The NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings underwent a significant shake-up in the playoff opener at Darlington Raceway as Chase Briscoe won his second consecutive Southern 500.
Only four of the 16 playoff drivers finished in the top 10 as Briscoe scored his second victory of the 2025 season and fourth of his career.
There were 10 playoff drivers involved in on-track incidents, and the struggles meant there was less separation than expected across the standings.
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Josh Berry, who finished last after a Lap 1 spin, and Alex Bowman, who was 36th after a poor pit stop, are tied for last but still only 19 points behind the cutline with two races remaining in the first round.
Joey Logano (20th) and Austin Dillon (23rd) are also below the cutline. Rookie Shane van Gisbergen (32nd) is on the bubble in 12th, three points ahead of Logano.
Chase Elliott is 11th in the standings, nine points above the cutline, after struggling to a 17th in the No. 9 Chevrolet.
The rest of the standings behind Briscoe, who is the only driver locked into the second round: 2. Denny Hamlin (plus-43), 3. Kyle Larson (plus-38); 4. Tyler Reddick (plus-35); 5. Bubba Wallace (plus-25); 6. William Byron (plus-25); 7. Ryan Blaney (plus-22); 8. Ross Chastain (plus-21); 9. Austin Cindric (plus-12); 10. Christopher Bell (plus-11).
By sweeping both stages with the win, Briscoe gained seven playoff points, increasing his total to 17 and providing him a decent cushion to advance through the next two rounds.
Here’s the finishing order at Darlington Raceway:
1. Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Toyota
2. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota
3. Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota
4. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota
5. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet
6. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota
7. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota
8. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevrolet
9. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet
10. Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford
11. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet
12. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Ford
13. Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford
14. Noah Gragson, No. 4 Ford
15. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford
16. Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford
17. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet
18. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford
19. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet
20. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford
21. William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet
22. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota
23. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet
24. Cole Custer, No. 41 Ford
25. Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet
26. Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford
27. Justin Haley, No. 7 Chevrolet
28. Riley Herbst, No. 35 Toyota
29. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota
30. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Chevrolet
31. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet
32. Shane Van Gisbergen, No. 88 Chevrolet
33. Michael McDowell, No. 71 Chevrolet
34. Ty Dillon, No. 10 Chevrolet
35. Timmy Hill, No. 66 Ford
36. Derek Kraus, No. 44 Chevrolet
37. Cody Ware, No. 51 Ford
38. Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford
