Denny Hamlin reacts to Chase Briscoe winning at Darlington: 'Didn't see this coming'

Chase Briscoe’s triumph in Sunday’s Southern 500 at Darlington, the regular season finale, came as a shock to many in the NASCAR community but especially Denny Hamlin.

Up until Darlington, Briscoe’s 2024 campaign had been mired in inconsistency. But under the current playoff format, you just need it to all come together for one race. And for 367 laps and 500 miles Sunday at The Lady in Black, it did in a big way for Briscoe.

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Hamlin, speaking on Monday’s “Actions Detrimental” podcast, said he “certainly didn’t see” Briscoe getting to Victory Lane at Darlington, but praised him for a job well done.

“Certainly didn’t see this coming,” Hamlin said. “I’m not sure how many top 5s Chase had this year, didn’t seem like many. He was always right around the bubble field kind of mid-summer and then it kind of tapered off to where you knew short of like Bubba [Wallace] or whatever, they were going to have to win. He put himself in the category of going to have to win, and he did.

“Ran up front all race. I think the key was really him having a good qualifying effort on Saturday and stayed up front. [He] was really fast in the short run and just kept himself in the game the whole race and then wow. We had an awesome race at the end, some wild restarts. Certainly, things got tussled around. The 1 [Ross Chastain] stayed out, that was a big moment in how those last few restarts played out and ultimately the race.”

Chase Briscoe emotional after Southern 500 victory

Hamlin and Briscoe will soon be teammates, the latter taking over for the retiring Martin Truex Jr. behind the wheel of the No. 19 Toyota in 2025. But for now, Briscoe is playoff bound in a Stewart-Haas Racing car. That’s notable in that SHR will be closing its doors after the 2024 season. Over 300 employees will soon be out of jobs, making Sunday’s victory all that more meaningful for Briscoe.

Oh, and snapping a 93-race winless streak isn’t so bad as well.

“For all 320 employees, everybody, to be able to race for a championship in their final year, man, unbelievable. God is just so good,” Briscoe said after the race. “It’s like déjà vu there at the end with Kyle, with the Xfinity race here in 2020. Obviously, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to do it. … This night just literally went perfect. The pit crew did an incredible job. I was crying. After the checkered, I just won the Southern 500, this is a crown jewel.”