Briscoe hoping for second straight Darlington win in first season with JGR
Associated Press
DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) — Chase Briscoe didn't get much time to revel in his Southern 500 victory the last time he was at Darlington Raceway. He plans to soak in some of the memories when he returns to the track this weekend.
Briscoe used a dramatic, three-wide pass late in the day to take the checkered flag last September in NASCAR's final regular-season race — a true walk-off moment — and gave his soon-to-be shuttered Stewart-Haas Racing team a shot at a series championship.
Briscoe's focus quickly turned to the playoffs and, after that, getting accustomed to his new Joe Gibbs Racing ride for 2025.
'It was kind of weird,' Briscoe said by phone this week. 'You didn't get to celebrate because next week you're in the championship race when you didn't think you were going to be in it. It was a little bit different.'
The NASCAR Cup Series runs at Darlington with the Goodyear 400 on Sunday.
Briscoe will have more time to remember and recall his fantastic finish at the track 'Too Tough To Tame,' when he held off two-time NASCAR champion Kyle Busch, who was also hoping for a final-race victory to make the playoffs.
Briscoe, like most of NASCAR's past winners at Darlington, calls it a career achievement in winning one of the sports crown jewels.
More importantly, he believes, there's a confidence that comes from having won at a place long known as one of the most difficult places to succeed on the circuit.
'The confidence that came from winning that race, even the respect level in the garage,' Briscoe said. 'Everything changes after you win at Darlington, let alone the Southern 500. People just look at you differently.'
William Byron, who won the Daytona 500 to start the season, understands the effect a Darlington win can have. He took the spring event there in 2023 and felt the good feelings that a win there can bring.
'It feels good knowing you can make it around this place to win,' he said. 'It's always been a track all drivers want to win on.'
Briscoe hopes he make it two in a row at Darlington. But this season, he's had a slew of adjustments to make after taking over JGR's No. 19 car previously driven by retired NASCAR champion Martin Truex Jr.
Briscoe acknowledged he's still getting used to the new team, new demands on him and higher expectations. He been told to be as critical of the car as possible so his technicians and mechanics can get the most out of a run.
"(It) has been a lot,' Briscoe said. 'Honestly, I did not anticipate it being this different. I thought I would just do my normal thing and I'd go faster because the cars were better.'
Briscoe has to be much more serious and business-like in his approach during the week and at the track. At Stewart-Haas, his team knew they would not contend for wins most weekends and 'we truthfully just had fun going to the racetrack.'
The bar is much higher at JGR where Briscoe's teammates in Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin have combined to win four of seven NASCAR races this season.
'You're expected to go and win and be in the mix and if you're not, it's a huge disappointment,' he said.
Briscoe has been in the mix at times early this season. He gave Toyota its first-ever pole for the Daytona 500 and he's had a pair of fourths, at Daytona and Homestead. He's coming off a ninth-place finish at Martinsville a week ago.
And he welcomes stepping things up if it means he's bringing wins to JGR.
'It's the kind of place I'm excited to hopefully be at for a long time,' he said. 'The capability of the car is there and that's exciting for me as a driver.'
___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/apf-AutoRacing
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