap yeah clearly unloaded with a lot of speed this weekend sat on the pole but now as the sun has gone away and the track has changed it seems like they've lost a little bit they're not running poorly but they need a great night right and buer he seems to be getting a little bit better in regard to Pace compared to Bubba Wallace we're going to have to continue to work on this car it's going to change even more it it's this RAC trck is one of the most difficult RAC trcks to stay ahead of as that tip comes down on board the builds submarines decom Ford for RFK racings Chris busher let's go for a ride let's do a full lap of Martinville pardon me of Darlington [Music] [Music] drivers love this Racetrack and you can see why you got to use all of it one of the more challenging Parts oh you see Tod Gibbs underneath Bubba Wallace it's a tough pass right here things get really tight both those guys working well together I thought for sure you gave him the announcers curse right there they were going to go in and bang doors oh they're still not done as the fire comes out the pipes on the 23 yeah Ty just kind of slid up in front of you took that line away well this is what happens that fire out the pipes of the 23 now now you have the 16 of SVG kind of right on the rear bumper of Bubba Wallace Bubba is little bit under attack SVG has a little bit fresher tires about eight or nine laps and I me you see that's all it takes not for position but now one more car worth of dirty air in front of the 23 Ben van gisbergen had a great Drive yesterday in the Xfinity Series race going from the high 20s on the grid he got as high as sixth ultimately finished seventh so continues to build his oval learning experience Marty what you got Lee it's been fascinating to watch Ty Gibbs and bubble Wallace not so much work together I'm going to challenge that one Jeff because Ty has had some Choice words for bubble Wallace here in stage two and a moment ago he wanted to remind Tony Herman this is what I'm talking about listen in just like that right there he is not going to let us do that move I'm telling you you got to inch your way there I know it's frustrating deep breath get back in pick it that part here I put it at time it's all good running our race so he finally was able to pass bubble Wallace but jef we talked about it in the pre-race even for Tai Gibbs who was so jovial and happy and loved all of his competitors earlier in the race this is what Darlington does to you it makes you frustrated behind the wheel and oh by the way there's still 195 laps to go in the race well you go into the race oh little B of contact I don't think it's any big deal though but you into this race thinking okay I'm going to be smart I got to be aggressive but I got to be smart and then you catch somebody you're faster than they are and they don't let you go and it frustrates you but you see right here Ty Gibbs just trying to get every bit of speed he can just a little bit of contact but that's the kind of contact that's okay watch how it hits the whole right side the right rear actually hits first little bit of a nudge and then the right front kind of just touches it that's an okay hit when it hits the right front directly that's when you damage the race car but that should be okay ta Gibb said that his brilliant result earlier this year has boyed him it's given him so much more confidence for tonight's Southern 500 he finished just over a second behind BR Brad keslowski in second place and at the moment running in a solid seventh let's see which drivers are on the Move brought you by Ashley Furniture the 38 of Gillan all the way up running in the 15th position having a nice quiet night right now next to his teammate the 34 of McDow doing a nice job right in front of Gillan the 41 of Ryan priest you had mentioned shr the story about shutting down the upper management Jeff well priest currently in the uh 12th position running really well in this 41 quiet and if there's any track you want to have a quiet night Darlington is it let's see how high he can climb as Larson continues his domination of this race are we looking at a potential fifth win on the season for car number five Kyle Larson it sure looks so 123 laps LED thus far we've got 50 to go in the second stage here of the Southern 500 what a performance it has been smooth meanwhile things are hotting up here the battle for fourth Denny Hamlin in the 11 William Byron on the low line in the 24 here he comes Jeff you had mentioned the track now almost under complete darkness and it has shifted the cars that have Pace Larson Brisco still up front but William Byron another Chevrolet seems to be a little bit better than some of the Toyotas on this run is now he gets his way past the 11 of Hamlin 49 to go in this stage I expect Pit Stop to be in about maybe seven or eight laps going to be very important between the leaders who are only 610 apart who gets to Pit Road first the other thing that's happened Steve since it's gotten cooler the fall off on Tire tires have become less there's been less slowing down of the cars but you can see you talked about the change and here comes Brisco larsson's having trouble getting by syri and Brisco is just gaining a little bit of every lap the way that William Byron's Car has come to life certainly over the last 10 laps has been impressive he just blew by Tyler reic we know that Tyler is under the weather and check out this as the six is in keslowski is in yeah starting the green flag cycle early for fresh goodear Tire snow fuel Brad saying it's num in the center I feel like I'm overdriving the entry just need the car to turn better slight air pressure adjustment on that Ford Mustang check this out as lson struggles to get by Austin syri he's now got a full fight on his hands for the lead of this race as Chase Brisco in the 14 the high point forward is really applying the pressure as Brisco comes back Larson likes that now he has Centric between him and Brisco that will allow him run a clean one and two get himself a little breathing room four or five laps maybe less from a pit stop now if I'm Cliff Daniels I know I do not want Brisco to pit the lap before me that will be the lead one lap on newer tires will instantly be a lead frog on pit lanee and others are starting to pit so that's the sign it's getting ready to happen Kim with Chris buer you see the onboard camera from his stop for fresh Goodyear tires they just do not have the car that they need he was reporting still a little too tight Dave on that machine and they tried to call Chase Brisco to Pit Road but it was too late Bubba Wallace did come to Pit Road this time he said I've got just nothing there on this last run no grip all four corners so they'll change all four corners more fuel and send it back Marty Dave no Health updates on this run from Tyler reic but he did say to Billy Scott a moment ago I still have no idea where to tell you to go balance wise Billy said okay that's fine we're going to leave it like it is for this run right now so also in Kyle lson who for the first time tonight you guys talked about the swing and the racetrack said the car has gotten too tight for him and you saw that on the long run Dave Chase Brisco was going on the outside of uh Austin syndric that last time down the backstretch that's why he couldn't get to Pit Road with a late call from Richard Boswell but Boswell trying anything he can to give his driver the advantage one lap later now Chase Brisco comes to Pit Road he had been fairly good about that balance fairly happy with it as he'll get tires and fuel you see the 14 finishing up the left side William Byron on the bottom also leaving pit Lane it's going to be interesting to see oh you see it off the rear bumper of the five which means the five of lson hold serve battling Brisco some cars still yet to come to Pit Road but the five of L should maintain the lead through the cycle and let's watch to see if the 24 of William Byron continues to come to life there's Brisco at the back Cycles in just behind John Hunter neich and look at all the traffic though right just a little gap on Pit Road diff was a huge gap between the five of Larson leading this traffic and all the way back here for the 14 right four lap cars in between some extra work to do for Chase prisco 43 to go in stage two checking them off his list one at a time he can race his way into the playoffs with a win [Music] tonight it's been impressive Jeff he's been running at the front for the majority of this race yeah he's he loves this RAC track and they'll on top of that you know racing a guy like Kyle Larson who everybody believes is the best race car driver I believe the best race car driver in the world to be able to stay with him all night try to understand where do we need to be a little bit better that's confidence building sorry Jeff right behind the 14 of brisos that nine of Chase ellot you had mentioned he had gotten La they trying to run long to see if they can get a lucky yellow but you just see how slow the old tires are I mean it looks like they have a problem they don't even look like they're up their speed just so much less grip we're looking at well over two seconds slower for the nine we're waiting on not only Chase Elliot Steve but we're waiting on Austin Dylan Bush Barry and Denny Hamlin continuing this trend that he's done all night long of going off sequence from the others going off sequence from lson and Chase Brisco and Tyler reck the coke on board one more time if we review back to the first stage long first cycle hurt Hamlin long second cycle Advantage Hamlin so we'll have to just see how traffic works out the nine on Pit Road Kim yeah finishing up the stop here putting good sticker good years on there he just talked about how he has a hard time feeling the front of the race car in traffic so that front end just a little bit numb and again slow stops by the nine has been their playing tonight Dave Kyle Bush again cycled to the front again has to come to Pit Road not lose too much time to the others he'll pit for four tires and fuel here the Morgan and Morgan on board shows us Kyle on Pit Road and this is per the sequence similar to Hamlin I have to applaud drivers and crew it's been a very clean day on Pit Road we had a one penalty on Austin cyric but other than that pretty clean as now we see Hamlin this long strategy Marty we'll see if it pays off yes it's the group really with Chase Elliott Denny H and Kyle bus playing this long strategy Chris gabart making the call once again and as the track has shifted here Hamin said his car has gotten much better here 38 to go and gabart reminded him Kim you'll have a tire Advantage once you cycle out crew chief Rodney chers has elected to keep Josh Barry out on the longer runs during these green flag Cycles joshh Barry just reporting it's just a little bit on the tight side in traffic but otherwise good clean air they're going to put fresh good years on and take a drink of Soo Fu on that board Mustang mention Rodney chers the crew chief he's won three times here at Darlington with Kevin Harvick behind the wheel what can Josh Barry do tonight in the Overstock number four 37 to go in stage two LaRon 1.6 seconds ahead of Brisco Bella further three seconds back then William Byron now inside the top five Tyler reck running Fifth and hanging tough ill not well but still in the top five who may put their image and name in this the tunnel and the list of Champions champions walk here at Darlington [Music] Raceway I just love being behind the wheel of a race car I want to be the best race car driver in the world someday oh my God guys yes unbelievable you guys are the best the start here it's everybody that's won a championship Terry Jimmy Chase and you made it you made it man you're on my wall whether it's in a NASCAR cup series car an indie car at the Indianapolis 500 a a Sprint car Marty whether it's on asphalt or dirt this guy is phenomenal he certainly is Lee and Kyle lson has done his job tonight but the pick crew has also done their job including Blaine Anderson his front tire changer they gave him the lead on the first green flag stops of the night and he has controlled the race since then and Blaine was a football player at Alabama actually walked on for Coach Sabin and these shots are from the 2015 national championship game he was a safety and also a special teams player I asked him the number one lesson you learned from from Nick Sabin he said honestly discipline I said with what he said with everything no doubt about it but he gives credit to Scott Cochran who he tells me is the most famous strength coach in college football Dave he said he's the one who told me try NASCAR for your football career and he's still here all these years later well Marty you know where to go if you're researching famous people and things about them well if you were looking up stuff on Eric Jones you might go to Wikipedia and you'd see that one of his nicknames is that Jones boy that Jones boy where did that come from well it came from the legendary and late Ken Squire and it happened right here at Darlington Raceway a couple years ago well we're ready for a start for the second segment coming to the line lson there with true act Hamlin then keslowski in the second row and then it's that Jones boy in the number 77 running fifth that's right thanks to Ken Squire that Jones boy is Eric Jones two-time Darlington winner and Lee last November we lost Ken Squire to a battle with cancer we loved having him around loved having him call stage two here with Petty and Jared and that legendary voice and he gave him the nickname Eric Jones that Jones boy and it will stick around forever Dave that's for sure as Eric is in 17th at the moment trying to Edge his way a little further forward and it's a a fellow New Englander the highlight of my nine going on 10 years in television is with Ken Squire threw it back to Jeff and myself and called our names out Jeff I felt like we had like gone back 20 years I mean that is the voice I grew up listening to Owned forever a racetrack up in Vermont Barry Vermont Thunder Road I went there so much as a kid it was so special having k a part of these broadcasts his voice brought racing to so many people and it made you understand it he made you love it you could you could feel his passion in when he spoke about it he did he did a a lot of great things for this sport look at this fight going on just outside the top 10 Josh Barry and Joey [Music] Lano with Ryan priest not too far away either yeah a whole group of Fords here Barry legano priest to shr Fords one team Pensky priest got to the outside of the 22 did a really nice job clearing the 22 right behind them the 38 of gillin I tell you Todd gillin returning to front row I think that's a great decision for this organization every week you know I think he continues to ascend the ladder now they're small rungs Jeff but going the right direction continues to get better as now Kyle Bush is going to put gilland under attack Kyle Bush was one of those cars that pitted a little bit later and those eight laap fresher tires now working as he's driven up to 14 with 24 to go I think he can get all the way inside the top 10 yeah Kyle Bush and and and Austin Dylan both over the last month three weeks they're showing light I mean everybody had RCR pretty much counted out they really didn't show much speed at all but it's starting to happen for this team it's a little maybe too late for this year we'll see maybe Kyle Busch can win this race tonight and get himself in the playoffs but certainly an impressive forward momentum for them lately so that's 13th in the Morgan and Morgan Chevy as he goes past Joey lagano he's following in the footsteps of Denny Hamlin who's up to seven so let's get an update on somebody hopeful of making the playoffs and that is track house racings number one of Ross Chastain Kim and Lee he currently runs in the 16th position and this afternoon I asked kief Phil surgeon what's in your toolbx for tonight and he told me it will all come down to how the first part of the race goes who's having a good night and who's not well this team did not score stage points in the first stage they are not in position to score stage points in this stage so it looks like it is a must-win situation in the final stage here tonight and so Phil told me if we are in a position where we have to win we will throw a Hail Mary in the final stage so Steve we think about Darlington as relatively straightforward we know how much tires mean what does a Hail Mary strategy wise look like in the final stage of the Southern 500 well the only thing I can assume is opposite of the field I expect the field to pit twice in the final stage pitting only once I think is not very advantageous you're out there slipping and sliding on Old Tires but math says that there's a chance you can pit an extra time actually pit three times because the third stage is longer keep the one on Fresh tires and see if you could try to overcome the Gap well we've seen Ross do some pretty wild things in the past let's take you back to Martinsville 2022 this