Chase Briscoe punches his ticket to Phoenix

Arriving in the offseason to replace 2017 champion Martin Truex Jr. in the venerable "Coach Gibbs" team, Briscoe has been gaining momentum throughout the year, eventually winning this Sunday for the first time on a superspeedway, ahead of Todd Gilliland (Front Row Motorsports), and other drivers who are no longer in the playoff race.

Despite a "Big One" on the 51st of the 193 laps, notably eliminating Chase Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports) who will have a lot to do this Sunday at Martinsville if he wants to maintain his chances of winning a second title, this Talladega race was ultimately quite "moderate", with notably a long sequence under green flag in the final laps, interrupted by the accident of Chris Buescher (RFK Racing) two laps from the finish. A bad bump sent him into a spin just as he had taken the lead of the race. An overtime finale was therefore to come.

2021 Cup Series champion Kyle Larson (Hendrick Motorsports) was thought to be in the best position to finally win his first race on a superspeedway, but he ultimately ran out of fuel on the backstretch on the final lap while leading the inside lane. His teammate William Byron, who took over at the front of the lane at that point, spun in the final turn, ultimately finishing outside the top 20.

Hendrick's misfortunes are therefore Joe Gibbs's blessing, as two of his cars qualify for the Phoenix finale after Denny Hamlin's victory in Las Vegas last week. Two final spots are available after the next race, at Martinsville, where Christopher Bell, the third driver of the group, is used to performing superb feats to narrowly make it into the finale. Third in the championship with a 37-point lead over the elimination zone, Bell can see the small oval in Virginia coming, as can Larson, fourth with a 36-point lead.

However, a victory for one of the last four contenders in the race, William Byron, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney or Chase Elliott, and one of the two most prominent drivers this season will have to say goodbye to his dream of winning the title at the end of the season in Phoenix...

NASCAR – Talladega
The classification of the race

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