Chase Briscoe compares how his current experience of racing in playoffs differs from driving for Tony Stewart’s ex-NASCAR team

Chase Briscoe, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, recently opened up about competing in the Round of 8 and compared it to the previous time he was in the playoffs with Stewart-Haas Racing. He stated that the major difference was that at SHR, being in the Round of 8 was seen as an achievement, but that is not the case at JGR.

During his time with Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), Chase Briscoe achieved remarkable milestones and thus positioned himself as a driver to be reckoned with in NASCAR's uppermost ranks. In 2022, Briscoe managed to reach the Round of 8 in the playoffs, but a lack of quality equipment and crew that is required to clinch the title stopped him in his tracks as he finished just outside of the top four.

When in 2024 SHR declared the closure of its NASCAR ventures by year's end, Briscoe's destiny in the elite level drew a lot of interest. On June 25, 2024, it came out that he would be the one to take up the spot of the then-retired Martin Truex Jr. at Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) and would be driving the No. 19 Toyota car during the day in 2025. Briscoe said via Bob Pockrass:

"SHR, like, felt like we won the championship just making it to the round of eight. And, like, you were just happy to be there. You knew that it was a huge long shot. Obviously, if we got to Phoenix, that was the year we had won Phoenix earlier, we felt like we could do something. But as far as getting there, we knew it was going to be tough sledding. Where now, like, I feel like I have a legitimate shot"

Chase Briscoe entered the 2025 season with a lot of impetus and finished in fourth place in the Daytona 500, although his race started in first place. Briscoe demonstrated steady speed during the year, as a result of which he ended up with a total of seven pole positions.

These included the Daytona 500, the Coca‑Cola 600, and the Brickyard 400 and each of them is a milestone event of the sport. He is the first driver to take poles at both Daytona and the Coke in the one season since William Byron in 2019. The first win of the year came at Pocono Raceway, where Briscoe managed to hold off his own teammate, Denny Hamlin, and cemented his position in the playoffs.

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Chase Briscoe offers candid insight into Toyota's Kansas failure and the fine line between teamwork and survival

Chase Briscoe provided an insightful analysis of Toyota’s disappointing result at Kansas Speedway in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Despite Toyota having five cars inside the top 10 for much of the final stage, the manufacturer failed to secure a victory as Chase Elliott stole the win in a frantic two-lap shootout.

Briscoe pointed out that the outcome was largely due to the nature of how restarts play out under pressure. He said on The Kenny Wallace Show:

"If it was rolled reverse, I don't think Chevy or Ford would have done anything different, either. It's just nature of the beast of how these restarts go and the circumstances, and just everything lined up kind of perfectly for the 9 [Elliott] there to kind of steal one from all of us. .... We didn't really talk about it, truthfully. It was a bummer, for sure, but I don't really know what else we could have done different," Chase Briscoe said (2:59 onwards).

Looking ahead to the Round of 8, Chase Briscoe qualified second at Las Vegas Motor Speedway alongside teammate Denny Hamlin and expressed confidence in making the Championship 4 despite tough competition.

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Edited by Tushhita Barua