Joe Gibbs Racing seems to be on a hot streak lately. However, that’s hardly a surprise. Remember the Round of 16 sweep? Christopher Bell won the final race at Bristol Motor Speedway, joining JGR teammates Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe, who won at Gateway and Darlington, respectively. They were the first team to have three different drivers, each winning a race. Fast-forward to today, and all three are fighting to get into the Championship 4. For Chase Briscoe, the race isn’t just on track.

The race situation looked different after Talladega; only two spots remained before the YellaWood 500, and Briscoe took it in his stride to win, joining Denny Hamlin in the Championship 4. However, managing your title case while navigating the dynamics of competing against your teammates is no straightforward task. But for Briscoe, racing against JGR cars isn’t unusual.

Speaking post-race, Briscoe didn’t hold back. He said, “You know, it’d be tough because I feel like they’re my biggest competition for it. But honestly, I don’t think it’s any different because I’ve learned, you know… but like at JGR, you compete for wins against your teammates all the time. So, it’s not really like it’s uncharted territory for us. You know, obviously there’s more on the line when you’re racing for a championship, but yeah, honestly, if I’m going to go against anybody, I hope it is them because I feel like, you know, at the end of the day, if one of us can’t win, we hope the other guy wins, right?”

Chase Briscoe knows it all too well. Denny Hamlin scored the win at the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway, leading 75 of the race’s 240 laps with a margin of 1.620 seconds over Briscoe. Briscoe finished second, securing an emphatic result for Joe Gibbs Racing. Nonetheless, Briscoe was also eyeing the wind but respected the boundaries of his teammate.

Yet, things sometimes turn ugly, like the Hamlin-Gibbs run-in at New Hampshire. At the round of 12 opener, Hamlin and Gibbs, teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing, tangled on track in Stage 2 while battling for position. Hamlin was racing for a championship spot, while Gibbs aimed to put on a worthy display. On lap 110, while running 11th, contact exiting Turn 4 between the two resulted in Hamlin sending Gibbs into the wall.

The incident raised questions about how the team manages intra-team competition when the championship stakes are highest. In fact, GGR competition director Chris Gabehart said the team would have a reasonable etiquette conversation moving forward. Maybe that is what makes Briscoe racing against his teammates feel normal. However, with Chase Briscoe in the Championship mix, Christopher Bell is the only JGR playoff driver who hasn’t made it through just yet.

Christopher Bell sounds off on his chances of clearing Martinsville

The math could not be more straightforward for the six drivers still racing for the two remaining spots in the NASCAR Cup Series championship race. With Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin advancing to Martinsville, Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson, the two contenders above the cut line, got left in a dogfight.

At face value, both Bell and Larson appear safe. But they will race each other at the Virginia half mile to avoid the worst-case scenario. That scenario would involve one of the four must-win drivers winning and moving above the cut line, leaving whichever of Bell or Kyle Larson scored the fewest points on the outside looking in.

Speaking post-race, Bell said with a nervous laugh, “It’s déjà vu, buddy.” This is a potential re-run for Bell, who was denied a spot in the final four last year due to a controversial tiebreaker with William Byron, so he knows he needs to outscore Larson just in case one of the bottom four wins.

Bell explained, “You have to go in there assuming one of them are going to win the race. They’re all very good there and have really good teams. Kyle or myself could win it. That is the most likely list of drivers who are going to get it done there. I expect a playoff driver to win the race and I expect Larson and myself to race for that final spot.”

And now with Martinsville ahead of him, Bell, who was previously relying on Denny Hamlin’s help, will look at his own lane and try to extend his one-point lead over Larson, whose day got derailed due to a fuel shortage. Because this time, Christopher Bell isn’t going to give up his championship four bid easily.