The odds say Chase Briscoe is the long shot of the four NASCAR Cup Series title contenders going into Sunday’s battle at Phoenix Raceway. The driver, however, says he’s fine with that, even if he doesn’t agree.
“My whole career, I’ve been the underdog with the longest odds, so I kind of like that, truthfully,” Briscoe said. “But I don’t feel like we’re some underdog. Playoff-wise, we scored more points than anybody up until last week, so I don’t feel like we’re an underdog.”
Briscoe and his Joe Gibbs Racing team had indeed been tearing through the postseason until an engine issue halted them in the elimination race at Martinsville Speedway. Briscoe was already locked into his title spot, so it had little effect other than putting the first blemish on his playoff numbers.
In nine races, Briscoe earned eight top-10 finishes with 562 laps led. He led laps in seven of nine races. During that time, he earned 337 points.
The three other title contenders – Denny Hamlin, William Byron, and Kyle Larson – all have fewer top-10 finishes than Briscoe in those nine races. Larson, however, did eclipse Briscoe in points earned (340) by finishing in the top five last weekend at Martinsville Speedway, while Briscoe fell out of the race early due to his mechanical failure.
JGR’s newest addition is one of two title contenders who have won more than once in the postseason. Briscoe won the opener at Darlington Raceway and at Talladega Superspeedway. Hamlin is the other with multiple wins – St. Louis and Las Vegas.
“I feel like we’re all honestly really evenly matched,” Briscoe said. “It’s just a matter of executing. I wouldn’t feel like we’re an underdog. I feel like that’s probably a pretty good bet.”
As of Friday night, DraftKings, one of NASCAR’s Official Daily Fantasy Sports Game, has the championship odds with Hamlin at +235, Larson and Byron at +350, and then Briscoe at +310.
Briscoe is the only one of the four who is making his first appearance in the Championship 4.
“Honestly, I don’t feel like there’s any pressure,” he said. “That probably sounds weird to say, but nobody really expected us to be here anyway. Yeah, there’s really no pressure. I feel like there’s more pressure next year with how good this year [has gone]. Now the expectations are there.
“This year, there was really no expectation for anything outside of maybe winning a race. … I’m sure Sunday will feel different, but right now it doesn’t feel any different, if I’m being honest.”
In his first season driving for Joe Gibbs, it took until early summer for Briscoe to feel comfortable driving a new car and a new manufacturer. The team struggled to execute clean races, but once they scored their first win together at Pocono Raceway in late June, the confidence soared and a corner had been turned.
August is when Briscoe felt his team was indeed championship-caliber – a feeling bolstered by the team running inside the top 10 and putting together a stretch of four top-five finishes in five races. Even though Briscoe was still confident they had not reached their full potential, things had begun to click.
“I felt like if we kept building on that to the playoffs, then we were going to be in a really good spot,” Briscoe said. “Throughout the Playoffs, I still don’t feel like we’re at 100 percent, per se, but we’re way closer now than we were even in August.”
Briscoe was involved in a crash in the spring race at Phoenix Raceway and finished 35th. He did score his first career Cup Series win at the track in 2022.
