Briscoe secures spot in NASCAR playoff finale

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Chase Briscoe gave Joe Gibbs Racing its 2nd spot successful NASCAR's championship-deciding play finale with an overtime triumph Sunday astatine Talladega Superspeedway.

Briscoe raced to his archetypal vocation superspeedway triumph to articulation teammate Denny Hamlin arsenic Toyota drivers guaranteed slots successful the four-driver winner-take-all finale astatine Phoenix Raceway successful 2 weeks.

Briscoe was sixth connected the restart -- a two-lap sprint successful overtime to the decorativeness -- and Hendrick Motorsports drivers William Byron and Kyle Larson divided the beforehand enactment and lined up side-by-side for the Chevrolet drivers to power the restart.

Byron was getting assistance from down from chap Chevrolet operator Carson Hocevar, a operator for Hendrick aligned Spire Motorsports. Larson's propulsion was from Toyota operator Bubba Wallace, who did get Wallace into the lead.

But Larson appeared to tally retired of substance and dropped dramatically disconnected the gait and Byron, who is successful information of playoff elimination, mislaid his accidental astatine triumph erstwhile his propulsion from Hocevar was excessively beardown and it caused Byron to spin.

Briscoe, meanwhile, had nary problems with each his assistance coming from JGR operator Ty Gibbs, the lone 1 of his teammates not eligible for the championship.

"Ty Gibbs, conscionable unthinkable teammate there. I mean, I honestly would not person won that contention without Ty," Briscoe said. "This is an astonishing squad effort. I can't judge I won a superspeedway race. I haven't done it astatine immoderate level."

There are 2 unfastened spots near successful the title tract to beryllium determined adjacent week successful the finale of the 3rd circular of the playoffs. Larson and JGR operator Christopher Bell are supra the elimination line, portion Byron, Hendrick teammate Chase Elliott, and Team Penske drivers Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney are beneath the cutline.

Logano and Blaney person combined to triumph the past 3 Cup titles for Penske.

The contention went to overtime erstwhile Chris Buescher was starring with 2 laps to spell and helium was spun from down by Byron, who was shoved into Buescher by Hocevar. Buescher spun crossed the beforehand of the battalion and slammed hard into an wrong partition successful a one-car clang that sent the contention to overtime.

Todd Gilliland finished 2nd successful a Ford for Front Row Motorsports -- the squad that alongside Michael Jordan-owned 23XI Racing is headed to mediation Tuesday successful a national antitrust suit -- and Gibbs was third. Wallace, who drives for 23XI, was fourth.

ELLIOTT IN EARLY CRASH

Chase Elliott's chances to beforehand into the last 4 took a deed erstwhile NASCAR's astir fashionable operator was collected successful the archetypal clang of the race.

Elliott, the 2020 NASCAR champion, was already beneath the cutline for elimination erstwhile helium was caught successful an aboriginal eight-car clang 52 laps into the race. It sent the Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to the store for repairs and dropped Elliott to past successful the 40-car field.

Elliott present goes to Martinsville Speedway successful a must-win concern to beforehand to the title-deciding finale astatine Phoenix for the archetypal clip since 2...