move by the way is now now no longer allowed but it was spectacular to say least an objective achieved still in person one of the craziest things I've ever seen I mean it didn't look real out of the window and it just shows you the the will of athletes and and what he was willing to do on that afternoon it kind of shocked the whole racing world yeah really cool scheme on this car somewhat of a throwback with the bush machine for Ross Chastain the cookout Southern 500 continues and how far can he go he being Denny Hamlin in this 11 for Joe Gibbs Racing he has worked his way forward to fourth now with six laap pressure tires and the race leader Kyle Lawson well it's running basically in the fifth position with the green flag cycle started many laps ago he has used those brand new or fresher tires to drive all the way up to Fourth as you pointed out you see all the traffic in front of him that's the challenge math says he should get the third no problem which is William Byron Brisco and Larson though is out there about 6 seconds it's going to be difficult to work through traffic but he still has 13 laps in this stage check this out from a few moments ago Tyler reic in the 45 it just gets a little high does a nice job of giving up the positions and making sure he keeps the car safe that's the key those are those moments you're going to have many of them throughout the night you just have to kind of understand you're in the bad position here's Hamlin L using those new tires this is going to be a lot of fun for a driver Jeff to be able to have this big of an advantage oh it's so much fun trying to slice through the field they're telling you where the leader is we'll see if you can get him well there's William Byron just ahead of Cory lejoy he's not that far he's less than a second there he is right there oh yeah William Byron is not going to be an issue at all for the 11 Oh I thought he was going to clear the seven oh he does just way more speed than the 24 still about 7 and a half seconds behind the leader Marty long way to go for Denny Hamlin if he wants to win the stage but Chris gabart reminded him a moment ago listen your tires eight laap fresher than everybody you're running around right now and just like in the spring Steve when the leaders caught the tail into the field or they were in lap traffic like they are right now they were able to make passes within the field Denny Hamlin knew that from Chris gabart this afternoon one the final things he told him before they took the green today here he is trying to get another spot he may not get the stage win but Steve would you play this longer run strategy if for Chris Gart in stage three well he's stuck to it for the first two stages I can't imagine he would go away from it now the question is how does he get longer than everyone else you know people may migrate to his strategy that's the challenge when you have so much conviction as Chris gabart you kind of show your hand both stages that longer second or excuse me longer final stage I think you got to be very careful how you break it up cuz if you get a little too greedy early next thing you know you have 55 laps in front of you for yes and and you know we haven't got to that Cliff but it's coming you know these tires only have 36 Laps on them Jeff what happens at lap 40 45 50 somewhere out there there could be another huge speed loss well that's right and they don't all drop off at the same right some cars will fall off really quickly and then another car will go four or five laps longer stage two winners last three races here at Darlington by the way Denny continues to rack up the impressive numbers here by Leading 15 laps here tonight including tonight's race means he has led at least a lap in the last 10 consecutive races here at Darlington that's so impressive those are the kind of stats as a race C driver that really means something to you because you know how difficult this racetrack is and your peers look up to you you know they know that as well what else is impressive is this pace out of the 24 I thought it was going to be easy work for Hamlin but since they both clear traffic William Byron's Car has really come to life now H throw it down to the inside a little touch loosens up the 24 and Hamlin's by oh I don't think William Byron's going to love that on the r I knew he would you know he knew he had to fight the 11 off but aggressive for stage two I think this goes back to that engine penalty I think Denny is driving with just a little bit more ferocity because he feels like he has given up so much yeah Denny just up the RAC trck into the left rear quarter panel if you're William Barron you're like what the what the heck man like I'm up against the wall what do you want me to do so the margin with just six laps to go is 6 and a half seconds to race leader Kyle lson lson 1.8 seconds over Brisco and then a a healthy ER Gap back to Hamlin in the 11 up to third remember six laps fresher tires is that going to pay off over these closing Five laps we'll see keep your eye on the difference between lson and Hamlin 6.3 seconds and Larson still battling with sarez it seems like we've seen this now multiple times in this race the 99 of Suarez last car on the lead lap once again continues the battle the five and he's going to put it right up against the wall and that momentum makes it so difficult for the five to pass especially on Old Tires know newer tires you can kind of get a little bit of the power down but at this point I think Lawson at this point with no pressure from behind is like okay I'm not going to fight you here I'm not going to get myself in trouble and I think that's a wise decision absolutely Brisco is about a second and a half behind well our main focus and understandably so is on the playoff points structure and who's going to make it and who doesn't three laps to go in this second stage remember mle Larson has determined to win the regular season and he started this Southern 517 points back from Tyler reic he shaved that down fell is down to eight now and leading to 163 laps while doing it so not only gaining points but asserting himself as the dominant car from the sunshine Into the Dark Yet continues to lead Hamlin's making inroads but he's going to run out of time and run out of laps in this second stage but it's been pretty impressive he is but remember that final stage is 20 so laps maybe a few more than 20 laps longer so you know the long run cars going to be tested even more I love this view I could ride on the roof of Hamlin when he just so precise around here final lap of this second stage and the pilot of the Hendrick cars.com Chevy for hendrik Motorsports one stage one in Vegas one stage two in Vegas and drove all the way to Victory Lane in Vegas in just the third round of this 2024 Cup Series championship is that an omen for tonight here in the southern 500 nobody has really been close Chase Brisco yes but Kyle Larson in control stage two Victory 10 stage win of this year what an impressive run thus far Brisco follows him in second Hamlin up to third Byron and bell for Tyler reck who is trying to hang tough he has drifted back to eightth at the end of this second stage it is a tough night everybody knew it would be in the southern 500 and they're all chasing Kyle [Music] lson no prizes for guessing who has garnered the most points this evening Kyle lson but there's a quick snapshot for you at who has done the best through the first two stages of this cookout Southern 500 been a really good night for Chase Brisco Denny Hamlin fighting his way forward as well busher with the one point all right pit roads about to get super busy as you saw the top two head there they go Hamlin William Byron Marty they're coming your way boy Lee yeah you're right what a dominant performance for the five team tonight Kyle lson said at the end of The Run he had a little bit of an uneasy feeling and then Cliff Daniels said something very interesting we looked at the adjustments that the 24 made on the last stop we're going to copy that on this stop meanwhile Denny Hamlin made it up to 30 said that was the freest the car had been all evening long an adjustment coming for the 11 Dave CHR Bell finished fifth in that stage Chase Brisco second Brisco said for the long run I need R grip I cannnot be any tighter in the front the driver of the 20 said going loose with labs and that started pretty early he'll get adjustments well four tires Lee watch the race off Pit Road watching thanks Dave here it is Hamlin grabb one nice work pretty stable there Bubba Wallace grabbed one as well Tyler reic trying to hang on and hang t and that's the way it's been since 1950 this place oozes history and if your name is on the winner's list that is truly special what a sight it is at night Darlington Raceway and the Labor Day tradition that is the southern 500 and I want to remind you that as NASCAR gears up for the home stretch Power Ball is back again with its own version of NASCAR playoff last year Stephanie Walker of West Point Mississippi was the $1 million winner at Phoenix Raceway congratulations to these 16 Lottery players locked in through their state lottery for the chance to win $1 million follow along as we will reveal the four players who will win a VIP trip to the Nascar championship weekend and an entry into the $1 million draw Power Ball the official lottery game of NASCAR so we were fortunate enough to have the seven time champ with us on the broadcast last weekend and Dav has found Jimmy Johnson here tonight as well and Lee so good to have access to Legacy motor club this weekend in the 43 car and the seven time champ and the three-time Darlington winner and it was going so well for Eric he was making forward progress but now we've had some things happening with Eric's Car what's going on we're not quite sure yet so unfortunate turn of events just before the stage ended uh it seemed like there's something going wrong with with the steering maybe in the left front we got those wheels and tires off nothing glaring there everything looked fine new wheels and tires go on and still have an issue with the steering so um this is one of those moments where I'm glad I'm sitting here and I'm not the guy in the car when the steering does whatever it's going to here at some point well you know on the box not in the 84 car this weekend for one of your starts uh this this year what do you like to do how do you like to be involved what do you like to provide on a race basis here I have so little time on a pit box watching that I'm just taking it all in and trying to understand trying to understand the communication between uh driver spotter forw Chief watching our pit crew do their great work over the wall so really just observing right now because it is still so new to me the view is so different right cuz you want to contribute and you were a driver for so long but it's so different there's different stuff you can pick up it is so different it's very helpless um when you're in the car you have such a better understanding of what's going on connected to the performance of the car it is very confusing and and very just sitting on the B box watching all right taking notes is the co-owner of Legacy motor club going to get some uh ideas for next time they get together and talk about it Marty Dave want to give a quick health update on Tyler reic and what a gutty performance it has been for the driver of the 45 so far this evening under that last stop he did ask for more medicine to be mixed up in a water bottle they were able to hand him that medicine and the interesting point Jeff he made is he said it felt like the medicine that he got in stage to number one helped him but number two was wearing off towards the end of the stage stage three much longer so how much can Tyler RE stand tonight and can he make it all the way to the end oh I think he'll make it to the end I mean he's you know he's much passed halfway in this race and emotionally Steve that means hey we're I'm making it I'm going to be all right I agree and I you know the adrenaline of the potential opportunity to win when we come back to green here to start stage three we're going to listen inside the five team let get ready to go stage three of the Southern 500 let's do it I'll roll here still roll you have no help here still tight still tight still tight here still tight all the way bottom Lane still tight still tight inside still tight to you still very tight still there just shooting him still there still there still just shooting him still there still there TI [Applause] quarter still there quarter tight clear clear clear that's the voice of Tyler M you saw him there the spotter for the five of Kyle lson who is not only spotting for him here in the southern 500 he had the honor of spotting for his driver at the Indianapolis 500 this year when Kyle did the double or attempted to do the double of course weather interrupted it at charlot Motor Speedway but Tyler told me this afternoon that was one of the biggest Thrills of his life being the regular spotter here and going to India and doing that for Kyle oh I can only imagine Kyle Larson loved the opportunity as a spotter you have to love the opportunity as well little bit of challenge here for the 20th Bell though we were watching that battle at the front Barry gets into the left side of bell gets up into the wall damage to the left and the right side of the 20 we seen a lot of this tonight drivers just getting into the door of the guy on the outside in the middle of one and two and put them in a bad position a lot of drivers going to be upset here we are in the final stage 241 laps complete 127 to go and if you look at the bottom left right here six points between Chris buser and Bubba Wallace six points between the opportunity to race for the championship or no opportunity when the playoff field is set that's assuming lson wins the race a Brisco win moves everything but right now Larson's so dominant I think if you're the 23 and the 17 it has come down to simple math equation every position on the racetrack is a point so the 23 runs eighth the 17 runs 13th that means that 23 car needs to move up six hope Bucher loses six a fascinating final stage it sure will 126 to go in this it's lson Chase Brisco Denny Hamlin William Byron Tyler reick hanging tough as Marty continues to update us on what has been happening medically there with Tyler reic and then Ty Gibbs narrowly avoided that moment earlier yeah you see Christopher Bell trying to take the fight to Bubba Wallace here but I wonder if Christopher Bell's C didn't have a little bit of damage on the right side that inci you know the the four Barry just ran him into the wall see the lettering is off the left front tire oh the right side has damage Bel just never got to get far enough away from the wall for you to see it Jeff he's going to keep it hidden there you go no good years on the right side turning in there as well I know what there's smoke flying out of that helmet I mean that just gets you so angry and you'll remember it when get around that guy that did that to you you're not going to cut him any slack I think the left front I want to say it was starting to look a little slack like it potentially was losing some air almost could see a wrinkle on it maybe have dreaming just keeping you updated as far as the regular season Championship is concern Kyle Larson has overtaken Tyler reic and leads the regular season by a single solitary point I tell you what Chase Brisco he took the fight to Kyle ARS on that restart I thought he almost got it from him Chase Brisco is hungry and he has been he has so much to gain tonight winning this race versus Kyle lson he's willing to do things that Kyle may not be willing to do let's talk more about the 14 here's da burns his crew chief Richard Boswell just got on the radio to him after that restart and said okay keep him within Striking Distance you know how he've been on green flag stops I thinking that is not maybe as good as the five but just keep it within Striking Distance he's right there chases one here in spectacular fashion in Xfinity series competition however he said I kind of like the I kind of like this comment he said whether this is in the playoffs the southern 500 or it isn't he said this is one of NASCAR's crown jewels I just want to win the thing everybody Steve everybody wants to win the southern 500 it is you know the Daytona 500 the southern 500 Coca-Cola 600 must wins and I think this one's a little bit of a driver race you know it's like every car is slipping and sliding some are faster than the others but anyone who competes in it just realizes the challenge of trying to run 500 miles around here and and I think there's some mutual respect in the garage area not not as much specifically about the fan base but within the garage crew chiefs drivers Engineers if you can you know know put a southern 500 trophy in your trophy case I think it kind of raises your Notch I mentioned a moment ago about his Infinity Series win here at Darlington let's remind you what it looked like because it was spectacular great