For the past three races, the rest of the Chase field has been chasing the Chase—and Chase.
Chase Briscoe has put up remarkable numbers over the playoff stretch running from Kansas to Charlotte. He was fourth at Kansas (a race he easily could have won) before visiting victory lane at Las Vegas and Charlotte, scoring the seventh and eighth wins of his Cup career.
Over the past two races, Briscoe has underlined the benefits of race victories, gaining 54 points on playoff leader Kyle Larson, who still has a 49-point edge over second place (Denny Hamlin) entering Sunday’s race at Phoenix.
Briscoe gained two positions to fourth in the point standings at Charlotte and trails Larson by 65, a daunting number but one within reach of first place with four races remaining.
Larson has reason to keep an eye on Briscoe as the season rolls into its final month. Briscoe has won only once at Phoenix—his first career Cup Series win (2022)—but his impressive runs at the past three races and the potent input of his Joe Gibbs Racing pit crew make him among the favorites in the desert. His crew is regularly posting pit-stop times under nine seconds and rarely makes a miscue.
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Kyle Larson (#5) races Chase Briscoe.
Briscoe led a total of 237 laps at Las Vegas and Charlotte.
“I feel great about all the tracks we’re going to,” Briscoe said. “Phoenix is where I’ve been able to at least win my first Cup race, so I feel confident going there. We have passed so many cars and went from the back to the front I don’t know how many times.
“I think we’ve blown five tires in two races there, so the end result doesn’t always show great, but we’ve been really fast there.”
After Phoenix, Talladega, Martinsville, and Homestead remain on the schedule.
“Momentum is a big thing,” Briscoe said. “If we can go next week and cut the gap down to 30 or 40 and then you go to Talladega and things go your way, you could find yourself leading the points. We just have to go do our jobs and execute.”
Briscoe finished 37th in the spring race at Phoenix after being involved in a crash on lap 132. In 11 Cup starts there, he has two top-five and four top-10 runs.
Mike Hembree has covered auto racing for numerous media outlets, including USA Today, NASCAR Scene, NBC Sports, The Greenville News and the SPEED Channel. He has been roaming garage areas and pit roads for decades (although the persistent rumor that he covered the first Indianapolis 500 is not true). Winner of numerous motorsports and other media awards, he also has covered virtually every other major sport. He lives near Gaffney, South Carolina and can be convinced to attend Bruce Springsteen concerts if you have tickets.