DARLINGTON, S.C. — Chase Briscoe turned in one of the most dominating performances of 2025 and defended his title in the Cook Out Southern 500 on Sunday night, winning the NASCAR Cup Series' Round of 16 playoffs opener at Darlington Raceway.

Last year's victor at one of NASCAR's crown-jewel races, which qualified him for the playoffs, the Mitchell, Ind., native conquered The Track Too Tough to Tame again by scorching the 38-car field and leading a career-high 309 laps.

His No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota held a 0.409-second advantage over Tyler Reddick's Toyota, which mounted a dive-bomb try on the final lap between Turns 3 and 4.

Briscoe's fourth career Cup win advances him to the Round of 12.

Legacy Motorsports drivers Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek finished third and fourth foll

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