battle watch this I mean just such an intensive race intense race remember you got remember that you know Brisco wasn't real sure where his future was going you know all most of these drivers have had a a point in their career where they didn't know what was going to happen and a moment happened a win happened a you got a lucky break and you went on and you just never know what's going to where your career is going to go [Music] and for those Stuart H cars running with Brisco in second Josh Barry just rebounding wonderfully so after that huge moment in Daytona last week Barry runs in sixth Ryan priest running in the top 15 just behind Ross Chastain and ahead of Todd Gillan how far can he go Kyle Lawson is edging closer and closer to Leading 200 laps in this Southern 500 he's up to 190 already in a dominant display now Under The Lights here at Darlington Raceway It Was a Race that started with a little bit of a bang a big bang in fact on the second lap Martin Truex Jr gets out of shape and pro Ryan blay was in the wrong place at the wrong time both out of the race pretty much as soon as it had started however there is somewhat of a silver lining in this for Martin Truex Jr as we show you the updated playoff standing stev's highlighting it there with the telestrator Truex purely because of where we are in the duration of this race with Stage points in stage one and two having come and gone Martin is locked into the 2024 playoffs yeah and this being his last full-time season you know I I'm indifferent on who has great runs and who doesn't I just hope for great racing but when you see somebody like Trux and this career that he's had and the way he's carried himself in the sport I think we're you know I was hoping that he would be in I want to see him make a run at the championship I hope that he wins at least one more race I want to see I want to see a race win in this final full-time season for the f f for Johnny Morris for Jo Gibs Racing for everybody around him for Martin I think he's he's had such a great career he if you can earn such a right I think he has unfortunately the racing gods don't care you're going to have to go earn it on the racetrack when that's what makes racing so beautiful is when you line up on the grid it doesn't matter if you've won zero races or 63 races your opportunity in front of you is the same you have to make it happen since the stage three restart Tyler reck has has hung tough and rebounded somewhat he's up three positions to be back running in the top five as we take you back just a few moments ago Shane Van gisbergen and John H check this out SVG on the low line seen a lot of cars make contact right here I think SVG was expecting John Hunter to be a little bit closer to the wall which I think it's fair for him to expect nor the guy on the outside will be out by the wall now we've seen multiple s where it didn't matter the guy was out by the wall they they've been run into but in that case I feel like he was just expecting a little more space and Def we're kind of getting to a little bit of a fork in the road right here lap 261 if you break down this final stage you do a little math you expect to pit a couple times you're going to come around lap 270 and maybe around lap 315 or 320 but there is this outside chance we talked about the potential you know what's a Hail Mary the one said would do something crazy well I think option A and what most will do will be pit twice as I just mentioned option b is you pit three times which means you're probably going to be on Pit Road to like lap 267 268 the crazy strategy what I think is the scariest strategy is not pit till almost all the way to lap 300 that put you out there on old tires for a long time now a timely yellow it's like what's you know that Powerball playoff you be hitting the lottery ticket with a yellow the Morgan Morgan onboard shot hey Marty I know that you've been following the radio on the 11 and you're monitoring the progress of Denny Hamlin what do you think they're going to do they're going to follow soup what they've been doing for the for the early part of the night yeah if I just asked Chris gabart that question a moment ago I said do you think the running long strategy will pay off and he said yes I do think it'll pay off and he reminded Denny Hamlin of that a moment ago listen time to be all in when he gets in front of the 14 you'll have to I'm doing the best I can I got it just my job Steve the first part of that was it's not time to be all in yet that's code from Chris gabart to Denny Hamlin to say hey you're still conserving your stuff in this run that leads me to believe that yes indeed they will play that long strategy like they've done all night long here in safe three all night long and kind of their signature I mean look at their best average finish here in 8.3 24 starts you mentioned that diff that he just has completed all the laps hasn't really had any issues no dnfs no dnfs where it's a track where you can have some like slugfest to finish you know it'd be easy to get turned into the wall on one of these green white Checkers or these crazy races so no dnfs is so impressive and I mean their signature is normally long and if anyone can take care of rear tires it's Denny Hamlin remember that win back in Bristol when the tires were just disintegrating off these race cars who made it last the 11 of Hamlin by the way good year tells me the same tires will be at Bristol when we were there soon in the playoffs exciting times thing about favorites is they're only your favorite until a new favorite tell us your old favorite to beat it introducing the allnew Sonic masterash so good it's about to be your next new favorite yo I'm not a big fan of change but I'm willing to try it I got to tell people about this [Music] yo the all new Sonic Smasher live free eat Sonic valine restore and protect a first ofit kind Innovation that returns Pistons to factory clean by removing up to 100% of deposits restore your engine to perform like new restore and protect another first from Valene it's pod's biggest sale of the summer save up to 25% on moving and storage for a limited time and see why pods has been trusted with over 6 million moves but but don't wait use promo code big 25 to save visit pods.com today dude you looking ice cold you look ice cold bro guys somebody's coming somebody's coming let's do it you drink [Music] dude are you crying with so much great entertainment out there wouldn't it be easier if you could find what you want all in one place my favorites [Music] welcome to the land of the free where we pledge allegiance to the flag salute the heroes of old and raise a cup to the new Gladiators who dare take on the last great Coliseum the Bass Pro Shops night race NASCAR weekend returns to Bristol Motor Speedway September 19th through 21st get a weekend package and see Dale Jr race on Friday there's no place like Bristol it's not just a race it's Bristol baby and green flag stops have started here at Darlington team showing their hand Ros Chastain finishing up his stop we talked about that Hail Mary Phil surgeon talked about they're going to stop three times this final stage Brad Kowski also in will stop three times that six car just a little numb felt like he had NOA on the front end of the car was his report and remember we three times it's not because of sooco fuel you can run over 70 Laps on fuel you just don't want to try to run these Goodyear Tires more than 50 laps so to try to think only one more stop I think would just be asking too much by the way 12 sets of good years for this Southern 500 how do you use them how do you look after them all part of the overall and overarching management race management strategy here's Ty Gibbs in in the monster Toyota yeah Lee we talked about how there would be the race within the race so this is Chris Gale answering what Phil surgeon did a moment ago remember all of these drivers around the cut line right now where Ty Gibbs is feels pretty comfortable above the cut line but he's just covering what the one had done on the last stop coming in the lap before he's coming for four fresh Goodyear Tires Tony hman constantly reminding his driver Ty Gibbs take care of the right side of the car we're truly racing ourselves tonight it's Chase Brisco been a great night for him Dave and a win is still on the cards if he can do anything about Lon and keep Hamlin at Bay as well Lee he might have tapped the wall just a minute ago uh but the car has been just so so loose he's been encouraged by his crew to keep fighting for us we'll fix you up on this top you can see the mark on the right R quarter panel well that could have come from earlier as well it is Darlington after all but KW going to work now trying to hold their position here as Marty we see the five of Larson on Pit Road yeah Kyle Larson coming down Pit Road he saw Michael mcow who did it way earlier in this stage coming behind him and he said is that for position behind me and they said no don't worry about that McDow is a couple of laps down now we'll see where Larson cycled out this crew has just been outstanding all night long Lee another slick efficient stop from the five crew this night could not be going any better for Kyle Larson who has led 207 laps of the Southern 500 and now this is this game of the toris the hair the game of Leap Frog 14 pits lap later the five pits then Danny Hamlin when will he come so as we see the five Le Pit Road here comes the 14 down the front stretch into turn one he's going to have a ton of pace up the banking of one and two the question is will the five be able to get off from the corner in front of him he will and he will relatively easily to be quite honest a great job by Kyle Larson on and off Pit Road to stay out in front of the 14 even with the 14 coming a lap earlier so now we wait and watch this has been kind of one of the ongoing story lines of how long will the 11 of Hamlin go when will he come in and what advantage will it pay two other cars we want to keep him eye on and that's right here bubble Wallace and Chris busher remember that's the battle for the final spot Bubba Wallace needs to beat Chris busher assuming no new winner by 12 spots that's the math it's as simple as that he has to find positions so while we talk about Hail Mary's to win the race berer should just be chasing the 23 whenever he pits just come with him watch what happened to Chris busher just a few moments ago boom into the wall that was the entrance of turn three now busher on to Pit Road Kim sa and they're reminding make no mistakes do not speed on this stop the crew to the right side Chris fired up just a little bit free on this run but he said do not tighten it up they'll take four fresh Goodyear tires and sooko fuel under and the guy he's fighting to make the playoffs just saw his teammate and one of his team bosses go blowing on by Bubba Wallace and Brad keslowski so interesting move by the 23 running long remember a yellow right now it would be a pit of the stomach feel for Chris busher because Wallace hasn't pitted yet he's on the lead lap now he's losing time this is that run long strategy that we see Hamlin kind of work out but I I don't hate this move by the 23 cuz I don't see 12 positions available as good as the 17 is so now that the 17 pitted he pitted first if you're crew chief in the 23 are you now saying we have to run long I think I think because they beat me to Pit Road they kind of flipped over my cards for me and I said oh man well now what I need you to do is run long we're going to chase and if you're going to chase anybody I'd follow whatever the strategy is the guy that owns the team so since Denny hanlin's long I would jump on that train there has only been one caution for on track activity and that was on the second lab with Martin TRX J and Ryan blay the other two are for the stage breaks here we go Hamlin's answering our question and our query and William Byron's following him in both got the Pit Road clean that's the first challenge Right Here and Now Marty it's up to the pit crew they don't need the perfect stop just a solid four tires and here's the interesting part Steve Rudy Fugal has now flipped to the strategy that Chris gabart has played all night long and these two cars as you will see just one pick stall apart William has a little more trouble getting into his stall Den he Hamlin so this C's a little bit too free the longer he goes and William Byron has been so good on the long run tonight but a little bit too free at the end of that run and Hamlin on the 11 team gaining a good bit of an advantage over the 24 on that stop now the race win will be between these two and the five of Larson now I expect Larsson to definitely jump in front of the five we'll just have to or excuse me the five in front of the 11 we just have to see how the new tires pay off Bubba Wallace Jeff now comes to Pit Road as well Dave and before the cycle started Steve Bubba had only picked up one spot on on the track so you got to do something different right so I think that's why they switched strategies here and went to the one that Denny hlin and others were running as well one lap later Bubba Wallace comes to Pit Road expecting his pit Pro to do a quick stop for him maybe a little bit of a change but really no complaint from the driver on the balance perhaps just keeping up with the track two tires on here come the other two fuel going in Christopher Bell on Pit Road as well busy Pit Road Decisions by crew chiefs let's set the stage for the win five of Larson still a pit stop to go a little bit fresher tires about six laps on Denny Hamlin huge gap but a huge Advantage can the 11 chase down the five car it's nearly a half a lap but almost six or seven T six or seven t0 of a second faster every lap on the newer tires this is the Ergo smart base from temper Pedic and it responds to snoring so you don't have to so no more nudging your partner or sleeping on the other side of the house because the temper Ergo smart base actually detects snoring then automatically adjusts to help reduce it all night every night don't miss our biggest sale of the year with savings up to $700 on select adjustable mattress sets and experience the deep undisturbed rest of Temperpedic learn more at Temperpedic tocom simple shopping that's all I want I just want things to be fast and easy yeah join the club I want it here already the baby no our groceries I wish we could get S day delivery yeah join the club and free curbside pickup would be nice you know stay in my car they bring it to me yeah join the club yeah join the club and get free curbside pickup we bring it to you see she brings it to me club members now get free curbside pickup on qualifying orders $50 or more the barn bar the County's best hangout just got better here's the living smooth with the always smooth easy drinking Keystone Light all the parts you need at the prices you want guaranteed to fit every time so you can keep your rid or die alive we now return to our interview with the insurance whistleblower I just think everyone should know there's an insurance company out there exposing other companies rates so you can compare them and save H sounds like trouble it's great actually it's called auto quote Explorer from Progressive here look see we show you our direct rates and their rates even if we're not the lowest so whistleblower usually means you're exposing something bad I thought I meant calling attention to something helpful you know like to check it out this thing's the best no after an unforgettable bash in Berlin the aftermath is historic on wrong welcome to Monday Night Raw raw Monday at 8 only on USA how far would you go to win it all I was going to pych for water from the producers of the Traders and the circle comes a game where real life perception came here to win meets online deception more fake ass USA's the anonymous new episodes Mondays at 11 Kyle Larson leads this race as he has been doing for 213 laps in the southern 500 he leads the regular season Championship points and he's got a bunch maximized the playoff Point situation it's been a positive night too for Ty Gibbs Marty as you see on the bubble points there he's 46 points to the good and he's worked his way up into the top three yeah Ty Gibbs and Chris Gale have managed this race terrific Al They pitted a little bit earlier in this cycle than everyone else did again kind of answering the call that Phil sergeon and Ross Chastain made and that got them some track position Gibbs so far in third and so far in the playoffs Kim and Chris berer also in the playoff picture that last spot as it runs plus n he currently is in the 14th position and I asked the team kind of what their thoughts were headed into this race and they said we didn't even want to be in this position this season has been so frustrating with near wind their goal just make it through tonight make the playoffs then they'll treat it as a reset Dave they feel like they can do a lot of damage if they make the playoffs Bubba Wallace's crew chief booty Barker told me today if you're not prepared when you get here you can't catch