“Huge weight on my shoulders”: Chase Briscoe confesses the brutal expectations at JGR

Chase Briscoe recently shared his rough experience driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. The 30-year-old said he felt like he was losing weight due to the team's hefty expectations to win, which he fortunately delivered at Pocono Raceway last weekend.

After a four-year stint in the #14 Ford at Stewart-Haas Racing, Briscoe signed with JGR to drive the #19 Toyota starting this year. He replaced Martin Truex Jr., who retired from NASCAR after driving for the Huntersville-based outfit for six seasons.

With Chase Briscoe winning the Pocono race, Ty Gibbs is the sole JGR driver who has yet to deliver a victory for the team. Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell each won three races this year, with the latter securing his victories on a historic three-week run.

Speaking about the expectations in the #19 car, the Indiana native said (via NASCAR on X):

“Bell's won three races, Denny's won, I think, three, and me and Ty hadn't won yet, and the last couple of weeks, I've just been... like this huge weight on my shoulders, unlike I've ever experienced before.” “My wife's been like, ‘What is going on with you?’ I'm like, ‘I have to win.’ I don't think you realize how bad it is if we don't win a race and lock into the playoffs. I feel like I honestly weigh like 100 pounds less already,” he added.

The now three-time Cup race winner recalled JGR showing him a stat during contract signing, which pressured him to bring the #19 back to victory lane.

“When I was doing my contract with JGR, I remember them showing me this stat thing about how out of 40 attempts for playoffs, they've made it 38 times, and the expectation is if you don't make the playoffs, you're not going to be in this car anymore,” Briscoe concluded.

His debut win for Joe Gibbs Racing came at Pocono Raceway, where he defended the lead from Denny Hamlin while, based on the #19 team radio, running on low fuel. He had to manage his throttle to save fuel before winning ahead of Hamlin and Ryan Blaney, respectively.

After 17 races, Chase Briscoe moved up to ninth in the points standings. He has amassed one win, six top-5s, and eight top-10s. Another impressive feat was securing the pole position four times while keeping his DNF count to just two.

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“I was shocked”: Chase Briscoe's crew chief on winning at Pocono

Chase Briscoe's crew chief, James Small, was shocked to win the 160-lapper at Pocono Raceway last Sunday. After their final pit stop on lap 119, Small thought the #19 Toyota would run out of fuel if the race stayed green to the end, but to his surprise, Briscoe was able to bring the car home for the win.

In an X post by NASCAR Insider Kelly Crandall, James Small was quoted as saying:

“I was shocked that we made it, to be honest.”

The #19 JGR crew and the rest of the NASCAR Cup Series field will return to action at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway) next week. The race will kick off the In-Season Challenge, where Chase Briscoe holds the number two seed and is set to face Noah Gragson in the first round.

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Edited by Riddhiman Sarkar