Chris Buescher and Bubba Wallace spent the entire night at Darlington battling for the 16th and final spot in the playoffs, but in the end, neither of them clinched it.

In a hectic finish, two drivers in a must-win situation battled it out for the honor of winning the Southern 500 and the chance to fight for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series championship.

Buescher missed the playoffs by six points with Ty Gibbs taking the 16th and final spot, leaving the RFK Racing feeling complete “frustration and disbelief.”

Chase Briscoe held off Kyle Busch in thrilling finish, putting SHR in the playoffs just weeks before the race teams shuts down.

Busch ended the regular season with back-to-back runner-up finishes, missing the postseason for the first time since 2012.

Buescher, Wallace, and Ross Chastain all just missed out as well.

No offense to Chase Briscoe. Not yet, anyway, we’ll get around to that down below.

But seriously, Darlington isn’t supposed to be so generous.

 The old lady is picky about handing out such treats — she’s more of a back-of-the-hand than a kiss-on-the-cheek type.

But boy howdy, did she ever make Briscoe feel warm and fuzzy.

“I was crying after the checkered,” Briscoe said after Sunday night’s shocker. “I just won the Southern 500. This is a crown jewel.”

And he won it with Stewart-Haas teammates who are basically boxing up their stuff as the team’s final season in NASCAR winds down.

And in the final race of the regular season and therefore the last remaining shot at making the playoffs.