One of the four title contenders for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series championship due to go live this Sunday, Chase Briscoe is one driver who has come of age in stock car racing’s top tier this season. In his fifth year of competing with some of the country’s best drivers, the Mitchell, Indiana native is vying for the championship for the first time in his career.
Advertisement
After his career high of making it into the Round of 8 in the playoffs with Stewart-Haas Racing, the team he used to drive for until 2024, Briscoe has made waves in the sport with how he has stepped up at Joe Gibbs Racing, arguably one of the best teams in the business. In his first year at JGR, Briscoe has logged three wins and a Final 4 berth alongside seasoned competitors such as Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson.
However, as was evident with his time at SHR and the team’s final years in NASCAR before shutting shop in 2024, Briscoe was not necessarily prepped for battling at the sharpest end of the field. Sure, he did win a race in 2022 and 2024 with the team, but he never looked like a serious championship contender as the season drew towards the final few races.
Despite SHR not providing him with the necessary exposure and experience to adapt to an environment like JGR or Hendrick, the 30-year-old has seemingly come of age at Coach Gibbs’ team. His first year driving Toyotas instead of Ford Mustangs has seen him adapt like a fish to water. He explains how he managed to do the same ahead of the title finale this weekend.
“I feel like the first four years of my career to now, truthfully, I’m glad that I had the four years of experience at SHR, just because I have Cup experience, I kind of know the ins-and-outs of Cup racing. I still had races where I competed for wins or won at SHR’s level. I feel like it would have been hard to step into this car year one of your Cup career and go perform,” said Briscoe.
“Just kind of the perfect storm. I had a couple of years of experience in Cup. Somewhat competitive equipment. Now gave me the opportunity to obviously come over in elite equipment and show me what I’m capable of,” he added as he eyes the biggest prize in NASCAR.
With some doubts over him rising to the occasion at JGR now firmly silenced, it remains to be seen if Briscoe can close the deal at Phoenix Raceway this Sunday, against some very hefty competition from his own teammate, Hamlin, and the Hendrick Motorsports duo of William Byron and Kyle Larson.
