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NASCAR‘s return to NBC produced the highest viewership for the sport since the Coke Zero Sugar 400 in August. According to Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal, this past Sunday’s Round of 8 playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway got 2.556 million viewers. The YellaWood 500, the first playoff race to air on NBC this season, is also the first playoff race to top two million viewers. The previous seven playoff races were on NBCUniversal-owned USA Network. While the number represents a significant improvement, it is down from last year’s Talladega playoff race, which drew 3.127 million viewers. This year’s Talladega race didn’t provide the usual “Big One,” and the result was a finish in which several playoff drivers were in position to win. In the end, it was Chase Briscoe who got it done. Briscoe will race for a Cup Series championship next month at Phoenix Raceway. Briscoe held off Todd Gilliland to win, thanks to some help behind him from Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs. Briscoe had never won a superspeedway race before Sunday, and the emotion of that and advancing to the Championship 4 hit him when he stepped out of his No. 19 Toyota. Chase Briscoe reacts to big win at Talladega to advance to Championship 4 “Ty Gibbs, just incredible teammate there. I honestly would not have won that race without Ty. Just an amazing team effort,” Briscoe said. “I can’t believe I won a superspeedway race, I haven’t done it at any level. Thank you, guys, so much, every time we come to Talladega this place is sold out. Unbelievable atmosphere, I cannot believe I won here. Johnny Morris is here with Bass Pro Shops and yeah, it’s not hit me, we’re going to Phoenix.” Briscoe is, in fact, going to Phoenix with the goal to win both the race and the championship. Denny Hamlin, his JGR teammate, is the only other driver to have clinched a spot in the Championship 4. “Yeah, absolutely [this is a dream come true],” Briscoe said. “So thankful that the Lord has blessed me opening doors and even closing doors at times. But certainly, he opened an incredible door for me here at Joe Gibbs Racing. “Today, I had such a peace. I’m scared to death, a nervous wreck around this place, but I just had such a peace that regardless of the finish, he was gonna use it somehow for his glory, and it’s pretty cool that it ends up in Victory Lane.”
