Back in February, just before the start of the season, Chase Briscoe made a big claim about the 2020 season. He said that nothing short of eight wins will serve as proof enough that he is ready to go Cup racing.

On Saturday, Briscoe won his eighth race of the season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs opener at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Briscoe achieved a target he set over seven months ago, and in some style.

The Stewart-Haas Racing driver led 164 of 200 laps on the night, which is a career-high for him. Driving the No. 98 car, he left Noah Gragson and Daniel Hemric behind to take the chequered flag.

Briscoe became just the third driver ever to win eight NASCAR Xfinity Series races in the first 27 races of the season. However, the 25-year-old feels he could have gotten there sooner.

“Super glad to get to eight. I wish we could’ve got there sooner. I felt like we gave it away at quite a few races,” Briscoe said in his post-race interaction.

Chase Briscoe knew he could achieve the goal

Briscoe was expected to be under pressure all season to fulfill his own claims from earlier. But the youngster said that he announced his ‘eight-win’ goal for a reason.

“I truly felt like we were capable of doing that. I knew we have really good race cars. Even at the end of last year, I felt like we ran out front a lot. We just weren’t able to seal the deal,” Briscoe said.

Eyes on the big prize

Like all champion drivers, fulfilling a big pre-season target does not deter Briscoe from his title run. “Eight wins is a great season. But we still have six wins to try to get and a championship most importantly.

“I feel like this is kind of a relief now. I feel like people can stop asking me about it all the time because it’s been a big talking point all year along,” Briscoe said further.

There are still a few places up for grabs on the NASCAR Cup Series grid. The Silly Season is getting interesting as all three NASCAR divisions are into the Playoffs. Briscoe just took a big step towards a potential Cup seat as he made good on his promise.