NASCAR takeaways: Chase Briscoe outduels Kyle Busch for final Cup playoff spot

DARLINGTON, S.C. — Chase Briscoe held off Kyle Busch for a walk-off victory Sunday that launched him into the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs while delivering a crushing blow to drivers hoping to make the playoffs on points.

Briscoe captured the regular-season finale as he led the final 26 laps of the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in becoming the 14th driver to earn a playoff spot with a win, leaving Martin Truex Jr. and Ty Gibbs as the only winless drivers to make the 16-driver playoff field.

"I knew it was going to be one of those do-or-die moments," Briscoe said. "We talked about it before the race today, this is the last bullet in the chamber. ... If we executed all night long, I knew we would be in the mix.

"We executed. And we were in the mix at the end."

Chris Buescher missed the cut by six points while Bubba Wallace missed it by 27 points. For much of the race, Buescher and Wallace seemed to be in a tight battle for the final playoff spot while Kyle Larson led 263 of the 367 laps. Busch, who also went winless this year, came up short as he finished second in the final two regular-season races.

"Our best wasn't good enough — as simple as that," Wallace said.

Joining Briscoe, Truex and Gibbs in the playoffs are Tyler Reddick (the regular-season champion), Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, Chase Elliott, Daniel Suarez, Brad Keselowski Alex Bowman and Harrison Burton. 

Takeaways after the regular-season finale, where for the second consecutive week, a driver needing a win to make the playoffs made it happen:

Briscoe Win-And-In

Briscoe entered the race 18th in the standings and 114 points behind the playoff cutoff, meaning he had no other path to