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NASCAR Playoff Leader Chase Briscoe, Crew Chief: We’re Championship-Caliber

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
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Chase Briscoe

Entering the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs seeded eighth out of 16 championship-contending drivers, Chase Briscoe undoubtedly wasn’t on many folks’ shortlist of title favorites.

But after Briscoe became the first driver to punch a ticket to the Round of 12, thanks to his commanding victory on Sunday at Darlington Raceway, the Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) driver and his crew chief, James Small, are justifiably bullish about their championship prospects.

After all, Briscoe didn’t just win at the track “Too Tough to Tame.” He basically pounded the competition into the proverbial dirt. Or — to put it in better NASCAR terms — the asphalt.

Just How Untouchable Was Chase Briscoe At Darlington?

Along with leading an impressive 309 of 367 laps on Sunday night, Chase Briscoe swept all three stages at Darlington — a 1.336-mile egg-shaped track that many consider to be NASCAR’s most challenging layout.

Any way you slice it, Briscoe delivered an all-around beatdown in the first of 10 playoff races.

“It’s definitely nice for us to start our playoffs off in the way we did it,” Briscoe said in the post-race winner’s press conference. “Not just winning, but I felt like we dominated. That’s really cool to do. It’s definitely a great way for us to start. Hopefully, we can just ride this momentum now.”

As a result of capturing all three stages, Briscoe collected a critical seven additional playoff points that will carry over to the Round of 12. And the Round of 8, if he makes it that far. For him, the bonus points he earned at Darlington meant even more than clinching a berth in the next round.

“I’m way more excited about seven playoff points for the next couple rounds, right?” Briscoe said. “That’s something we were at a pretty big deficit at (starting the playoffs). To add seven, that’s a huge deal, going forward. I was way more excited about that than locking into the Round of 12.”

Chase Briscoe, James Small Have Reason To Be Pumped About Championship Potential

With a minimum of seven additional playoff points now to his credit when the Round of 12 kicks off, Chase Briscoe will almost certainly enter the round in a better position than he started the playoffs. Between his performance at Darlington and the extra points he’ll take into future rounds, it’s no wonder he’s exuding confidence about his chances of a deep playoff run — and, possibly, a championship.

“Starting the playoffs, as a team, we feel we’re definitely capable of being Championship 4-caliber, and even the champion,” Briscoe said. “It’s a matter of putting 10 weeks together. Obviously, we started Week One the way we need to.

“I know they’re not always going to come as easy as they did (at Darlington). If we can continue to bring the speed and execute and be on pit road the way we were, it makes it where I feel like we start internally realizing we’re definitely capable of this. Hopefully, other people will, too.”

One person who’s plenty convinced that Briscoe and the No. 19 bunch can seriously contend for the title is the team’s crew chief, James Small.

Asked during his post-race media availability at Darlington if he thinks the team and its first-year driver for Joe Gibbs Racing are championship-caliber, the crew chief didn’t blink.

“Oh, 100%,” said Small, who served as crew chief for the same group last season with veteran driver Martin Truex Jr. “It was difficult, a new situation for everybody this year. 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 gel and get everybody on the same page and an understanding of what we’re trying to achieve every week.

“I think we’re there now.”

Growing Pains Behind Him, Chase Briscoe Looks Every Bit The Title Threat

Chase Briscoe entered the Cup Series in 2021 with Stewart-Haas Racing and remained with the Tony Stewart-co-owned organization until its closure at the end of last season. Despite Briscoe winning just twice over those four years, JGR hired him to replace Martin Truex Jr. after the 2017 Cup Series champion announced plans to hang up his full-time driving helmet at the end of 2024.

Although Briscoe’s transition to JGR hasn’t been perfect, qualifying well in his No. 19 Toyota has been no problem from the outset. He owns six poles, including one he claimed for his first official race in the car — the 2025 Daytona 500.

It’s only been in the last couple of months, however, that Briscoe has consistently performed anywhere close to as strong on race days.

“I would say it definitely was harder than I anticipated, the first, I don’t know, call it 10 weeks,” said Briscoe, whose two wins this year have both come since mid-June. “We were learning so much about ourselves. I was learning the race cars, how different they drove. It definitely took a little more time than I expected.

“I felt like Darlington is definitely what we’re capable of kind of week in and week out if we just do our job and perform. The cars are just so good.”

Maybe even good enough for him to grab his first NASCAR Cup Series championship come early November.

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
Jared Turner is a motorsports writer who has covered NASCAR for 20 years. He has interviewed over 20 NASCAR Hall of Famers and around 100 drivers, crew chiefs, and team owners, both past and present. He has also covered the sport for FOX Sports (where he was a two-time recipient of the FOX “X” Award for “Xtraordinary” job performance), NASCAR.com, Sporting News, NASCAR Pole Position Magazine, the SPEED network, and plenty of other online and print-only publications throughout his career. Notably, Jared has penned dozens of articles for NASCAR souvenir programs, including several featured prominently in Daytona 500 keepsakes. A Virginia Press Association award winner and former member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Jared has racked up accolades both for his writing and his academic work. He studied both Communication and Psychology at Virginia Tech, where he was permanently enshrined in Phi Beta Kappa — the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. Jared excels at feature writing and opinion writing, much of which stems from his dedication to all levels of racing.
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