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.
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.
The Joe Gibbs Racing star won the legendary NASCAR race for the second consecutive year.
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. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford
2. Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet
3. Justin Haley, No. 7 Chevrolet
4. Cole Custer, No. 41 Ford
5. Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota
6. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet
7. Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford
8. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota
9. Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford
10. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet
11. Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford
12. Michael McDowell, No. 71 Chevrolet
13. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota
14. Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford
15. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet
16. Shane Van Gisbergen, No. 88 Chevrolet
17. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota
18. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford
19. William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet
20. Cody Ware, No. 51 Ford
21. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota
22. Ty Dillon, No. 10 Chevrolet
23. Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Toyota
24. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet
25. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota
26. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet
27. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford
28. Joey Gase, No. 44 Chevrolet
29. Casey Mears, No. 66 Ford
30. Austin Hill, No. 33 Chevrolet
31. Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford
32. BJ McLeod, No. 78 Chevrolet
33. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevrolet
34. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet
35. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Chevrolet
36. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet
37. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota
38. Noah Gragson, No. 4 Ford
39. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Ford
40. Riley Herbst, No. 35 Toyota