After a rocky practice session on Friday, where a flat tire within the opening 15 minutes indicated how the rest of the weekend might go, Chase Briscoe’s luck refused to turn in Sunday’s Cup Series finale at Phoenix as well. Running fifth on Lap 104, Briscoe once again fell victim to a flat tire just as Shane van Gisbergen spun off Turn 4, bringing out the caution. Despite the hitch, Briscoe managed to stay on the lead lap, so as not to let adversity dictate his day.
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Briscoe mounted a charge through the field, clawing back into the top 10 by Lap 160. By the time he cracked the top five, however, misfortune struck again. On Lap 215, only two laps after fellow Championship 4 contender Kyle Larson had his own tire issue, Briscoe’s right-side tire gave out.
Both drivers lost a lap, but the #19 driver caught a break when Carson Hocevar hit the wall three laps later, earning him the free pass back onto the lead lap.
Refusing to fold, Briscoe rebounded once more, muscling his way back inside the top 10 by Lap 257. When JJ Yeley’s incident triggered another caution with 34 laps remaining, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin, who had led a race-high 208 laps, charged to the inside on the restart, while Briscoe’s momentum faded.
Then came the final gut punch. With just three laps left in regulation, William Byron’s blown tire brought out yet another caution. The No. 19 team had only scuffed qualifying tires remaining and, like Hamlin’s crew, chose to bolt on four for the overtime restart, a decision that proved costly. When the checkered flag finally waved, Briscoe slipped to 18th, finishing third in the championship standings ahead of Byron.
“Certainly eventful,” Briscoe said afterward. “We never gave up. That’s been the story of my whole career: never giving up. You never know what can change at any point. Felt like we were good enough. We came from the front to the back two or three different times. Had a really good Toyota. Wish we could have been on an even playing field at some point. Was about to pass William, blew another tire. Just part of it. Obviously thankful for the opportunity… This wasn’t our day.”
Despite the disappointment, Briscoe’s skills shone through, and he’s already turning the page toward 2026, a year he believes could be his true breakout season with Joe Gibbs Racing.
Hence, now, he is just waiting to go into next year and see if he can do a little bit better. Acknowledging how this season was big, just in the sense of proving that I can do it, even when I wasn’t sure if I could, he is just hopeful for the future.
For Briscoe, 2025 was about results and validation. “Really, this year I felt like we gave the field half a season head start because we were learning so much throughout the process. We’ll start on an even playing field next year, see if we can be better. Certainly, we think we can get back here. James and I were talking; we weren’t even at our full potential yet. I definitely feel confident we can get back.”
What Drivers Said at Phoenix after NASCAR Cup title for Kyle Larson, win for Ryan Blaney https://t.co/FMTBfMKcRZ
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) November 3, 2025
Briscoe wrapped up his season P3 in the final standings, his career best in five Cup Series seasons. His previous high came in 2022, when he finished P9 for Stewart-Haas Racing. This time, though, his sights are set much higher, and judging by his resolve, 2026 might just be the year he puts it all together.
