Phoenix Raceway – While the dust has settled on the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, Chase Briscoe remains visibly unsettled by his championship aspirations, despite a career-defining year with Joe Gibbs Racing. Making the Championship 4 in his inaugural season with the esteemed team, a feat he openly admits felt like playing with house money, Briscoe found himself leaving the Arizona desert with a lingering sense of disappointment, a sentiment that has only deepened in the weeks following the season finale.

Speaking on Tuesday ahead of the NASCAR Awards Show, Briscoe candidly reflected on his remarkable transition to Joe Gibbs Racing. "I mean, it was definitely a good first year, right?" he stated. "I texted our group chat and told them, ‘we have a lot to be proud of,’ because we gave the whole field a half-season head start." This self-deprecating remark alludes to the challenging initial phase of his tenure, which saw him replace veteran Martin Truex Jr. in the iconic No. 19 Toyota, working alongside crew chief James Small.

Briscoe’s previous four seasons in the Cup Series were spent with Stewart-Haas Racing. The move to Joe Gibbs Racing, a perennial powerhouse in NASCAR, brought with it heightened expectations, both internally and externally. However, the acclimation process appears to have been remarkably swift and successful. Briscoe’s 2023 campaign was highlighted by three race victories, a career-high, and he led the playoff standings in poles and accumulated points, showcasing his formidable pace and consistency.

The ambitious goals set by crew chief James Small at the beginning of the season underscore the team’s belief in Briscoe’s potential. "James and I sat down at the start of the year and he showed me all these goals, and I was like, ‘man, I have only two career wins and you expect me to do this?’ and we pretty much did all of them," Briscoe recounted. Small’s targets included 15 top-5 finishes and leading 800 laps, benchmarks Briscoe and the No. 19 team not only met but, in many respects, exceeded. "He wanted four wins and we came up short on that one, but overall, like everything he thought we were capable of in our first year, we pretty much did it," Briscoe affirmed.

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The source of Briscoe’s persistent disappointment, therefore, lies not in a lack of performance throughout the season, but in the specific circumstances of the championship race itself. In retrospect, Briscoe believes he possessed the raw speed to contend for the title, drawing parallels to his teammate, Denny Hamlin, who ultimately finished second. However, a series of unfortunate events plagued his weekend at Phoenix Raceway. An early practice session was marred by a flat tire, followed by a subpar qualifying effort, and then another flat tire during the crucial championship race. These setbacks, Briscoe felt, perpetually hindered his ability to showcase his true potential.

Despite these adversities, Briscoe and his pit crew demonstrated remarkable resilience. Briscoe consistently battled back through the field, and his crew’s exceptional pit stops repeatedly gained him significant track position, keeping the No. 19 Toyota in contention longer than many expected.

Yet, the lingering question of "what if" continues to haunt Briscoe. "It’s hard to swallow in a sense," he admitted. "Like, as the days go on, it gets even tougher because it would be different if we ran 15th all day. But I feel like we were capable of winning and just didn’t get to show it with all the issues. We went from the back to the front like two or three different times."

A pivotal moment of reflection for Briscoe centers on a critical late-race tire call. He expressed regret for not deferring to his crew chief James Small’s initial instinct. While Kyle Larson, who ultimately won the championship, opted for two scuff tires, Briscoe, in an effort to be proactive, encouraged Small to utilize four qualifying scuffs. "I’m still kicking myself for not telling Small to take two scuff tires like Kyle Larson and crew chief Cliff Daniels did to win the race," Briscoe confessed. "I would personally rather be on offense, and I just wish that he would have obviously not let me talk him out of it," he added, referencing the moment he told Small to "trust your gut."

The uncertainty surrounding that decision weighs heavily on Briscoe. "Who knows? You never know. It’s the question mark of what would have happened," he mused. "So that’s the only thing that, I guess, is kind of burning me up is the tire issues we had and that I wish I would have let James trust his gut."

Despite the championship race disappointment, Briscoe reiterated that his first season with Joe Gibbs Racing unequivocally surpassed initial expectations. The interest from Joe Gibbs himself predated Martin Truex Jr.’s eventual departure, signaling a significant belief in Briscoe’s talent. "The goal was to at least win a race," Briscoe stated. "I don’t think they expected this for our first season." He recounted a poignant conversation with team owner Coach Joe Gibbs prior to signing. "Coach told me the day before we signed that he would let me know what Martin decided by 11 in the morning. Sure enough, he called me at 10:57 and his first words were ‘you better not screw this up.’ So I told Coach on the grid after the race I hope I didn’t screw it up," he said with a laugh.

Looking ahead, Briscoe is determined to build upon the foundation laid in his breakthrough season. The focus has already shifted to the future, with a clear ambition to elevate his performance and that of the No. 19 team. "Now the goal is to build on this and move the goalposts even higher next year and beyond," he concluded. The lessons learned from a challenging yet ultimately successful debut season are expected to fuel Briscoe’s drive as he aims to contend for championships in the years to come.

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