Over the second half of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, few drivers have had more speed on a weekly basis than Chase Briscoe.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has won three times since the start of July, including in consecutive weeks at Las Vegas and Charlotte. Those back-to-back wins have him just 65 points back of Kyle Larson for the points lead with four races left in the season.
Another victory at Phoenix Raceway, where Briscoe won in the spring of 2022, on Sunday would get him even closer to Larson in the standings. With how fast he’s been in recent weeks, a victory in the desert could very well be in the cards.
What has changed for Chase Briscoe, No. 19 team?
“We just have been putting races together and that’s something that, you know, we’ve been able to do,” Briscoe said Wednesday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “We just [hadn’t] been able to do it on a consistent level. So, you know that that’s from all sides, right? You know, me on the driving side, I feel like I’m just doing a way better job of understanding how to manage races and, and when is the right time to push and, and you know, when is maybe the risk not worth the reward.
“And then our pit crew’s just been absolutely firing on all eight cylinders. Our cars are good. James is calling great races from a strategy standpoint, so, you know, really we’re just executing races and, and we haven’t been making mistakes where a lot of our competitors truthfully have been and have taken themselves out of some of these races.”
Briscoe made the Championship 4 last year on the strength of two victories in the postseason. He’s once again in title contention this season after coming on strong in the Chase, and if his fellow title contenders weren’t already paying attention, they should be now.