Chase Briscoe’s first year in the No. 19 Toyota has been a turning point in his Cup Series career. After leaving Stewart-Haas Racing, where he managed just two wins in four seasons, the 30-year-old moved to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2025 with the difficult task of replacing Martin Truex Jr.
Thirty races in, Briscoe has delivered his most consistent campaign yet, proving that he belongs among NASCAR’s championship contenders. However, the start wasn’t without growing pains. He scored only one top-10 finish in the first five races as he and crew chief James Small worked through adjustments. Speaking to RACER’s Kelly Crandall, Briscoe explained how the progression has unfolded:
“Stuff is easier now. Where (as) at the beginning of the year, you’re the new guy that’s not normally racing up front. So, now everything is way easier than it was at the beginning of the year. Some of that, too, is that I was drinking through a fire hose then. I’d say that was the one thing that was surprising. But at the same time, it’s been surprising these last couple of months how easy it’s all happened.”
That growth has translated into numbers Chase Briscoe rarely imagined during his years at SHR. With two victories, 12 top-five finishes and more laps led than his first four seasons combined, the Indiana native is having the breakthrough he long believed possible.
The No.19 driver ranks among the top three drivers in average start, average finish and laps led this season, a sharp contrast to the years of inconsistency at Stewart-Haas Racing.
“Now you go to this year where I feel like I’m one of the guys who’re always in the mix. That’s fun because when you’re competing against those guys, it’s very frustrating because you feel like you’ve never been given the same opportunity you could do what they’re doing. But you don’t know until you get that opportunity, and I’m grateful that I got it, and now I feel I’ve proven to myself even that I’m capable of doing it at this level,” Chase Briscoe added.
Replacing Truex, who retired after scoring three wins in his final three seasons with JGR, was always going to draw scrutiny. But Chase Briscoe’s performances have positioned him as a legitimate title threat, especially after all four Gibbs drivers swept the Round of 16.
Is Chase Briscoe’s title shot in danger after an underwhelming start to the Round of 12?
Joe Gibbs Racing was expected to continue its playoff supremacy at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but Fords turned the tide. Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Josh Berry led a combined 273 laps in the Mobil 1 301. For JGR, the race was less spectacular, with all four cars finishing inside the top 12 but lacking long-run pace to match Team Penske.
Chase Briscoe started 18th and briefly led in Stage 2. But green-flag pit cycles in the final segment shuffled him back as he finished ninth. A late push brought him home in 10th – respectable, but short of the statement runs he produced in the Round of 16, when he was the only playoff driver to score three straight top-10 finishes.
Briscoe came into New Hampshire sitting comfortably in sixth after a dominant opening round, but that result leaves him eighth in the standings, 12 points above the cutline. The swing shows how quickly fortunes can change in the Cup Series playoffs. But he remains confident, as he added in the Racer interview:
“It is wild how much my mentality has shifted from year to year. I’ve gone from being out there to now feeling like I have a legitimate shot at being a Cup Series champion. That’s a wild feeling.”
It’s the kind of belief he will need heading into Kansas and the Charlotte Roval. Both tracks present challenges. Kansas has not been kind to Chase Briscoe in the past, with just one top-10 finish in nine starts. The Roval has been even tougher, where his average finish sits at 23.8 with three results outside the top 20. The difference now is that Briscoe has the speed and structure of Joe Gibbs Racing behind him, which raises both potential and expectations.
With two races left before the Round of 8 cutoff, Briscoe’s margin is slim. For a driver who once wondered if he would ever consistently contend, the opportunity is here and so is the pressure.
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Edited by Luke Koshi
