Chase Briscoe finishes in victory lane for first time with Joe Gibbs Racing at Pocono Raceway
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'It was just so hard to have a guy chasing you, especially the guy that's the greatest of all time here,' Briscoe said.
Briscoe, who won an Xfinity Series race at Pocono in 2020, raced to his third career Cup victory and first since Darlington in 2024.
Briscoe has been on bit of a hot streak, and had his fourth top-10 finish over the last six races, including a seventh-place finish in last week's ballyhooed race in Mexico City.
He became the 11th driver to earn a spot in the 16-driver field with nine races left until the field is set.
Hamlin finished second. Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, and Chase Elliott completed the top five.
Briscoe, a third-generation dirt racer from Indiana, gave JGR its 18th Cup victory at Pocono.
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'To get here and finally deliver a win is just an awesome feeling,' he said. 'To be able to get Coach in victory lane after taking a chance on me, it's just so rewarding.'
The race was delayed 2 hours, 10 minutes by rain and the conditions were muggy by the time the green flag dropped. Briscoe led 72 laps and won the second stage.
Briscoe wrote before the race on social media, 'Anybody going from Pocono to Oklahoma City after the race Sunday?' The Pacers fan wasn't going to make it to
He'll certainly settle for a ride to victory lane.
Bubba Wallace, Michael McDowell, and Riley Herbst all had their races spoiled by brake issues.
'It was a scary feeling for sure,' Herbst said. 'I was just starting to get tight, just a bad adjustment on my part. Getting into (turn) one, the brakes just went to the floor. A brake rotor exploded and I was along for the ride.'
NASCAR heads to Atlanta next. Christopher Bell won the first race at the track this season in March.
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