LAS VEGAS – The Round of 8 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff competitors provide loads of experiences and championships. Of the eight, seven of them have made it to the Championship 4 many times over.
The outlier of the remaining playoff drivers? Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe, who has two wins to his name this season heading into Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
South Point 400 Update: Denny Hamlin Leads JGR Top-Three Sweep in Qualifying for ‘Round of 8’ Opener
As the season is winding down, Briscoe has kept himself in the mix to make it this far in the playoffs through consistency and resiliency. It has played a contributing role in the 30-year-old having a career year across the board.
However, it’s easy to forget that the Indiana racer did make the Round of 8 in 2022 when he drove for Stewart-Haas Racing, only to not make the Championship 4.
Now more than ever, Briscoe believes his debut season with Joe Gibbs Racing has provided him a grand opportunity to break through and potentially fight for a championship at Phoenix Raceway, one of Briscoe’s strongest tracks, in three weeks.
Even being in one of NASCAR’s top-tier organizations, Briscoe knows it will be a tough battle.
“I feel like it’s probably the strongest Round of 8 we’ve ever had. When you look at the teams and drivers, it’s not going to be easy,” said Briscoe during Saturday’s media scrum at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “The points are way tighter than they’ve ever been, too. Nobody has been able to separate themselves.
“This time of the year, you have to go and perform. I don’t think anything really changes from the rest of the playoffs, but you can’t really afford mistakes now like you could in the first round(s). It’ll be a stiff competition that’s for sure.”
Among the major headlines this weekend is that there are only three organizations represented in the Round of 8, and those teams have won nine out of the last 10 NASCAR Cup Series championships – JGR, Team Penske, and Hendrick Motorsports.
Briscoe remarked that no playoff driver has a true competitive edge over the rest of the contenders.
“This is the first year I’ve ever been in one of those cars. I feel confident that we can make the Championship 4,” said Briscoe. “It’s definitely an elite company, so it’s cool to even be racing in the same category with those guys and considered as one of those guys because I’ve been racing against them the last 4-5 years.
“It’s definitely different now to be considered one of them, and hopefully we can prove that we belong there too.”
Joe Gibbs Racing has also been in the headlines with Briscoe’s teammates Denny Hamlin, who endured an emotionally fueled Round of 12, and Christopher Bell seeking redemption from last year’s Round of 8.
On the other hand, Briscoe has stayed low from the chaos, and despite being considered by many as the underdog among the remaining playoff contenders, he explained that his No. 19 squad is as good as the other seven, including his teammates.
However, the Round of 8 is also the land of unpredictability as each track (Las Vegas, Talladega Superspeedway, and Martinsville Speedway) has its own wild factor that can make a difference in punching a ticket into the Championship 4 or see their championship aspirations sink.
“The 19 team has been in a good spot. Truthfully, whether it’s morale or confidence-wise, we’ve been out (of the controversies). I feel really good where we’re at as a team,” Briscoe commented. “We definitely put a lot of emphasis on this weekend, knowing there’s a lot of unknowns these next two weeks.
“I don’t know, I feel like we’re as good as anybody in the sport right now from a speed standpoint. Even we’ve been doing a decent job at executing, so we got to put it together for four more weeks.”
The optimism carried over to qualifying as Briscoe will roll off second alongside teammate Hamlin in the 267-lap contest (click here for the official South Point 400 starting lineup).
Television coverage begins at 5:30 p.m. ET on USA. Performance Racing Network (PRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will provide the radio broadcast of that event.