up at Darlington well Bubba Wallace was prepared sat on the pole and led laps early but this driver has uh lost a bit of the pace here mid race it's going to be hard to get back he's got to get that distance between himself and bercher a lot larger Kim and currently Ross chain outside to play picture but runs the best he has all night in the fifth position due to strategy we talked about the hail meley Phil surgeon played here likely stopping three times this final stage and how do they find themselves in this position well they have not earned enough stage points this season compared to what they did last season last season at this point 148 stage points 72 fewer stage points have been earned this season that is a huge gap continued here tonight they did not earn stage points and that's what has put them in the position to have to try to throw this Hail Mary get a win and find themselves in the title hunt yeah coming into tonight it's a great Point Kim no stage points in six of the last seven races for Ross Chastain but he's gone from 22nd up to fifth but Jeff Stevie slightly off strategy to those guys that he's surrounded by yeah he really is and when we look at the busher Wallace battle I think the big challenge for buba Wallace is yes he's out run busher most of the night or all night but you know there's only currently there's only 19 cars on the lead lab busher is running 14th as long as buer stays in the lead lap and has you know he's got to keep reasonable face not have a bad night he can probably get done what he needs to get done yeah if I'm the 17 right now Chris Bucher and Scott Graves I am clearly just racing the 23 car I can't catch Gibbs I'm just trying to cover the 23 and cheer on Larson or Hamlin or somebody that's already won a race you can't have a new winner oh 66 slow on the track problems for Timmy Hill and he'll be able to get to a safe spot yeah he's all the way at the bottom oh look at this big stack up here 10 of Noah greggson 38 of Gillan 38 as the freshest tires of the group really just off Pit Road he's in the 15th position let's have a look at what just went down with these guys Greg on the low line syrix in there Gillan goes high right across the front of Eric Jones that was a lucky Escape only 70 laps to go in the cookout Southern 500 here at Darlington Raceway and this is the driver in the car that has been in total control for almost the entire way poit Bubba Wallace and playoff hope for Bubba Wallace led the opening 37 laps but then slipped back and as soon as Kyle lson got in front it was Lookout pretty much lights out whenever he's LED more than 200 laps he has a 30% conversion rate of winning pretty successful and it's looking like that to defend his Southern 500 win of a year ago and the split road maps are slowly coming back together the 11 of Danny Hamlin came out of Pit Road well over 10 seconds seconds back almost 13 to be quite honest now he's got it down to 5 Seconds back and now he's working past Brisco and I think this is when this strategy of running along get difficult because he's better than the 14 he has better tires but you kind of have to like dispose of him if you get stuck in that air for a couple extra laps it just really put you in a bad spot Hamlet knows it he's working all he can this is a good run right here good run here that's still not quite good enough what he needs is for Risco to run that bot Lane and three and four Risco to the top that forces Hamlin go to the bottom jakar just does not rotate like it needs to in the middle good for momentum here side by side with him Denny Hamlin on the inside of Chase Brisco and has continued this alternate strategy come from behind charge back up through the field to second place so we're around lap 300 there's this is kind of a point in the road for the the one and the 54 who I think are pitting in extra time if that is true we're going to need to see them in the next two or three laps for the math to work out for Hamlin and Larson we're about 15 to 20 laps from their pit stop so the question is very simple 4.6 seconds does Hamlin run Larson down before they come to Pit Road again that's kind of like the first demarcation point where you can kind of start grading the strategies enjoying the ride around Darlington Raceway with Denny think about next week can you imagine kicking off the playoffs at Atlanta I mean it's going to be these playoffs stff with Atlanta and Watkins Glenn the roal tallad these first two rounds have I think the the most roller coaster potential right we could have moments wrecks anything could change kind of the complexion of these playoffs here's RC's Kyle Bush he after that Thriller Last Week in Daytona where Harrison Burton W narrowly ahead of this man here that we're looking back at from Chris Bush's car he needed and still needs a win to get in but that's getting increasingly more difficult as Kyle Bush runs in 16th Place not only that but he's for 19 straight Seasons he's won to win he he has won a race and for a guy like Kyle bus that's accustomed to winning this has been a very difficult year and Dave he does not want that streak to end no he does not and he does he'd like a car to get a little bit better but he says it's okay tight meaning it won't steer a little bit but that is good but then it just goes loose goes loose at the longer the Run goes on so haven't been able to quite fix that for Kyle Busch tonight uh another win here at Darlington looks far Out Of Reach Marty Dave at 231 laps LED and Counting there have been very few cracks in the armor for Kyle lson tonight but the handling not quite as good on the five car listen in I could maybe a little biter when you can W the top of the wall off of four that was a really good pocket for Speed and I think you have to turn well enough to be able to do that it'll be very small the next I've benefited with clean air here too so traing up tighter so with a three and a half second lead Jeff Kyle Larson and Cliff Daniels feel like the car can be even better but how does Cliff Daniels even know that there might be a little bit speed if Kyle lson takes that exit a little bit higher off turn four well those guys they they work so well together and I think actually what he was saying is that we need to make the car better so you can run higher on the exit or turn four he said there's some speed if you can run high on exit you can't do it now so we're going to make a small adjustment the next time we stop well we have a big battle going right here you see on the bottom right that is Chris busher who has now been overtaken by the eight of Kyle bus and why that matters is because this Gap right here is down to four I mentioned we needed 12 spots between the two well now on the bottom of the screen is a 23 of Bubba Wallace and if you look up here he's got three cars up to Chastain right in front of them that I think he can get here's reic coming back to him in a hurry I mean the 23 is much better than the 45 the one and even the 54 in their tire situation so now it's down to three points I think this is going to be a high pressure high nerve situation for the 17 and the 23 over these last 60 laps could it be backto back races at Darlington Raceway that breaks Chris Bush's heart remember earlier in the year when he was fighting with Tyler reck and he was looking good for a victory and reic tried to slide job on him and ended up in the wall and he was Furious push was furious with the driver of the 45 then so now it's down to two busher is two above the cut line Wallace two behind but the balance of power is massively swinging Bubba's way it is and and this whole time Hamlin has run Larson down only 2.7 seconds behind 59 laps to go these leaders are sliding around on like 36 Laps on the Kyle arson machine we have Ross Chastain on 41 lap tires so between 30 and in 40 laap tires Bubba Wallace said he has to do better he wanted it on his shoulders well he might just get that opportunity in this last 58 laps he's got 5 Seconds to make up to try and catch Ty Gibbs this is what I was talking about a few moments ago this was in the spring race and look at how incensed Chris busher was with Tyler reic reck trying to plead his case and say I'm sorry man I didn't mean it it was just one of those things and Bush is like I needed that win you already in the playoffs I needed that are we going to be talking about that moment back in the spring at the end of this cut off race tonight in just 57 laps reputations are [Music] earned they're built with hard work time and consistency they're respected [Music] trust [Music] it they're real and they're rare introducing traveler whiskey the result of reputation Labor Day mattress deals are happening now at Ashley save up to $1,200 on select mattress purchases plus get 0% interest for 5 years on in store purchases with the best mattress Brands Under One Roof Ashley has you and your sleep covered shop more deals in store and online negro I want to be an actor so why don't you act like a good sister and get me some more of those baby back ribs I want to be a director now let's try a scene where you go get your own and action and cut a lot of drama on this sun action and cut maybe I'll just go get wings for everybody ready to rise to the challenge above perceptions if so we're looking for you join us at Toyota Racing if this is your idea of ladylike you're going to fit right in join us at Toyota Racing it's good to get some fresh air fresh air hi guys bill you look great now that I have Inspire I'm free from struggling with the mask and the hose Inspire inspires a sleep apnea treatment that works inside my body with a click of this button no mask no hoes just sleep give me this where you going I'm going to get inspired Inspire sleep apnea Innovation learn more and view important safety information at inspiresleep.com after the 26 we grind 16 gather Heroes hopefuls Hot Shots Hot Heads that their demeanor may vary their determination does not Fortune brought them to this moment now it's up to them the NASCAR Playoffs begin in Atlanta on USA as you saw in nonstop we are under caution for just the second on track incident and it is Spire Motorsports Carson HOSA who started on the front row earlier today losing control of the 77 all by himself it was underneath Eric Jones not sure if anything happened before they got to turn three but just underneath him and he lot loses it so slick getting to the end of this tire run and rear grip just goes away and unfortunate couldn't be worse timing for the one of Ross Chastain who had just entered Pit Road I thought thought there was a chance Jeff that he could hit it perfect service his car and then you know leave the pit still on the lead lap but he Ed up going a lap down to Kyle arson by just a few seconds by the way about three laps three or four laps prior to that the five did have a glance with the wall you can see it there on the front right and and rear right and Denny Hamlin was just under 3 seconds in a rear of Lon and says thanks very much and now all of that kind of split strategy that's all out the window now it's 52 laps to go they're going to stretch this last set of tires barring another yellow um so now the question is you know what do you need 52 Laps on a set of tires would be the longest that most of these guys have tried to put on a set of tires tonight you're going to run the hardest on this restart so it's going to be hard to manage tires and pick Cruise right green flag pit stops you know you can be a couple tents of a second even a half a second slower on the stop and it all kind of get figured out in the wash but not now now you're all on Pit Road together yeah that caution came out we saw Chris buer kind of backing up through the field a little bit having trouble that may have been a break for him and we'll we'll see how it works out but Chris was having issues with his car now they get in here get a chance to make some changes here we go pit Road's getting busy Marty they're coming your way Kyle Larson said overall I think the track is just losing grip he said I need to be Freer this is going to be a long run Cliff Daniels reminded him the P crew has been Flawless all night let's see if they can deliver his again his teammate williiam Byron and undo the last adjustment you did I need that completely gone meanwhile Denny Hamlin said way too tight on that run we'll see if they make the right adjustments here Dave Chase Brisco gives up third he said I was tighter taking off then made myself lose rear grip trying to make it turn they're going to go halfway back on the last adjustment they made four tires and fuel here's the race off good work again from the five no worries the 11 Chase Brisco as well good work from Stewart har to get Josh bar five no worries the 11 Chase Brisco as well good work from Stewart har to get Josh Berry up one and Ty Gibbs Racing here at Darlington in the legendary Southern 500 who's going to leave their mark on this race tonight can Kyle lson join some of the sports most famous in defending his win and go back to back NBC Sports on SiriusXM NASCAR radio channel 90 live Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. eastern guess who's on it this week this Wednesday our very own KP Kyle Petty Kyle what are you going to chat about and DJ what are the two of you make about what has gone down and are we headed for a tiebreaker for that final bubble position between Chris busher BBA Wallace you know we talk about it all the time it's a team sport it's a team sport and you see these guys on Pit Road they falter a little bit they give up five or six spots these guys the 23 of Bubba Wallace the 17 of Chris buscher it's one onone it's Michael Jordan it's 101 that's all they care about 12 positions as we've heard Steve lar say yeah busher right now probably has more cars that he can pass as he looked ahead of that he's going have to dig down his car was not good on that last run put themselves right in this position going to be exciting once again Kim how about that 17 and then a very slow stop left front wasn't fully installed couldn't get the lug tight they were also slow in the right rear but just marginally the team told me here's what they told Chris on the radio after the stop I got nothing man we uh hon this up for you all night or not all night the last few stops so uh we're putting it on your shoulders here at this point we're out at the moment you got to get so you heard it they're putting it on Chris's shoulders he's got 49 laps to get his way into the playoffs here tonight oh boy what a nailbiter between 231s Bubba Wallace and RFK Racing's Chris Pusher for that 16th and final spot to contest the final 10 Rounds the playoffs of this 2024 Cup Series it is Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin with 48 laps to go let go Hamlin on the inside and it's the first time in a long time that we've seen anybody really hassling Kyle lson Hamlin's ahead they touch heading down the back straight here in Darlington Larson is unrelenting he does not want to relinquish the lead he has led for 245 laps tonight and his is making life hard for Hamlin six times in these guys racing career at the cup level they have finished one two Denny Hamlin has won all six of them Kyle Lawson's trying to change that tonight and there was four or five other times that they were going to run one two and there was contact and one of them didn't make it back around that's in the back of their minds as well these two raise each other as hard as anyone in the field and Jeff as hard as you want to push right here 46 to go is Forever at Darlington if you slide those tires more than needed or more than required you will pay the penalty yes you will oh contact on the he gets into Todd gillin they ran out of real estate on the exit of two it started with the 38 sliding up pushing the 17 into the wall lucky for the 17 to avoid this let's have a look at what happened to the front row Motorsports driver yeah Gillan underneath busher trying to make the pass gets up the RAC trck squeezes busher a little bit busher back down into him listen so how bad was that hit J I don't think it was I don't don't think it was that bad but what you know when when Bucher gets into the wall he then comes back know hits the wall then it comes back and hits the 38 it's going to be interesting to see what damage there is now the good news for busher is he's 15th only five cars behind him you see right here the frustration this is sports this is what we love right we could talk about technology and strategy and fuel mileage but in the end it comes down to the humans driving the race cars and Chris busher you could see the emotion and is their damage right that's the concern right now I think you could pit though Jeff I'm pitting I'm 15th already there's 20 on the lead lap only five behind me there's three hard Laps on the tires that matters here I would absolutely come if I'm the 17 I like the tire Advantage we haven't seen very many yellows we have a ton of T why I say a ton two or three extra sets of tires I'm coming making sure because I can't be wrong I can't stay on the RAC trck