DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) — Chase Briscoe made a big statement Sunday night with his second straight Southern 500 victory that he's a serious contender for the NASCAR Cup Series title.
Briscoe's team, Joe Gibbs Racing, and his manufacturer, Toyota, also made statements at Darlington Raceway that this postseason would not be a Penske-paloooza runaway like the past few.
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A pack of cars drives through Turn 1 during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Darlington Raceway, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in Darlington, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
The pit crew for Chase Briscoe rushes to complete a pit stop during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Darlington Raceway, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in Darlington, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
Chase Briscoe does a burnout after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Darlington Raceway, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in Darlington, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
Chase Briscoe, center, celebrates with his son Brooks in Victory Lane after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Darlington Raceway, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in Darlington, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
Chase Briscoe (19) climbs out of his car as his son Brooks, top, waves the checked flag in Victory Lane after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Darlington Raceway, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in Darlington, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
“I think a night like tonight really gives Chase the confidence that he belongs,” crew chief James Smalls said of the first-year JGR team.
That was obvious to anyone who watched the crown jewel race. Briscoe, who qualified second, moved in front early and rarely left the front, leading for 309 of 367 laps and outlasting Tyler Reddick to back up last year's surprise victory at the track nicknamed “Too Tough To Tame” that got him into the playoffs at the last possible moment.
The win a year ago gave soon-to-be-closing Stewart-Haas Racing a final shot at playoff participation. Briscoe wanted to set a strong tone early this time around and did just that on perhaps the most difficult of NASCAR's 10 postseason tracks.
“I've always just loved high-pressure situations,” he said. “I feel like I just perform better for whatever reason. I feel like my whole career has always been a high-pressure situation, right? There was no backup plan. You might only get one race (and) you've got to perform, show your worth.”
Now, that's on top of the playoff standings as powerhouse JGR looks to win its first NASCAR Cup Series crown since former Gibbs racer Kyle Busch did it in 2019.
Since then, Rick Hendrick Motorsports won titles in 2020 and '21, with Team Penske capturing the past three.
JGR owner Joe Gibbs said Briscoe showed up as strong as any of past Cup Series winners. “Starting up front, then to kind of dominate the race,” Gibbs said. “I think what he showed is great speed.”
Just like many of the highest-profile Toyotas.
Briscoe's teammate, Denny Hamlin, edged him out for the pole in qualifying Saturday, then overcame problems in the pits to rally for seventh. Hamlin, considered by many to be the best driver without a title, is second in playoff standings and in strong position to advance.
Hamlin also saw his playoff drivers Reddick and Bubba Wallace — Hamlin co-owns 23XI Racing with Michael Jordan — finish second and sixth in Toyotas. Both are in the top five in the playoff standings and poised for strong runs.
In all, there were six Toyotas among the top seven finishers. It was the manufacturer's third top-four sweep since it came to the Cup Series in 2007.
As far as the others power players? Defending champion and three-time series winner Joey Logano is 13th and among the first four out without an improvement at World Wide Technology Raceway outside of St. Louis next week or at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sept. 13.
2020 series champion Chase Elliott finished well behind the leaders and when asked about his chances of a better run next race said, “Well, I just finished 17th.”
Wallace, the 23XI racer, thought he, Reddick and the Toyota drivers came through when it mattered most. He's confident that will continue throughout the playoffs.
“To show up here and put together two solid races for our team, got to keep that going. Check that off the list. Nine more to go," he said.
Briscoe insisted he thought little of the big picture before, during and after his huge weekend at Darlington. His crew chief was focused enough for the whole team.
Smalls was asked if the No. 19 team had the pieces to take the trophy this year in Briscoe's first season in the cockpit after taking over from Martin Truex Jr.
“Oh, 100%,” he said. “It was difficult, new situation for everybody. We had a little bit of learning to do, some new people on the team as well. We had some speed. Just took a little bit to jell and get everybody on the same page, understanding of what we’re trying to achieve every week.”
If Briscoe's JGR Toyota keeps stacking performances like this, the result could be NASCAR's biggest prize.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
A pack of cars drives through Turn 1 during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Darlington Raceway, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in Darlington, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
The pit crew for Chase Briscoe rushes to complete a pit stop during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Darlington Raceway, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in Darlington, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
Chase Briscoe does a burnout after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Darlington Raceway, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in Darlington, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
Chase Briscoe, center, celebrates with his son Brooks in Victory Lane after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Darlington Raceway, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in Darlington, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
Chase Briscoe (19) climbs out of his car as his son Brooks, top, waves the checked flag in Victory Lane after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Darlington Raceway, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in Darlington, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
HAVANA (AP) — Cuban soldiers wearing white gloves marched out of a plane on Thursday carrying urns with the remains of the 32 Cuban officers killed during a stunning U.S. attack on Venezuela as trumpets and drums played solemnly at Havana's airport.
Nearby, thousands of Cubans lined one of Havana’s most iconic streets to await the bodies of colonels, lieutenants, majors and captains as the island remained under threat by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
The soldiers' shoes clacked as they marched stiff-legged into the headquarters of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, next to Revolution Square, with the urns and placed them on a long table next to the pictures of those killed so people could pay their respects.
