They say time heals all wounds, and that may just be the case for Joe Gibbs Racing. The NASCAR team has long felt the playoff system treated its championship hopes like a lottery ticket, and last year that frustration was painfully obvious. Denny Hamlin’s heartbreak became the headline, but the bigger story was how the old format repeatedly worked against the team’s season-long strength. The old playoff system was their biggest rival.

But that changes today with the return of the Chase format. And let’s just say one JGR driver is embracing it with open arms.

Speaking on NASCAR Live, Chase Briscoe is more than ready to embrace the revised playoff format.

“You know, I was an example of last year where, when we won the first race of the playoff round, if I didn’t win the next week, it didn’t matter if I finished second or dead last,” he said. “It made no difference for me, whereas now every race is going to matter. And I think that’s pretty cool.”

Although the finale at Phoenix unfolded in ways no one on the Joe Gibbs Racing pit box hoped for, Briscoe never backed down.

His tire problem may have cost him the championship, but the 31-year-old battled back into the top five late and was running near the lead before tires once again betrayed him.

The winner-take-all system is what derailed his chances. But thanks to the new format, those finishes won’t haunt JGR anymore.

In the earlier format, Briscoe sealed his Championship 4 spot with a win at Talladega, making a bold last-lap pass that delivered him his third win of the year and punched his ticket to the season finale.

But that “win and you’re in” system is completely gone, with the new format now in place.

Performances in the regular season matter the most. The top 16 drivers will qualify for the Chase solely on their standings position, placing far more emphasis on consistent performance every week than on clutch wins alone.

Once the Chase begins, drivers compete in 10 postseason races, and NASCAR resets and awards points based on finishes and stage results, giving the regular-season points leader a meaningful advantage at the start of the run.

Wins are still rewarded and now count for 55 points toward the championship. Ultimately, the title will go to the driver who accumulates the most points across those final 10 races rather than whoever finishes best in a single winner-take-all event.

And the No. 19 driver is here for it.

“I’m excited. This is the format that I kind of grew up on. You know, it’s a little bit different now, but still, I grew up watching the Chase and just remember, you know, obviously Jimmie’s run. I think the one probably the coolest was the 2011 one with Tony and Carl. I mean, that was just one of those unbelievable battles. So yeah, I’m excited,” he added.

And Briscoe is all in for that. For a driver who delivered a standout performance in his first year with Joe Gibbs Racing, one cannot count him out of the championship next year.

But while Briscoe continues to wear his driver’s hat well, his team-owner responsibilities have taken a hit at the Chili Bowl.

Briscoe faces a difficult time as an owner

Briscoe has made clear progress, but the results still don’t always match the effort. He ran into that reality again after a frustrating weekend for his Chili Bowl program.

A late caution flipped the script for Briscoe’s Chili Bowl team as Christopher Bell took control of Thursday’s preliminary race. The disappointment has stuck with Briscoe ever since.

“It definitely could have been better,” he said. “Last night still kind of stings. We had just passed Christopher, and then the caution came out, and we started right behind him. We kind of got shuffled at the start. And, you know, Christopher ends up winning, and we run eighth, so that one kind of stings, but we’ve been fast at least.”

Bell started deeper in the field but wasted no time after the restart. He pulled away from the pack from eighth and forced everyone chasing him, including Briscoe’s drivers Jordan Kinser and Karter Sarff, to battle for positions behind him.

Even after coming up short, Briscoe sees steady progress in his program. His team continues to build momentum, and although the results didn’t fall their way this time, the No. 19 driver remains optimistic.