
via Imago
Chase Briscoe

via Imago
Chase Briscoe
Chase Briscoe stood in victory lane at Talladega, his first drafting triumph after years of close calls. This marked his third win of the 2025 season, a gritty last-lap push past Bubba Wallace with Ty Gibbs’ help to lock him into Phoenix alongside Denny Hamlin. Briscoe’s journey to Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 seat has been about proving he belongs, especially after skeptics questioned his signing.
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That disbelief of winning a superspeedway hit him hard and can be felt when he said, “I can’t believe I won a superspeedway race. I haven’t done it, any level anywhere. Just an unbelievable atmosphere. It’s not hit me. We’re going to Phoenix!” With Martinsville next and the finale at Phoenix, Briscoe is going all out with his efforts, cutting no corners in preparations. With his eyes already drifting to the desert finale, let’s hear how he’s ramping up.
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Chase Briscoe’s championship pivot
On the latest NASCAR on FOX interview, Chase Briscoe opened up about flipping the script after Talladega’s chaos. “We’re certainly, you know, shift some of our focus to Phoenix this week,” he told Kevin Harvick. “Our Sim time at Martinsville will be very, very limited compared to what we will do at Phoenix. And yeah, just absolutely maximizing everything we can for Phoenix.”
This ramp-up means 10 to 15 extra simulator hours, a deliberate move to sharpen edges for the Nov. 2 title race. Chase Briscoe‘s Talladega win didn’t just punch his ticket; it set a relentless tone, turning survival mode into calculated dominance for Phoenix, where he’s averaged a solid 15.6 finish in past starts (since February 2022) but craves that championship edge.
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Briscoe’s focus sharpens even as Martinsville looms, a short-track beast he knows well. He’s posted two top-fives and six top-10s there, with an ~12 average finish, yet the grandfather clock eludes him. “I think it’s trying to just go there and win again, truthfully,” Briscoe said post-Talladega. “I mean, all of us want a grandfather clock, right? And, you know, I feel like that’s a place where I’ve always ran really, really good. I just haven’t been able to win all the way.”
His history screams contender, including strong runs in the 2022 playoffs, but late-race gremlins, like a 2023 tire issue, stalled him. Now, with less sim time allocated, it’s about efficient and effective prep to build momentum and use Martinsville as practice and view Phoenix as the real proving ground.
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Denny Hamlin, fresh off his own Vegas lock-in, couldn’t hide his grin for Briscoe’s surge. “He’s such a good dude, and he’s been a really good teammate,” Hamlin said on his Actions Detrimental podcast. “I’m really happy for him and James Small. I know that James works really, really hard for that No. 19 team.”
Hamlin’s words carry weight; he’s a two-time Phoenix winner and JGR lead driver who sees Briscoe’s cool head, honed from sprint-car roots, as title material. Their shared setups from Talladega data now fuel intra-team battles, ramping up pressure without excuses. For Briscoe, this teammate nod underscores the win’s ripple: not just points, but belief in a squad hitting on all cylinders.
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As Briscoe dives deeper into Phoenix prep, his crew chief’s take adds another layer to this milestone run.
Crew Chief’s emotional high after long drought
James Small, Briscoe’s crew chief, choked up reflecting on Talladega’s magic, a breakthrough he’d chased for years. “To do it in the Round of 8, check our ticket to Phoenix, is just amazing,” Small said in the post-race presser. This victory snapped his superspeedway winless streak, which had lingered through his time alongside Martin Truex Jr., when their best finish was fifth at Talladega in 2022 during the Next Gen era.
Small’s tenure with Martin Truex Jr. built champions, reaching the 2019 finale, but the drafting tracks always teased success without delivering, often due to late cautions or fuel issues.
“They couldn’t be more different if they tried,” he noted with a smile. “Just very, very different people. Very different demeanors. The closest thing is they both like fishing and hunting. That’s it.” Yet that contrast clicked at Talladega, where Briscoe’s aggressive lane dives meshed with Small’s calls, crediting Gibbs’ push as the clincher.
For Small, it’s redemption: from Truex’s near misses to Briscoe’s first Championship 4 berth, proving his setups shine across styles. This emotional peak fuels their Phoenix push, turning past frustrations into fresh fire.
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