and then have a flat and allow the 23 to outo me I agree a couple cars got back on the lead lap right there because they played a strategy Chase Elliot I believe he was the first car lap down so we're going to end up with 21 cars in the lead lap Bubba Wallace running seventh if he pits if busher pits he's going to have to find a way to get by several race cars to try to get himself back up where he needs to be to get into these playoffs I don't think it'll be a matter of fact I believe a bunch are going to pit you know I think I think the back eight or 10 cars are coming to Pit Road I think for busher there's no question in my mind I would come here the damage is just a more you know more reason to come Road open we'll see it's green right here Kim make sure you tell us when you hear something why you from inside the 17 this is tense stuff and they do intend to come they do intend to come Kim so the question is what does Bubba Wallace do right Dave so you're down there in the 20 three Camp can they afford to get three laps older tires than the 17 m is the word so far Steve they're staying out you would think three laps is nothing but here it is oh a lot of guys came I'm sorry they all faked me out but here they come from about eighth back and there is the 17 of Chris busher they'll do a quick assessment on this Kim and they said the pictures look okay they asked about the steering wheel Chris said it seems okay somewhat straight just scuffed up on the right side they think fresh tires are going to help him but Chris buer absolutely not happy with the 38 of Todd Gillan felt like he just fenced him for no reason that could have been the end of his playoff hopes at the moment they're still alive well now the pressure is flipped you know Boba Wallace stayed on the racetrack and unfortunately there's always these splits and only a car or two behind him stayed with him so I know it's only three laps but we are not at Charlotte or Las Vegas we are at I mean this is the tire grading machine this wears tires faster than anywhere we go he has reic behind him but behind reic is going to be brand new Goodyear tires this is going to be a very stressful moment for Bubba Wallace the worst thing that you want as a race car driver is to be the first the last car without tires because you know the guy behind you he's lining up and he has a row of them with new tires it is when you look in your mirror and right now he's seeing his mirror he sees ring but then everybody else that he sees behind him is a lap down he knows he's in trouble and what do you do how do you defend that it's almost impossible to defend it because they just have more grip than you did what does MJ think does he get both his cars in this playoff for the 2024 Cup Championship does the nervous energy at an MJ it only it only sets the stage better for me right I mean it I mean he's so invested you could tell right there that that he's he's a little pacy you know got a little bit of nerves but that guy wanted the ball that's right he wanted to take the shot like he was the one that wanted the basketball at the end of the game to take it they just took it out of above his hands now everybody else has the ball because he has old tires he can't go he the only thing he can do is go on super offense and try to get people between him and those new tires but he they are going to be coming behind him hard the only thing is we have to remember with 42 to go you know when I say they have a bunch of tires left they have two or three sets we'll get the exact count up and down Pit Road you know we've had a very clean race right so oh Dave you got the man himself he is I looked over at him and I asked him and he smiled because I know this is why you hired booty Barker to be the crew chief you didn't want this job what do you think now I trust him uh I think they had a good game plan I think Bubba has done an unbelievable job thus far I mean we still got a lot to go I mean bush is tough you know you know he likes his track he's he did well last time here so I mean we we in sh we in shouting range so he's got to do his job you know he's got to go out and race um you know barring from any other cautions I think you know this is the last time we're going to pit so do you get nervous for him I'm absolutely terrified right now cuz I want him to do well obviously uh and Tyler too I know Tyler's a little sick but uh he's he's struggling trying to get through it and you know that's what nasc is all about I enjoy it you know it's I don't have basketball anymore but this can be this could replace it very easily I'm excited for today I know you text him to challenge him and encourage him if you could text him right now what would you tell him well I mean everybody wants something right but something don't come for free if you want more it's going to cost more that means you got to put the effort out there you got to go out and race so he understood that so hopefully he does hopefully he can pull this off wise words from team owner Nascar fan and a very nervous Michael Jordan well that was exactly what he texted Bubba I'm fired up yeah I mean he fired me up I was already excited I mean think about think about those types of words of encouragement and coaching and where they're coming from and if Michael was in the 45 what do you think he would do he would make that 45 as wide as this racetrack so that Chris busher had no way of getting close or anybody had any way of getting close to the 23 well the story is right here last pit where are the new tires right there two spots behind BBA Wallace brand new tires on Bel 40 laps to go when the green flies here in Darlington let's see how those closing 40 laps Shape Up lson gets a great restart Hamlin pushed him last time and here comes Chase Brisco Brisco is not done with yet look at that move sweeping around Denny Hamlin as Lawson clears them what a runoff turn two that was for Chase Brisco and now he's got lson in his sights and here comes Chris buer bottom right look at this traffic jam you see the 20 car underneath bubble Wallace he has new tires this shows you the difference between new tires and old tires and if Brisco wins none of that matters he's in elimin busher and Wallace what a run from the 14 the Stewart har racing Ford The High Point machine he got his career best at Darlington last time out with a top five and now Chase Brisco he won his xinity race in spectacular style here and now he's all over Larson who just had a bubble larsson's loose you got to take a advantage of it Chase Brisco saw him get loose he's got to push him into the corner make him run that car harder than he wants to bottom right bush is getting close to Tyler reic which means he's getting close to Bubba Wallace where do we look which box do we look in it's all happening here at Darlington Raceway on cut off night who makes the playoffs and who doesn't busher on the inside of reing and Ross Chastain let's not forget about the one as he keps storming by busher as well Brisco is thinking everyone has overlooked me keep talking about the cut line I'm to jump in with a win couldn't be in successive weeks we get a win and you're in situation Harrison Burton last weekend in Daytona could it could it be Chase brisk here in Darlington Chase has had a fast race car taking off most of the night Kyle Larson has been a step away from him as the tires get older have they made the right changes on the 14 car 35 to go don't look now but in fourth place is Christopher Bell with those fresher tires he has driven all the way up to Fourth 1.7 seconds back can he he has enough time 35 laps is enough time Brisco can feel the urgency he has to figure Away by lson Chris Bush is having a difficult time getting by Tyler reick in that bottom box Bubba Wallace sits in 11th and still sits seven points a drift of that cut line let's have a listen to some Brisco radio press on Budd tag the fence twice keep the pressure on him keep the pressure on him he's tagged the wall twice and that's exactly what Chase Brisco is doing nothing between the top two a car length at best between Kyle Larson and Brisco I mentioned Bell what about Kyle bus up to fifth on new tires 19 years in a row 33 laps will the newer tires bring him into the battle and this Morgan and Morgan machine is remaining resilient Kyle has had top fives in the last two races and look at Brisco top box that was the closest Brisco has gotten to lson getting into turn one Brisco figured something out out in three and four that time let's see if he can do it again cautions out oh and it's for Co Carson josar again significant damage on the front right and for the likes of Kyle Bush and Christopher [Music] Bell this brings everybody closer together and from what we just saw with three lap fresher tires I think there is no conversation for anyone on Pit Road but to make the pressure higher Jeff you keep talking about it now we're at 21 cars on the lead lap with another free pass we'll be at 22 what that means is if you're Chris busher three and four on the last Corner could be five positions that could be eliminating you from the playoffs you know you get to a point where there's not enough cars at lead left you start to feel safe we're going the other way at this point they are but now you have an opportunity for your pit crew to step up right now you have an opportunity to be honest that's what he needed Bubba Wallace Chris busher he didn't want to see that caution he was getting everything he needed Bubba Wallace did want to see it so everything worked the way we assumed it was going to it show tires matter go back and look at Carson host of our again problems in oh he had a right front something happened with the right front and I think Gillan got it may have got into him as well Todd Gillan was in the wrong spot at the wrong time unfortunately and that was a pretty wild ride for Carson hos so Kyle Petty said it earlier this is a team sport and we see it in the shops we see it on the work all the work done to prepare the race cars but now we're getting ready to see it on Pit Road now we're getting ready to see which team is ready for this moment which team can step up get their guy out of Pit Road in the lead or pick up spots and you cannot if you're buer team you can't afford a mistake here you if you're Wall's team you can't afford a mistake think about Bobba Wallace winning the poll you know I mentioned earlier hours ago about how the number one pit stall was almost a disadvantage under green but why does everybody want it for these situations you know this race has these long green flag runs but history would say we have these cautions and now only being 22 ft from that camera drop the Jack you roll forward you get scored that could be one position then you multiply that in the choose it moves you up another row it can change the outcome of a race just by one or two spots off the pit close call earlier for Chris busher with Todd gilland he was able to escape that dive in get fresh tires no damage done to his 17 builds submarines decom forward here they come Kimmy they're coming white yes and Scott gra the Gucci for the 17 telling them focus on a nice smooth stop Chris saying he was a little Freer but not much that run just leave it no adjustments on that machine Marty Kyle Larson said I was way too loose on that run Cliff Daniels going to answer with a chassis adjustment he also asked if the 14 wins how does that change the playoff picture he wants to know everything Dave Chase Brisco challenging for the win says just don't tighten me up Bubba Wallace so tight so so tight he needs a big adjustment on the 23 as his crew now goes to work Michael Jordan nervous for his driver how nervous is he for the pit crew as to now they go for four here Bubba was 13th when he came in cars go byy him here where will he cycle back out here the race off two positions gained by Gibbs Bush lost one Barry gained one big jump from Austin Dylan this race the southern 500 is 367 laps long this race the win and a playoff spot is going to be decided in the last 29 laps yes and we and we know we've talked about the point battle all night long and sitting here up front two guys that can spoil it Chase Brisco he wins he gets in Kyle bus he wins he gets in and they are both in position you may have noticed when everybody was diving for Pit Road Ross Chastain swerved right and kept his Bush Chevy out on track Kim yes and Chastain staying out remember he came down on lap 324 this again was another Hail Mary type call Phil surgeon the crew chief telling him you only have nine Laps on those tires the call was watermelon for rosain staying out Kim here is that radio from Bubba Wallace but there's a Twist afterwards listen all right man what you got balance W what your name I'm tight I'm so tight I know it's cuz it's three starts and I got to push hard our balance is tight I get it but man I can't do anything here's the twist he was silent on the radio for nearly a minute after that and then he came back to the crew okay I'm back babba has to do work inside the car inside the helmet to win races he knows that and he was doing it right there this is massive pressure so much on the line how about this DJ Kyle unbelievable it's going to be decided in the last 20 plus laps for the southern 500 not only for this race win but the complexion of the playoffs yeah I think one thing you have to look at KP these drivers have been out here over three and a half hours already I mean it's stressful we talk about the you know they they condition themselves for races like this but mentally you can be drained too but you have to step up somehow yeah and and at the same time these drivers have been out there and they're stressed and the pressure is going up these guys on Pit Road have just been in a rhythm just been in a rhythm and now all of a sudden you're asking them to jump this wall Time After Time and perform at the top level man it's it's it's tough and we're sitting on the pit box and I can feel the tension up here yeah headed to the choose guys well that's the question DJ you know the choos is is normally which lane is better but now with the one-on old tires Jeff I know what you do if you're Larson but behind lson where do you dare restart if you're Brisco you got to go with Larson there you go even Hamlin's going to go with Larson Ty Gibbs all the way back in fifth is the first one to line up behind Ross Chastain and even further behind everybody's going to the bottom so just remind everyone how this works right the restart rule the one is the leader of the race so he enters the restart Zone he has the option to decide when to fire when to accelerate he can go from the first line to the second I'm a big fan I've said it forever go early I want you to go way back here as soon as you get into the Zone I want you to go now the problem is if he goes and Spins the tires he may not look like he's accelerating but Kyle Larson can hear that and once he Accel once he steps on the throttle Larson can go body and Cliff Daniels wanted to remind Kyle lson of the desperation that sitting right beside him on the front row listen a lot of coaching going on to the guys around you on obviously the situation that they're in you know the situation that they're in at the end of the day for us execute the job that you need to do a fascinating restart coming up diff Steve you said if Ross Chastain spend the tires Ross Chastain will spin the tires that's almost impossible not to own old tires Kyle lson has to take advantage of that and Ty Gibbs has to be aware and not run into the back of him all right get ready be 26 laps to go Ross Chastain in the one doing whatever he can to try and stay alive and hope that he has a chance but everybody that he's surrounded by on Fresh tires here we go Gibbs on that high line lson on the low line Brisco feels he has a chance Gibbs is looking good on points to make it Brisco wants to race his way in like Chastain does here goes Brisco on the inside the big move from Chase Brisco this could be the difference between making the playoffs or not wow the one of Chastain got an amazing start better than I expected 54 kind of paid that off but what a move by the 14 down the backstretch that was epic castain did a great job of keeping speed into that restart Zone still falling back on those old tires but look at Kyle bus in that AC car Brisco tried to check out but Kyle bus he wants to play ever since the Olympic break RCR has been getting better Lee could it be Bush's day we haven't seen him most of the night he was on that strategy earlier of Denny Hamlin but just not as effective to get as high up the order as Denny was and look at this three wide wow we got a caution multicar incident Ty Gibbs Josh Barry Bubba Wallace it's over Wallace's playoff hopes bush is trying to dodge the Carnage William Byron's Car is torn apart and Noah gron in it as well how badly damaged is that 23 are the Playoff hopes over or not this is far from ideal for B Wallace the good news is it's rolling he didn't have to get assistance back all four tires aired up took a really big shot Square to