TALLADEGA, Ala. — Chase Briscoe has prided himself on performing when the pressure is on. When he needs the performance to save his job or boost his career, he delivers.
Entering this season, his first year at Joe Gibbs Racing as the appointed replacement of former Cup champion Martin Truex Jr., he knew that if he didn’t perform, he likely wouldn’t have many options.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel like we were capable of doing it,” Briscoe said. “That’s why I said even what I said at the beginning of the year. If I don’t go win, I’m never going to get hired again because the expectation is you have to go to JGR and win.
“If you can’t win in a JGR car, why would anybody hire you for another team?”
An emotional Chase Briscoe reacts after winning the NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
The 30-year-old Briscoe has faced a different type of pressure in recent weeks in the Cup playoffs. He was the only driver among the eight semifinalists who had never made it to the Champ Four to compete for the title Nov. 2 at Phoenix Raceway.
Briscoe earned an automatic bid to be among those four, thanks to a victory Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, his first win in 28 starts in drafting-style tracks.
“It just felt different because this time I feel like I don’t have to do anything special,” Briscoe said. “In the past, I felt like I had to do something extraordinary to even have a shot to go to the Round of Four. Here I felt like if I did my job, nothing extra, I’d at least have a shot at making it.
“This playoffs has felt different. I’m curious to see how the Final Four feels because I’ve not been in that position before and the weight of it. I’m just excited to at least have an opportunity.”
The JGR driver had only three career victories entering the playoffs and now has two in the first eight playoff races. He has five top-five finishes in the nine races. In his 170 starts before these playoffs, he had just 22 top-five finishes.
He stepped into a team that knew what their veteran driver wanted, but Briscoe also has more desire to work in the simulator and help the team find what works best for him.
All the preparation came into focus in the overtime finish at Talladega. And some luck, too.
Briscoe pushed Bubba Wallace into the lead and expected to push him to the win. But Wallace didn’t make a move to the inside lane and Briscoe — with the help of fellow Joe Gibbs Racing driver Ty Gibbs — was able to dive down and pass Wallace.
Chase Briscoe takes the checkered flag to win at Talladega.
“It’s been a hell of a year,” crew chief James Small said. “Every week, I think we’re still just getting better and better. Chase has grown a lot. He had a lot of pressure on him. We asked a lot of him.
“As I said a million times before, he’s done everything we’ve asked and then some.”
Briscoe’s roots are in sprint-car racing, so maybe that helps his demeanor. He’s used to having to search for the best line on a dirt track and adapting on the fly.
“Nothing fazes him,” Small said. “His personality, he’s cool under pressure. He’s a weird dude. I’ve never met anybody like him.
“To be a race car driver, that’s a great quality to have. For him, [the Champ Four] is going to be a great experience.”
Briscoe and Denny Hamlin have locked themselves into spots in the Champ Four thanks to wins in the semifinal round. Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson have a nearly insurmountable cushion (at least 37 and 36 points) on the other four contenders. Those four are William Byron, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott. And if any one of those drivers wins, then the final spot would come down to Bell or Larson.
Larson, Logano, Blaney and Elliott all have won titles. Bell and Byron have both been championship finalists two times.
The driver among the four finalists at Phoenix who finishes the best (all drivers still compete throughout NASCAR’s playoffs) is the champion.
How strong will Chase Briscoe be when he makes his first Champ Four appearance in November?
“When you look at the eight guys that are in this round in general, I feel like it’s the eight strongest drivers and teams in our sport,” Briscoe said. “Just to even be associated with those guys is an honor for me and a privilege.
“It’s pretty cool [to be in it]. Definitely, whoever wins this championship is going to be more than deserving. Hopefully it’s obviously me.”
Small doesn’t think the moment in two weeks will overwhelm his driver.
“I just expect him to treat it like another race,” Small said. “There’s not really any added extra pressure, in my opinion.
“We’ve just got to go out there and try to win the race, try to do the same thing we do every week. It’s all going to be about the preparation, putting the work in, making sure we go there with all our ducks in a row.
“I have full faith that he has the ability to do it, and the occasion won’t be too much for him at all.”
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
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