Thursday’s mass funeral was only one of a handful that the Cuban government has organized in almost half a century.
Hours earlier, state television showed images of more than a dozen wounded people described as “combatants” accompanied by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez arriving Wednesday night from Venezuela. Some were in wheelchairs.
Those injured and the remains of those killed arrived as tensions grow between Cuba and the U.S., with Trump recently demanding that the Caribbean country make a deal with him before it is “too late.” He did not explain what kind of deal.
Trump also has said that Cuba will no longer live off Venezuela's money and oil. Experts warn that the abrupt end of oil shipments could be catastrophic for Cuba, which is already struggling with serious blackouts and a crumbling power grid.
Officials unfurled a massive flag at Havana's airport as President Miguel Díaz-Canel, clad in military garb as commander of Cuba's Armed Forces, stood silent next to former President Raúl Castro, with what appeared to be the relatives of those killed looking on nearby.
Cuban Interior Minister Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casa said Venezuela was not a distant land for those killed, but a “natural extension of their homeland.”
“The enemy speaks to an audience of high-precision operations, of troops, of elites, of supremacy,” Álvarez said in apparent reference to the U.S. “We, on the other hand, speak of faces, of families who have lost a father, a son, a husband, a brother.”
Álvarez called those slain “heroes,” saying that they were an example of honor and “a lesson for those who waver.”
“We reaffirm that if this painful chapter of history has demonstrated anything, it is that imperialism may possess more sophisticated weapons; it may have immense material wealth; it may buy the minds of the wavering; but there is one thing it will never be able to buy: the dignity of the Cuban people,” he said.
Thousands of Cubans lined a street where motorcycles and military vehicles thundered by with the remains of those killed.
“They are people willing to defend their principles and values, and we must pay tribute to them,” said Carmen Gómez, a 58-year-old industrial designer, adding that she hopes no one invades given the ongoing threats.
When asked why she showed up despite the difficulties Cubans face, Gómez replied, “It’s because of the sense of patriotism that Cubans have, and that will always unite us.”
Cuba recently released the names and ranks of 32 military personnel — ranging in age from 26 to 60 — who were part of the security detail of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during the raid on his residence on January 3. They included members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, the island’s two security agencies.
Cuban and Venezuelan authorities have said that the uniformed personnel were part of protection agreements between the two countries.
A demonstration was planned for Friday across from the U.S. Embassy in an open-air forum known as the Anti-Imperialist Tribune. Officials have said they expect the demonstration to be massive.
“People are upset and hurt. There’s a lot of talk on social media; but many do believe that the dead are martyrs” of a historic struggle against the United States, analyst and former diplomat Carlos Alzugaray told The Associated Press.
In October 1976, then-President Fidel Castro led a massive demonstration to bid farewell to the 73 people killed in the bombing of a Cubana de Aviación civilian flight financed by anti-revolutionary leaders in the U.S. Most of the victims were Cuban athletes.
In December 1989, officials organized “Operation Tribute” to honor the more than 2,000 Cuban combatants who died in Angola during Cuba’s participation in the war that defeated the South African army and ended the apartheid system. In October 1997, memorial services were held following the arrival of the remains of guerrilla commander Ernesto “Che” Guevara and six of his comrades, who died in 1967.
The latest mass burial is critical to honor those slain, said José Luis Piñeiro, a 60-year-old doctor who lived four years in Venezuela.
“I don’t think Trump is crazy enough to come and enter a country like this, ours, and if he does, he’s going to have to take an aspirin or some painkiller to avoid the headache he’s going to get,” Piñeiro said. “These were 32 heroes who fought him. Can you imagine an entire nation? He’s going to lose.”
A day before the remains of those killed arrived in Cuba, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced $3 million in aid to help the island recover from the catastrophic Hurricane Melissa, which struck in late October.
The first flight took off from Florida on Wednesday, and a second flight was scheduled for Friday. A commercial vessel also will deliver food and other supplies.
“We have taken extraordinary measures to ensure that this assistance reaches the Cuban people directly, without interference or diversion by the illegitimate regime,” Rubio said, adding that the U.S. government was working with Cuba's Catholic Church.
The announcement riled Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez.
“The U.S. government is exploiting what appears to be a humanitarian gesture for opportunistic and politically manipulative purposes,” he said in a statement. “As a matter of principle, Cuba does not oppose assistance from governments or organizations, provided it benefits the people and the needs of those affected are not used for political gain under the guise of humanitarian aid.”
Coto contributed from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Military members pay their last respects to Cuban officers who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, at the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces where the urns containing the remains are displayed during a ceremony in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A motorcade transports urns containing the remains of Cuban officers, who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, through Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Soldiers carry urns containing the remains of Cuban officers, who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, at the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Adalberto Roque /Pool Photo via AP)
A motorcade transports urns containing the remains of Cuban officers, who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, through Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A motorcade transports urns containing the remains of Cuban officers, who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, through Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
People line the streets of Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, to watch the motorcade carrying urns containing the remains of Cuban officers killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Workers fly the Cuban flag at half-staff at the Anti-Imperialist Tribune near the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in memory of Cubans who died two days before in Caracas, Venezuela during the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