the bumper you all right Square to the bumper is actually better the weakness on this car is really the right and left rear tow link as far as mechanically now without a doubt Arrow has got major issues but the first thing is can you complete laps cuz busher still has to finish this race as well watch this how did it unfold Josh Barry pushing his way through the middle of Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs keep watching it yeah three wide into turn one at Darlington never works it's just not enough room somebody had to lift there Josh Barry extremely aggressive shooting the middle here and it's just to two wi through there Steve is difficult gold and now they just all stack into each other and Bubba W was doing a really nice job some front end contact but then Noah Gregson nowhere to go he was the one that made the heavy contact to the back of the 23 so you see right here Flames out the pipes he's on the brakes some front end contact but I don't think this was enough to kind of end it right you're going to see him run into the 24 I mean it's not great but then right there the big shot by the 10 it looks so easy in slow motion what you could do different let's ride on board even the front end contact you saw the hood Buckle so you know the damage probably a little more severe than I initially thought and while we've been consumed with where buba Wallace has been and Chris busher for that final spot what changed the whole complexion of it was Chase Brisco with the move of the race look at Michael Jordan's reaction here when he saw Bubba right in the middle of all of that yeah he knows what that means but to your point diff you know a 14 win Brisco win it takes this away yeah this whole conversation's move point at that because the 54 of Ty Gibbs who was also involved in that would get that 16th and final position what a move that was by Chase Brisco here's Dave and keeping an eye now on the 23 repairs as they go to look at it Steve to me the the biggest thing is getting rid of that parachute in the rear if everything else is straight toe links are not broken there it is right there the right rear wouldn't you think just getting that in decent shape would be the main thing yeah I think you're right Dave that's the main thing but at this point uh they know that this car can't keep up on Pace and really if you're Chris busher in 10th you have to start asking yourself can you risk being in the next restart which is an awkward conversation but you know it they have to ask themselves do they think they need to win the race they're riding around 10th because as you pointed out Lee you know a Brisco win or a Kyle bus win kind of eliminates the points conversation so I don't think the 17 can just sit back I mean we still have 21 laps to go all right let's take you back and show you the move is it the defining move of the race check this out Chase Brisco with the ultimate slingshot see you here I come and here I go yeah Larson and Gibbs got side by side trying to deal with Chastain who had older tires and they just lost momentum see right here they just get slow Chase Brisco did a nice job of laying far enough back Steve to take advantage of it goes to the bottom and we've seen good Pace from that 14 car all night on short runs yeah and you see the excitement on top of the box This Crew we talk about emotion this company is shutting down they're not around this is more than just a race win these these guys are are battling for you know livelihood jobs but who comes to pit roow that was another three laps we've seen this Split Decision Kyle Bush he loves brand new tires and I love this call and this could save Ross Chastain as well Kim this might give him another lifeline and there was heavy heavy debate on whether or not to bring the one car of Ros Chastain down ultimately they decided their best bet was fresh tires just a little tight grip level down is what Ross reported Marty kind of nothing to lose here for Denny Hamlin coming down Pit Road with four fresh Goodyear Tires because they knew that other cars would pit Tai Gibbs for now safe in the play but they're going to sit here and check the damage on the 54 car Dave the eight appears unscathed he's going for four tires and Fuel and send him back out there who would have thought Kyle Bush would have had a chance I bet I can tell you who Kyle Busch thought Kyle Busch had a chance and they've got him up front where it counts now catching up with Richard Boswell on top of the 14 box first of all what a move by your guy yeah I can't say enough about Chase you know he promised us last week that he was going to bring everything he had all night tonight and he's an amazing race car driver you know there's 323 employees at steuart hos racing that didn't ask for the nonsense that's that's going on all year and we want to win a damn race and we want to do it for all those employees and this one we can control and we're going to do our very best tonight to control it and try and make those 323 employees prow did you have any idea as the race unfolded early Richard that the car would be this good no I knew we'd be good here you know we we were good here in the in the fall race last year and in the spring race this year and I knew Chase was in kill mode and I know when I know when we get him in that spot he's he's as good as anybody I've ever seen so just super proud of him super proud of this team P crew has absolutely stepped up tonight super proud of them Engineers car Chief everybody on this team's just done an amazing job so just try to try and figure it out finish it out in these last 19 laps Racers know how to race what a show and how about the winless streaks that could be broken here 73 races since Stuart har last had a win how about Kyle Bush 46 and 93 that's since Phoenix his only win in cup for Chase Brisco it could be a victory here for either of these guys that gets them in to the Nascar Cup series playoffs starting next week in Atlanta we couldn't ask for more dramatic ending to the southern 500 so many story lines we have Brisco as you pointed out but I look you have PRI in fourth buer fifth kazlowski sixth Elliott and legano found their way back into the top 10 Kyle bus on those pressure tires last time he had three lap pressure tires he drove right into the top five I mean 19 laps to go is a long time the other side to this is how many more restarts will we see Tire count I jinxed this when I said they had enough because it's starting to run thin on some of these teams some only have one or two sets left in the pit so you know when are you going to put on the last set it it never ends it doesn't matter what the first two stages of the Southern 500 those are like the survival modes yeah you just have to get to this place think about the team look at cor joy in 11th I mean cor Joy's in 11th we we saw him struggling to find his way right at the tail end of the lead lap I mean we have so many different players in this field Chase Elliott I mean Chase has lap down we saw him run in the 20s most of the night the series of cautions some smart strategy got him back in the game and we saw Kyle bus pit he is the first car on tires he's going to restart ninth all right Brisco picked the top yep that g gives lson the bottom of the racetrack let's took more about Kyle lson here's Marty can I add one thing more to the mix here Lee sure back in 12th Tyler reic pitted for brand new tires and right now as it sits there's the regular season Championship Standings he is only three points behind Kyle Larson with those fresh Goodyear Tires could this move by Billy Scott after Tyler re has been sick all night long earn then the regular season title another thing to watch in these final 18 laps so much unfolding so much on the line what's this restart going to look like how hard would Lon go let's go to some 14 radio we can do this keep telling yourself that we've got this taking the green with 17 to go for the southern 500 and a chance at a championship we got this pump up mode motivation mode Ryan priest his Stewart har teammate is back on that second row pace car off track is clear the green will fly with 17 go here in Darlington for the win of the Southern 500 for an entry to the Nascar Cup series playoffs how ready is Chase Brisco gets a flyer watch that yellow and black car the eight of Kyle Bush on the inside of keslowski now lining up priest he goes to the inside of priest Christopher bell is out chasing Brisco a great start by the 14 Jeff matched by the start of the eight lots of positions in one set of Corners yeah Brisco did a great job he kind of caught Larson sleeping a little bit but look get K Bush K Bush is coming hard three laps fresher tires and a long windless streak on the line easily disposes of the five of Larsson the 263 laps LED tonight looks like nothing vers the eight heartbreak last week for Kyle bus here we go inside Christopher Bell the last two races he's finished in the top five There's real momentum with this eight team at Richard childr racing clears him Bush to second two guys in the top two if they win they're in and this isn't just fresh tires on anyone this is on Kyle Bush a 63 race winner multitime champ future Hall of Famer and has made the playoffs the last 11 years straight he's got to make this work though he's got to take advantage of these new tires right now I agree Jeff the longer they run the newness goes away they definitely equalize and Chase Brisco is not going to make this easy and the closer Bush gets to Brisco the worse his car is going to drive Brisco shot out of a cannon on the restart so impressive that was a really good corner one and two for Kyle bus he needs to run a little lower he should be able to run lower with than Brisco with these newer tires that'll give him clean air also this lap will be The Telltale how much faster for the eight we need a 10 10th and a half if he wants a chance that time by about a half a ten the math says that's not fast enough 13 to go here in Darlington Chase Brisco Kyle Bush it's a two driver two-car race to make it get into the playoffs oh there you go I like that Middle Lane still lower like you asked Jeff but I thought he could roll the corner yeah Brisco got loose right there ran that High Line little bit loose off the corner half a second between them that's all are you kidding 11 laps to go next time by 500 miles and the margin between the top two Is 4/10 of a second and that was a big Advantage Kyle that time in three and four that lane is working holding even in one and two over a tenth of a second gain it seems like the newer tires are still holding on kind of broke even and one and two maybe a little bit better by B now he's got to run that low line again Brisco blocks him he goes to the bottom is Kyle Bush going to be denied in backto back weeks is he going to do something about it he's drawing closer to chase Brisco there's only two and2 t of a second in it tried to take the air away from him but he went slower doing that he's got a decision to make I think he's got I think you Brisco you got to go back to the top over here in one in three and four coming to nine to go still so much time oh I love the high entry for the eight he'll turn down the hill get the run and he'll have the momentum on the 14 the fans are on their feet Lee nine laps to go here in Darlington not only to win the southern 500 but to win your way into the playoffs all right so this time Brisco guessed what's he going to do this time he goes to the top I think this is what Brisco has to do I think it's going to be difficult for Kyle bus to pull the pass off on the exit of four I know you hate to do it you hate to give him clean air but you're just going to have to prove to me that you can drive underneath me the two-time Cup Series champion is chasing down a driver who has one one cup Victory and he's within a car length maybe two behind Chase Brisco eight to go traffic in front just out of the frame the 54 of Tai GS going to try to get out of the way classy move let these two figure it out yeah I love what Brisco did right there he ran the line that he's the fastest in bus tried to run up there with him it did not work Brisco needs to stay at the top in three and four and Bush needs to get back to the bottom a week ago after finishing second to Harrison Burton Kyle Busch said my only option was to wreck him I wasn't going to do it does he still feel the same way here at Darlington we're got to know right now if Kyle bus has enough because he did exactly what he needed to do Brisco did what he needed to do and Brisco still is able to maintain Pace hey fellas back in 2020 when Kyle when uh when Chase Brisco won that exfinity Series race who did he fend off Kyle Bush can bush get revenge for that here tonight I like what the Eight's doing in one and two that higher exit is definitely working it's allowing him to be closer at this end of the racetrack the 14 right on the wall but he can't touch it see that's where that's where Brisco is better he's better up top off of four he just is able to carry that momentum think about Richard shers right now the disqualification of Austin Dylan winning at Richmond the of the appeal then the loss last week Kyle bus Richard childr has been on a roller coaster ride the eight goes to the top that time coming to four to go it was an advantage credit to chase Brisco to hand handled this pressure that has been Relentless pretty much since the restart with the storming Kyle Bush oh good run by Bush right here Mason forward momentum on him three laps to go and just under 3/10 of a second between these two Brisco got in too low that time allow push to make a little bit of gain on him this sellout crowd has been treated to one heck of a finish and it's not over yet oh touch the wall once Here Comes Kyle Bush two laps to go these two were beating and banging on each other four years ago in the xinity series race and it was Brisco who came out on top now look at Kyle bus on that low line and he hits the wall Brisco hits the wall there is nothing between these two at the end of 500 miles one lap to go presented by Credit One Bank can Brisco hang on or has Kyle Bush got something both guys are going to break a very long winless streak but who will it be Kyle bus throwing everything at Chase Brisco he can it's a win and you're in and the 29e old from Mitchell Indiana Chase Brisco wins the southern 500 and is going to the playoffs two weeks in a row we have been treated to a win and you're in this time it's Chase Brisco dude holy [Applause] F how cool is that there's only 10 races left from here on for the Stewart racing Corporation and Chase Brisco just raced his way into the playoffs that's how much it means right there he's in tears I just won the southern 500 that's what it's all about he earned it I mean he had two of the very best in our sport that he had to beat and he made it happen credit to Kyle Bush he gave it everything that was an amazing final run but it's Chase Brisco who prevails his wife Marissa is having twins in October what an end to 20124 it is for the Brisco household you like that one Stevie what a battle what a battle you said it to win the southern 500 is one thing to do it with the pressure knowing that Stuart hos is going away in 10 races is another and then to cap it off to hold off you know Kyle Bush 63 wins two championships that resume chasing you down it's just quite amazing and we see this at of Brisco this Raw Talent when he gets the opportunity he puts it on display and these fans in Darlington all steering standing and cheering him on as he salutes I love the classy backwards Victory lap Darlington just doesn't disappoint it's it's just amazing how the end of these races you said it Lee at the end of five you know 480 miles here we are racing like this it's just just never disappoints and courtesy of that win unfortunately these two guys don't have a say in the matter these two being Chris Pusher and Bubba Wallace when there was a new winner with Martin TRX being locked in even though crashing out Ty Gibs gets the last spot they're out this man's in and by the way the drama continues the points are in and Tyler retic has won the regular season by one single point one point [Music] [Music] and by the way the drama continues the points are in and Tyler reic has won the regular season by one single point one point [Music] [Music] [Applause] a win for the ages at Darlington Chase Brisco and steart hos racing are in the 2024 playoffs just the emotion unquestioned the biggest win of his career the crew congratulating wife Marissa and his son coming in in tears as well [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Chase how much of this was for you and how much of this was for the 300 plus employees at Stuart hos who don't have a job at the end of the year both last week was the most embarrassing race I ever ran in my life and I told Richard I said I don't even want to talk about I promise you I will make it up to you next week and just uh man everybody knows I'm a DI Tony Stewart fan and to get this 14 car back in Victory Lane and uh you know for