DARLINGTON, S.C. - Chase Briscoe needed a win in Sunday night’s Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway to make the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, and he got it in dramatic fashion in front of a sellout crowd.

Briscoe’s aggressive move with 26 laps to go, where he went from fourth to first in one corner by passing Ty Gibbs, Kyle Larson, and leader Ross Chastain, proved to be the difference. Briscoe led the rest of the way and held off Kyle Busch down the stretch to punch his ticket and give Ford a manufacturer-best six drivers in the postseason.

Chase Briscoe finished third in Stage 1 and second in Stage 2, making him the top Ford finisher in each session.

In Stage 3, a Lap 322 incident occurred when Todd Gilliland got loose and ran the No. 17 Ford into the wall. Chris Buescher was +3 for the playoffs at the time of contact. Unfortunately for Buescher, the win by Briscoe knocked the 17 team from the 16-driver playoff field.

Ryan Blaney’s night ended prematurely when he was collected in a two-car accident on Lap 2 after Martin Truex Jr. lost control of his Toyota Camry and veered up toward the wall, collecting the No. 12 Ford Mustang Dark Horse. The damage was not repairable.

The NASCAR Cup Series opens its 10-race Playoffs on Sunday, Sept. 8, at Atlanta Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Streaming on NBC Sports).

UNOFFICIAL NCS RACE TOP-10 FINISHERS
1st – Chase Briscoe
2nd – Kyle Busch
3rd – Christopher Bell
4th – Kyle Larson
5th – Ross Chastain
6th – Chris Buescher
7th – Denny Hamlin
8th – Joey Logano
9th – Corey LaJoie
10th – Tyler Reddick

REMAINING FORD FINISHERS
12th – Ryan Preece
13th – Austin Cindric
14th – Brad Keselowski
17th – Todd Gilliland
21st – Harrison Burton
27th – Justin Haley
28th – Michael McDowell
31st – Josh Berry
32nd – Noah Gragson
34th – Kaz Grala
36th – Timmy Hill
37th – Ryan Blaney

PLAYOFF STANDINGS (Entering Atlanta - Race 1 in Round of 16)

1. Kyle Larson (2,040)
2. Christopher Bell (2,032)
3. Tyler Reddick (2,028
4. William Byron (2,022
5. Ryan Blaney (2,018)
6. Denny Hamlin (2,015)
7. Chase Elliott (2,014)
8. Brad Keselowski (2,008)
9. Joey Logano (2,007
10. Austin Cindric (2,007)
11. Daniel Suarez (2,006)
12. Alex Bowman (2,005)
13. Chase Briscoe (2,005)
14. Harrison Burton (2,005)
15. Ty Gibbs (2,004)
16. Martin Truex Jr. (2,004)