Chase Briscoe's right hand James Small makes an ambitious claim after locking Championship 4 berth

Chase Briscoe secured his first-ever Championship 4 berth after a calculated final-lap push at Talladega Superspeedway. It helped the No. 19 Toyota take the win in the Round of 8 race, and his crew chief says it matches his pre-season expectations.

After four inconsistent years with Stewart-Haas Racing - with two wins and two playoff appearances - Briscoe joined JGR to replace veteran Martin Truex Jr., who retired with 15 career wins and two Championship 4 runs for Joe Gibbs Racing. The move placed immediate expectations on Briscoe’s shoulders. But 30 races into his debut season with JGR, he has answered every question.

The Indiana native’s transition wasn’t seamless as Briscoe and crew chief James Small adjusted to the new partnership. But those early weeks of trial and error built the foundation for one of the most complete seasons of Briscoe’s career. Speaking ahead of the Martinsville race, Small reflected on how the team had evolved throughout the year.

“I knew it was going to be tough to get going, but we had a lot of belief in this team and what we had put together with Chase and some of the new people,” Small said (via SiriusXM). “For us, it was a learning experience as well, especially at the start... It was just very, very different to what we’d been doing for the previous five seasons.”

Through the first 12 races, Chase Briscoe led just 29 laps and finished outside the top 14 seven times. But as the chemistry improved, the results followed. Over the next 22 races, he collected six poles, led 852 laps, and won thrice, matching the pre-season expectations Small had set for the No. 19 team.

“I think in my pre-yearly aspirations, I had four wins then,” Small added. “We’re at three right now and hopefully we can get one more. It’s been a great year, but we expected that if we all did our jobs right, we could perform at this level and I’m glad that we’ve followed through with everything we set out.”

With the Championship 4 ticket sealed, Chase Briscoe heads to Martinsville without the pressure that weighed on him earlier in the season.

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“I didn’t feel like we were capable of doing it”: Chase Briscoe didn't have the same expectations as his crew chief

Chase Briscoe's helmet before Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course. Source: Getty

Chase Briscoe’s Talladega win came after a decisive move from teammate Ty Gibbs, who chose to push the No. 19 instead of going for his own victory. That decision placed two Joe Gibbs Racing drivers - Briscoe and Denny Hamlin - into the Championship 4, with Christopher Bell currently holding the provisional final spot above the cutline.

It continues a dominant playoff stretch for Toyota, with JGR winning five of the eight playoff races. Yet, Briscoe admitted he wasn’t always confident the breakthrough would happen.

“Yeah, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel like we were capable of doing it,” Briscoe told NASCAR. “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? Glad that I’ve been able to, I feel like, prove my worth. To be in the Championship 4 is a huge accomplishment itself. We want to win the championship. But to be one of those elite guys is a pretty special feeling.”

Chase Briscoe’s first season at Joe Gibbs Racing has been his most complete. His 11.8 average finish ranks second best in the series, and his 9.9 average start is the league best with 7 poles this season. He’s recorded top-10 finishes in seven of the last eight races, with Talladega marking his third win of the year.

Though winless in nine career starts at Martinsville, Chase Briscoe's current momentum makes him one of the drivers to watch at the short track.

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Edited by Riddhiman Sarkar