all 320 something employees to to be able to race for a championship in their final year is a man unbelievable so yeah God is just so good it's uh it's like deja vu there at the end with Kyle with the ex vity R here in 2020 and I was so loose I didn't know if I was going to be able to do it but uh yeah just can't than highpoint.com man detractors Rush Truck Centers uh Rai uh Zep just everybody that uh makes this steal go around and go to Atlanta and try to uh still another one what does it say about you and the entire 14 team that you never number one gave up but never number two never quit on each other yeah it's just this group I mean the day that we found out that you know the team wasn't going to exist anymore we went over to the shop floor and we all looked at each other and said we're in this to the end we're not going to give up and we had we kept saying all week we got one bullet left in the chamber and that uh that bullet hit Kyle Bush was catching you was that the hardest you've driven in your entire life yeah I was sideways counter steering felt like I was in a Sprint car so yeah just uh yeah uh this night just literally went perfect you know the pick crew did an incredible job and uh I was crying like after the Checker I just won the southern 500 this is a Crown Jewel and what makes this race so special is all you race fans every time we come here it's sold out it's awesome and uh we love you guys and last time I went here was during Co so I didn't get experience with the fans so grateful that you guys are here and uh yeah I can't wait to celebrate for a driver who loves the history of racing this one means a lot on so many levels for Chase Brisco now a playoff participant Dave Kyle your team gave you the fresher rubber did you think that'd be enough um yeah I did when I made it through a few of those guys right there on the start I thought we'd have a shot to get there and I think I just needed him to have maybe three or four more laps older tires for uh for me to be able to break through the Wake once I got within his air um I really I really didn't have enough to to uh to power through that to get closer I was kind of sliding already so um hatte it for our guys everybody on our team um everybody at RCR and this Morgan and Morgan Chevrolet they turned it around the last uh four or five weeks and and we've run a lot better and that's been much uh improved and and beneficial to our team and the organization so um something to build on and and get better for you know we just missed a lot in the early part of the year and through the middle part of the year to uh to put ourselves in this spot to be on the outside looking in so um to come in here for a last ditch effort and um and have a shot I mean early in the race I wouldn't have thought we had a shot so felt like we really overachieved there towards the end and and got a really good finish for for what what we had or what I thought we had and uh we'll take it and and keep building on it it's kind of a tale of two seasons right because you had legitimate shots the last month or so in Atlanta yeah um you know so it's um you know it's just short you know come up short and um you know maybe I'm a wash up old dog but um hopefully I can find a few more trophies I think not but I think you'll be looking for that Victory to keep the streak alive in the last 10 races here right yeah no doubt I mean that's you know I I wanted it last week I wanted it this week I wanted in Atlanta I wanted it in Vegas you know there's been a lot of opportunities day ton 500 we were up front all day so um I I can count them you know at least on on a hand maybe I need two hands to count opportunities that have slipped away so uh we're achieving right now and and getting success from Those runs and and pulling in the finishes that we need it's a good look from the eight right now too bad they couldn't capitalize two night guys what a phenomenal run it was from Kyle Bush this guy fought as hard as he could as well Bubba Wallace excellent qualifying yesterday started on the pole gave it his all but it's not to be he will not be in the playoffs next weekend on the flip side his teammate who battled sickness all race long is the regular season Champion by one point over Kyle lson could we have any more drama in the southern 500 that was incredible the margin of Victory 3 and 1 1210 of a second after 500 miles an incredible racing performance by Chase Brisco to win his Maiden Southern 500 an emotional win for so many for more than Brisco what a night here at Darlington and we've got plenty more to come welcome to the NASCAR America post race show presented by Progressive oh an all-timer tonight in the southern 500 at Darlington Chase Brisco who had the money there tonight for him to be able to put himself and race his way into the playoffs so DJ here's how the playoff standings officially Shape Up playoffs starting next week in Atlanta yeah exactly like we thought this was going Little Couple we right sure I mean you I've been trying to think of a word as we were going to start this show but you know as simple as it is it fit wow I mean you to see what these drivers did put themselves out there put the car in places that you didn't think were possible the passes that we saw just an incredible uh end to this race yeah you guys know I talk all the time and I'm in stunned silence I I don't I don't there's not any words when we when when I look this and and you look at what went on the the the last 14 laps from Chase Brisco they said go get the southern 500 they didn't say go make the playoffs they said go get a southern 500 that shows how important this race is you saw Kyle bus prove once again why he's one of the greatest race car drivers that ever sit in a car he put that car on his back and ran it up there couldn't do anything with it once he got there but it was fascinating to watch the talent and to watch the desire and them put everything on the line lap after lap after lap for those Final 14 laps so of all the Darlington races you have watched DJ where would you rank this performance by this 14 team and Chase Brisco tonight you know I I think and thinking back obviously that how different and and what it means with this and of course this the first time that this race has been the cut off race in doing that but you know we've seen some phenomenal battles over the years but for what this meant this was as entertaining I mean this wasn't like Chase Brisco came out of nowhere he was there all night saying okay Kyle Larson you make one slip I'm going to take advantage of this and and Larsson didn't do that but Chase Brisco found a way to do it so I mean that's is entertaining watching the the very best at what they do be able to to do it for so long and to to see a driver dig down you know you want to see that what do what do these drivers have inside to make moves like this happen and Chase Brisco shows exactly what he's made of Kyle what did you say in the pre-race If a driver is going to race their way in the playoffs they're going to earn it tonight they're going to earn it there's no question Chase Brisco earned that one they earn it and and that's what we said nothing's free there's no free lunch and these guys realized that and they went after it what's fascinating is we live in a time and are very blessed to watch this sport in a time when this Race Matters every lap mattered when Dale drove when Pearson drove if we go back in time it was all about coming in here beating the race track and beating the rest of the competition there were 15 different scenarios ining this race that we had to follow so many different story lines so many it wasn't the guy that was leading the race we're talking about the guy that's run in 25th when's he going to get in the top 10 when's he going to move in the points when's this going to happen it was as entertaining race listen I think they ought to run when we get to the playoffs they ought to run 10 races and they all ought to be here at Darlington all 10 of them that's the way it ought to be that would be entertaining for me yeah you know and when you're leading the race like that and I can only imagine the pressure of the playoffs there too uh but when you're leading the hardest thing is to see a driver at this racetrack that has run you down and you try to do everything that you can knowing that that guy has fresher tires his car is a little bit better and oh yes Kyle bus a two-time champion the hardest thing is to not overdrive the car but you have to extend yourself to the fullest limits and abilities that you have and not make a mistake we saw Brisco get in the wall one time up in three and four but he challenged it pretty much every single lap and that's amazing that you can do that yeah you think you think drivers we talk about drivers never forget Brisco referenced 2020 in a bush race so he knew exact or an Infinity race he knew exactly what to expect when Kyle Bush got there drove a very disciplined race and the reward is the biggest win of his career and a birth in the 2024 playoffs unfortunately with a new winner the first driver out of the playoffs is Chris busher Kim is with him Chris busher will come home in the sixth position a solid finish unfortunately not the day you needed with a new winner you'll be the first guy outside the playoff picture will not run for a title you guys had to overcome so much today how would you summarize your Southern 500 yeah just uh I don't know we felt like we did what uh for the most part we needed to do today and um you know got back uh Got Back In Contention there at the end and um got a decent finish out of it and uh just uh didn't didn't quite get it done again and uh now we uh we're on the outside look it in so un fortunately it's just the system we're all playing in and um you know we had such a great year uh everyone RFK has worked so hard we've been so fast we've outrun uh so many of these cars that uh that that are going to get to run for a championship but that's that's the system and uh we didn't we didn't work it right when I talked to your crew chief Scott Graves earlier today regardless of what you did in this race you said he felt like you guys could do some damage in the last 10 races what is the approach to the final 10 and what are your goals yeah it's not on my mind yet um yeah I just uh had a lot of things figured out and um you that's that's not it now so uh get back digest this one a little bit uh such a shame but you know another great run for our build submarines decom Mustang uh another great finish here at Darlington just uh not enough with a new winner and um yeah just crazy so uh definitely going to think back on different times throughout the year and um you know figure out how to do better next time how do you sum up the emotion in one word uh it's just it's frustration and and disbelief altoe the weekend started out so well for Bubba Wallace that new winner thing caught up with you guys at the end but there was a little chaos the second half of this race what was going on yeah we just uh got behind on adjustments we were back and forth on our um US Air Force Toyota Camry just a little too loose a little too tight and uh that caution um with a couple Laps on tires where we stayed out I don't know if that was the deciding factor but um we just got so tight there and got back there in traffic and a spot we haven't been all day and uh I got caught up in someone else's mess so unfortunate I hate it for our guys but uh man hats off to the 14 um I thought I did something yesterday they they won up us and and showed up when it was game time so that's uh that's pretty badass so congrats to them uh man just uh wasn't good enough for 16th this year hate that uh sting saying that but uh wasn't from a lack of effort from all of us on this 23 car so best luck to 45 and hopefully a Toyota wins how do you evaluate overall getting to this point and especially bringing it like you guys did this weekend n tomorrow's Labor Day right so got to sit and dwell on hopefully no meetings but uh you got four or five days reset and go on to where we go next I don't even know shows how mental this race was so we'll be fine boy where do you go if uh if you're Bubba Wallace DJ I mean this is this is the Hard One to take but he did mention and you mentioned earlier too Kyle it didn't come down to this race it was the body of work for the entire season yeah that's a good interview he he explained everything what they went through they brought a fast race car here he drove a really really good race you know it looked like at one point in time he might be the man in on points uh if there wasn't a new winner yeah you just think back to these 26 races you know we saw Chris busher a couple of times you know losing by inches at Kansas to to I think it was Kyle L I believe and and then you think about Bubba a couple of opportunity he's had uh Kyle Busch was talking about the opportunities that slipped away from him uh yeah we could have easily had 17 winners uh when you really look at this thing so it's so competitive you you can't say that Bubba hadn't didn't give himself and his team a a chance there uh same way with Chris busher they put themselves there but you got to find a way to finish it off and that just shows how much the first part of the Season means yeah I think the one thing he said they got they got a little bit behind on their adjustments you you so they went from a leading card to a third or fourth place card to a sixth or seventh the the thing that hurt Bubba as much as anything else was Kyle Larson dominating the race because he just laughed everybody so when you only have 10 or 15 cars in the lead lap Bubba couldn't pass enough cars in front of him and busher was right there keeping him in sight so Bubba had put himself in a box there was nothing they could do I thought he drove one of the best races I've ever seen him drive I I will say that because he was on top of it all day long kept putting themselves the team kept putting themselves in position to do what they needed to do they just couldn't get over that hump to get into the to the top three or four and in the end um you know Chase Brisco he he just wiped the Slate claim because it didn't make any difference where the those guys finish so DJ brought up the uh the couple of very close finishes for Chris busher one being Darlington in the spring one being Kansas as well he's going to think about those moments but Kyle he brought up the point system we didn't play the system correctly is there any Merit to bringing that up now I know he's frustrated because there's back to back new winners stop that's why I'm asking the sour grapes okay they started in February they knew the system okay they didn't change the system last week you know what I mean it didn't change two weeks ago you knew what you had to do week in and week out you know what stage points are you know what you have to do to to run up front and to win races and they've done that they've put themselves in position they've not been able to capitalize on so don't complain about the system don't complain that there's not a three-point shot anymore or they or you can't stand in the lane for more than the three set whatever the rule may be don't complain about it that's sour grapes and and that's where as I watched those two interviews I will say this I thought Bubba handled himself just beyond good in in in that situation we've seen Bubba turn and walk off Bubba has matured a lot I thought Chris busher at the same time was stunned was frustrated he really didn't know what to say but bringing the point system into it and the system we race under has no place in this interview so in the middle of all the chaos at the end watching Chase Brisco Tyler reic put on brand new tires and wins the regular season championship by one point over Kyle Larson Kim is with him Tyler reick comes home in the 10th position but more importantly gets the regular season Championship a a single point before we dive into what that means for the team it was a heck of a day for you you were battling some illness in the race car how in the world did you maintain the focus needed to get that regular season Championship I don't really know if I did honestly just things things fell our way there at the end uh yeah I I don't know I started the day off feeling really really good and just you know kind of trying to take my time to get around Bubba and you know him and him and the five kind of jumped us on that first cycle and thought we were you know long race we had plenty of time plenty capable and just man I mean by the end of stage one I I couldn't even really focus on what to tell the guys to to do on our protector to Camry so it was just it was frustrating man we you know we had that buffer over the over the five and I just watched it disappear all day long and I trying everything I can to to to drive this car as fast as I can it just it was just a real struggle honestly I'm I don't have anything left nothing left but as we look forward to the playoffs you guys have been so consistent recently and now you've got 