Chase Briscoe’s debut in the Championship 4 got off to a worrying start at Phoenix Raceway before the main event even began. In the critical final practice session, the title contender suffered an early, immediate blow when a left-rear tire went flat just minutes after taking to the track. For the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team, it proved particularly disruptive, as they were only able to complete a paltry 24 laps and reported a lingering vibration, leading crew chief James Small to admit they were “too aggressive” with their initial setup.

Despite the limited track time, the pressure was on Briscoe to secure a prime starting spot for the finale. He ultimately qualified the No. 19 Toyota in 12th position, placing him significantly behind his three Championship 4 rivals, all of whom secured top-3 starting spots. But now, the mechanical gremlins just don’t stop affecting his car, even as the main event is underway in full force.

Chase Briscoe faces an uphill battle at Phoenix

A championship bid was nearly derailed by a crippling vibration and a cascade of on-track chaos for Chase Briscoe at the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series finale at Phoenix Raceway. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who had been running solidly inside the top-5 and was one of the four vying for the title, hit severe trouble around Lap 108 when a right-rear tire failure, possibly triggered by early-run debris, forced him onto pit road under green.

This unfortunate sequence occurred right as Shane van Gisbergen spun to bring out a caution flag, creating a bizarre scenario where the caution actually helped stop Briscoe from losing multiple laps, yet it still sealed his fate for a penalty. Despite the stroke of luck from the caution, the damage was already done, both physically to the car’s rear and strategically, as the violation of pitting under a closed pit road meant Briscoe was sent to the tail end of the longest line for the subsequent restart.

The team immediately addressed the damaged wheel, but the uncertainty over the severity of the incident meant the No. 19 JGR crew wasn’t even sure “if all the wheels were tight” during the frantic pit stop. The saga continued after the restart, indicating the problem was deeper than just a cut tire. While experiencing the mechanical issue, he stated, “It’s vibrating pretty good,” and even after a second, corrective pit stop, he reported to his crew that the vibration was “pretty bad” and he could still feel it “even right now.”

The severity of the damage became clear when Briscoe gave his final, worrying assessment: “Feels like something is bent,” confirming major mechanical drama that would seriously compromise his title chances. This string of events forced the No. 19 team to spend laps diagnosing and repairing the issue, fundamentally shifting the balance of the Championship 4 race away from Briscoe, who was already dealing with the underdog tag against competitors Denny Hamlin, William Byron, and Kyle Larson.

Despite climbing up to 22nd place and trying to manage the situation, the driver’s communication revealed the terrifying reality, saying on the radio, “Be ready, I feel like I have another one about to blow,” as he continued to deal with the severe instability. By Lap 143, the constant struggle saw him drop to 24th, further eroding any chance of competing for the title, even as he attempted to keep the car running.

The desperate situation was summed up chillingly by the driver as he reported to his crew, with his car shaking violently from the damage: “Thing feels like it’s about to rip in half.” The unsettling trend of tire failures was not isolated to the No. 19 team, suggesting a broader issue on the hot Phoenix surface.

Stage Two saw another critical incident with just 36 laps remaining when A.J. Allmendinger was sidelined by a tire failure in the No. 16, a problem that followed a similar issue for Kyle Busch.

Notably, both Allmendinger and Busch, along with Briscoe, had experienced tire problems during practice sessions earlier in the weekend, indicating that the gremlins had tragically carried over to the championship race. The message from crew chief James Small was one of encouragement and persistent troubleshooting: “Just stay positive here, try to keep going forward.”

Small was theorizing if something may be stuck behind a wheel or something to cause the vibration, a theory that hinted at the desperation to keep the No. 19 car competitive despite the underlying damage.

Meanwhile, Briscoe’s teammate and championship rival, Denny Hamlin, was battling a separate, though minor issue while focusing on executing a near-perfect race.

Denny Hamlin’s pit road trouble threatens JGR’s title run

After taking the pole in the qualifying session and winning the race off pit road to take the lead, Hamlin noted a complication with his clutch when leaving the pit box: “Golly, the clutch dude. It shoots me out. It’s right on the edge of engaging and disengaging […] just gotta make sure to keep our revs up,” he reported to the No. 11 team.

The race for the lead tightened significantly as Stage Two drew to a close, with non-Championship contender Ryan Blaney putting intense pressure on the race leader. With approximately 20 laps remaining in the stage, Hamlin successfully held the top slot, leading Blaney, but the close-quarters racing meant no breathing room for the No. 11. The standings among the title contenders at Lap 162 were tight, with Hamlin leading, followed by William Byron in 3rd and Kyle Larson in 4th.

As the laps dwindled to under 15 in the stage, the on-track battle for the lead remained unchanged as Hamlin kept leading. Crucially, in the contest for the championship itself, Hamlin held a small but significant advantage over his closest rival, Byron, by 1.88 seconds. If earlier mechanical gremlins remain under control, Hamlin might just be unstoppable in this race.