15 additional points in the playoff Bank what does that mean for this team and what they can do during the playoffs yeah that's huge for us um it's a bummer man this was this has been one of my best tracks and and we just we had an all around off night I hate that um like I said I hate we had to use that buffer up that that we had coming in here but um I mean this is what this team's kind of all about I feel like this is the worst night we've had in in in months and months um speed wise um and we still finished 10th and it was kind of an allout struggle for us so just really proud of everybody on this team staying behind me I couldn't give great feedback and it was just really really hard to focus and keep it out of the wall there all night so um Shane we gave some points up you know I feel like this race we could win but it's really nice to in uh year or two for me here at this team and and year four of this team for us to to get the regular season Championship like we did congrats thank you despite everything Tyler reic battled here tonight gets the regular season championship by a single point over Kyle Larson just unbelievable Kyle I mean how did he get it done how did he gut it out all evening long because it was stage one where he was saying I'm not sure I can make it yeah stage one the radio that chattered that we heard and she kept reporting was like man he's going to melt and run out of this thing there's there's no we're going to see him in the front on the front stretch laying on the racetrack and and it was that kind they kept working he said we were off and this is the fascinating part about this team okay fourth year they win the championship second year with him wi the team he wins the regular season Championship he comes into a race like this he's sick he's under the weather he runs up front he puts the car in position he continues to drive they can't make the adjustments because he can't tell him what he wants all he wants is Tums and some crackers he can't he wants in the car and he still finishes 10th that tells me this is a dangerous team this is a dangerous team when he's on it and they're where they need to be it's dangerous I'm going to say one other thing Kyle Larson only missed the championship by one point and spotted him a race by not showing up at at at at at Charlotte so you got to take that into account too that that was this is a big year for the five team of Kyle Larson well said one thing I'm going to add I'm not sure if I'm more impressed by the 500 miles that he drove to get that 10th Place finish or the two and a half three minute interview after his cuz I know he's want to go somewhere else quickly we appreciate it it was well said he did not feel well all evening long but what an incredible performance by Tyler reic and it paid off at the end of the day winds up winning the regular season title and the 15 bonus points that go with it NASCAR America post race is brought to you by Progressive Insurance save when you bundle Auto home or motorcycle insurance visit progressive.com let's take a look at this week's Progressive safe driver DJ uh any question who has earned this and earned a whole lot more tonight here in Darlington yeah certainly Chase Brisco did the job that he had to do the only thing that could you know make him excited about these last 10 races was to somehow figure out a way to beat Kyle lson and then Kyle Bush at the end of this race amazing this spotter said coming to the checker flag it's all or nothing right here and Chase Brisco delivered the biggest win of his career not only him but everyone in Stewart hos racing so here how the regular season points wound up we mentioned Tyler reic won the regular season Title by just one Kyle over Kyle Larson I mean you know you you made the point that Larsson spotted him a race but one point I mean you got to be thinking man yeah you get you got to be thinking where could I pick that up was that at Richmond did I leave it at Richmond did I leave it at Atlanta where did I leave it yeah Cliff Daniels thinking man maybe I should have put on tires there at the very end of the race because that's how Tyler reic was able to make it happen afterwards Kim caught up with Kyle Kyle arson will come home in the fourth position had a dominant race car here today LED 263 laps fell short of the regular season Championship though by one point as you look back on this race do you do anything differently that final stage um I think where just got a little bit uh sideways for for myself was when Ross stayed out I wasn't really expecting that and um then yeah I chose the bottom and he did a good job and got clear me and kind of pinched my air off into one and then the 54 was on my right side and then I was just stalled down the backstretch and and Chase got a a great run to get by all of us so um yeah I just wish I would have maybe executed the restart Zone a little bit better there and maybe the rest of the race plays out differently but um you know I I had the points on my mind you know knowing how close we were to reic and the great day we had going and the kind of average day he had going I just I just didn't want to get overly aggressive and uh take myself out of it too so um bummer that you know we came up a point short but we still you got the owner's side of it so that that's always good that's what pays pays the uh the check at the end of the year so but hopefully you know I can make it through each round as well as the car so um yeah just proud of my team proud of the pck crew today and proud of the race car despite not winning the regular season Championship as things are reeded for the playoffs you are the number one seed with the most bonus points what does that mean for you guys especially as you work your way through the first round which is kind of a wild card yeah it is um yeah I mean you work hard start all all year long to get stage wins get race wins to position yourself well in the playoffs um to you know not necessarily allow yourself a mistake but you know I I saw I think where we're 35 points above the cut line right now so that that's nice I mean especially when you go to a track as scary as Atlanta but they could be wiped out you know in an instant I could be below the cut line after Atlanta that's just kind of the craziness of of the system so yeah just uh keep doing what we've been doing you our car has been really fast our team's been executing great so just uh keep it up and and hopefully we can advance on through should be fun to watch Kyle lson and this five team go for their second cup series title plus 12 at the end of the day for Ty Gibbs and after what happened late in the race there can you believe it not really I was really unfortunate or really confused why I was just got try to get wrecked in three or four and then went and got Plugged In The Wall on one so I don't I don't know you know what was going on with with the people I was racing around was unfortunate um you know I I I'm just upset right now I wish we could have ran better I really love this track and have so much fun racing here our car was so good we wish we could have finished better but most importantly we made the playoffs and that's what we came here to do and um we we accomplished that so um you know I'm very happy for to be able to make it and we'll go see what we can do in 10 weeks I was going to say based on what you know inside and out with the 54 team how deep a run can this team make uh we'll see um we got to get through next week first so uh Atlanta is a tough one but I feel like we're really strong in the races for the rest of the season and we'll see what we can do and go out there and give it our best shot out of the 10 got a couple Circle that you like best uh I'd love to win at all of them Fair answer Ty Gibbs in the playoffs who who wouldn't right Dave uh it'll be the first ever playoff appearance for Ty Gibbs and boy DJ you talk about surviving I mean to get into a wreck that late in the race and the car be that badly damaged to be able to still make the playoffs man they got to be cting the lucky stars that didn't happen earlier in the race yeah you know he did a great job throughout the race of positioning himself doing exactly what they needed to do everything they needed to do and then when I saw the the hit that he took down there I was wondering how bad that might be because there were still enough cars in the race that he could have been on the outside looking in and uh but you know they they survived that uh this young man's just a huge talent I mean he does things right yeah not would not surprise me that that first win comes in the playoffs this year Ross Chastain also does not make the playoffs this year Dave is with him so the playoffs are a no for Ross Chastain by 33 points but it wasn't for not trying and especially that strategy at the end the staying out strategy was that the watermelon call almost worked yeah uh nine laap old tires and staying out at Darlington that's pretty scary but uh no I it was the right call and and it was it was the call and the for the cards we had to try to get a good restart and I got a great launch I can't even usually get those good that go to launches for our Bush heavy when I have equal tires they so to get that clear into one clear off of two I was like okay this is going okay and then turn three they all blew by so uh ultimately it kept us out of that big crash it kept us in a spot to pit from fourth uh or right there behind the eight uh and pit with those guys and um set ourselves up for a good shot um you know for the speed and the balance we had early in the race we definitely made it better um and it's kind of the kind of our motto we we just tend to make our cars better we just want to we want to show up to these weekends a little bit better well and how do you take the next 10 weekends then because obviously that's it's a couple of things it's trying to get the W's and it's preparation for next year how do you approach it yourself I don't know if it's right or wrong but me I get out of the car and I watch the 14 celebrate and let that sink in and hurt uh it is disappointing and it does hurt and look down the line and look at the playoff cards and just take some mental images of that and let that fuel some fire um inside of me and inside of our team and and and how we keep going because it it does hurt but a little hurts good every now and then and not that I want to be out of the playoffs but um we don't we don't stop and and I do it my own way and uh I'm not too down about it I I'm not happy about it by any means but uh for track house and in our group will um we'll wake up tomorrow the sun will come up tomorrow and we will go to Walkins Glenn an important side note that is the winner of the championship race at Phoenix last year so that's a big elimination for the rest of the playoff field uh Kyle but you got to give Phil sergeon credit I mean he never stopped trying to keep his driver in the game whether it was different strategy and stage three staying out at the end of the day I mean they really did a good job of trying to manage the race they did listen they if everybody went left they went right if everybody went up they went down they tried when he stayed out Dell and I looked at each other like oh my gosh what's this restart going to be like and he drove away from the field I mean everybody talked about we're going to spin the tires we're going to see this one car he's going to back them all up he drove away from them they had to come back back and fight their way past him so good calls by feel and at the same time again you've got to look at Ross Chastain somewhere he digs a little bit deeper and goes to a different place when everything's on the line like that late in a race yeah you know what it brought back and I don't know the year but Regan Smith holding off PA Edward I it that was only for a couple of laps uh you know asking asking him to do what he need to but you have to do something you know you don't know what might have sparked that he's able to stay up there and they get a that brings everybody back to Pit Road then he has a shot I appreciate the effort that they put forth there at the end of the day as Chase Brisco Stewart house racing getting the win here in the southern 500 they find their way into into the 2024 playoffs NASCAR America post RAC has brought to you by Progressive Insurance save when you bundle Auto home or motorcycle insurance visit progressive.com so if tonight wasn't a exciting for you enough the playoffs kickoff for the cup series next week at a very unpredictable Atlanta Motor Speedway good afternoon Atlanta let's go do it today qu PES a lot of crazy things going happen here stay tough stay disciplined see where the weak ones are and try to step out our weaknesses early green flag green flag be on your 3 wi four rows in front here watch that 14 SP check check check down nice jobd three Checkers says hist at the time only the closest finish in history at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the spring everything on USA next weekend still the regular season for the Xfinity series but the CB Series race will bring you every green flag lap without commercial Interruption any thought on who you might think of as a favorite at Atlanta DJ uh you know with all due respect to our 16 drivers that are in the playoffs the way that things kind of go in this Sport and many other sports uh I'm going to go with either Chris busher Bubba Wallace Al Chastain Kyle Bush because they were needing a win to get through and they couldn't get it and it happens a week too late yeah you're exactly right and the way that you race Atlanta now is a different it's a it's a different way of racing it's not a Speedway race but it's not a Darlington it's in between that kind of racing and we saw it as you said the closest finish that we've ever seen three wide coming off turn four we would have never dreamed about anything like that but to see that type of racing I I agree we may see Chris buscher and Bubba Wallace and Kyle Busch coming off turn four three wide again I mean Atlanta has truly turned into a Super Speedway race so that that that leads to the unpredictability DJ yes it does yeah it's not I mean it's different in the way that it's a mile and a half track you have high Banks uh that you deal with there a high high speeds uh but there's a lot of grip uh in that that that allows those drivers as Kyle was talking about to we know we used to never see a three wide finish there you know we'd see some two wide stuff uh but you know it just opens uh itself up to a lot of things happening strategies being played and drivers willing to put everything on the line so if if Atlanta's not enough for you here's the first round of the cup series playoffs I mean my goodness Kyle you got a road course in there a Super Speedway and oh by the way it all caps off at Bristol and that that is a crazy round when you look at it because they are aggressive round you got you have to be aggressive when you go to Atlanta to drive you have to be aggressive when you go to Watkins Glenn we see that the the SP or the the road courses have turned in with what we thought the short tracks were long many years ago and Bristol is just Bristol baby so that that's that's just the way it is you never know what's going to happen there so in the first round DJ it's a Super Speedway and a road course and a short track then you go to round two and it's again a Super Speedway and a road course and then of course the all important round of eight you win that Las Vegas race just like Kyle Larson did last year you're automatically in the championship four yeah and that's the way that you started off and exactly what you want to do because that gives you time to really think ahead the only driver that can think and team that can think ahead two weeks ahead is the driver that wins that Las Vegas race uh that that's still in the round there unless you're Ross Chastain who was already thinking two weeks ahead he's going to Watkins Glenn he's not going to Atlanta man the way the playoffs lay out this year it's going to be chaotic the entire time couple of super Speedways in there road courses short tracks should be a lot of fun can't wait to kick it off next week DJ yeah really looking forward to that I mean this is going to be fascinating to start the playoffs in this manner uh because you know it could be you know one of those D you joking about someone outside which could easily happen but it could happen for you know one of the winners that we just saw uh that that moves themselves on into that second round we saw how dramatic this race was we saw the tension we saw the drama build and build and build it's just going to build the next 10 races that's what it is we go to Atlanta bills for Watkins Glenn and bills for Bristol welcome to NASCAR and welcome to the playoffs it ramps up over the next 10 weeks to decide a champion in Phoenix later this year congratulations to chase Brisco steart house house racing there in the playoffs we'll see you next week from the Atlanta Motor Speedway