WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — As soon as Chase Briscoe crashed at Atlanta Motor Speedway, he was convinced he’d be in a must-win situation.
Running just outside the top 10, Briscoe couldn’t avoid Kyle Larson as he wrecked from third – hitting a slick spot and plowing into the back of him.
“After he (Larson) the wall, it had water or oil, but it felt like I hit ice right before I got to him. And then obviously I just absolutely drilled him,” Briscoe said. “We weren’t really expecting anybody just to crash. And then he started actually having smoke so late in the crash that I was almost halfway through the corner at that point already and I tried to slow down.”
But after the race, the points situation didn’t look nearly as bad as Briscoe anticipated.
Saying he thought he’d possibly be more than 40 points below the cutline, Briscoe left Atlanta just -21 – with pointing his way into the Round of 12 still very much a possibility.
Despite the early exit, he watched the rest of the race on TV. When multiple playoff contenders, including Denny Hamlin, got caught up in the last-lap melee, that gave him some hope.
As soon as the race ended, Briscoe sent a message to the entire Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14 team.
“I texted our team group chat as soon as the race is over a screenshot of only being 21 out, and I said, ‘guys, this is it’s pretty doable,’” Briscoe said, recalling the exchange. “I think the first year we were in the playoffs (2022), we were 21 out at the cut race and we still made it. Being only 21 out, I was honestly really happy about that, because I figured as soon as we crashed, we’d be 35+ out. So I’m not really that worried about it.
“You don’t want to wish bad on other people, but at that point, the more playoff guys that can have trouble, the better position it puts us in. So that last lap crash, I was like trying to count the playoff guys just because that can completely change the complexion of our playoffs.
“I think we’re in a good spot. Twenty-one points is still a lot, but in the big scheme of things, you have two good stages and you’re right back in the mix.”
Briscoe’s 2022 rally nearly paved his way into the Championship 4.
He finished 14th at Bristol and scored 38 points, setting up a Round of 12 where he finished no worse than 10th. Facing a must-win at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in the semifinal round, he nearly did that — leading 25 laps and nearly fending off Christopher Bell in the closing laps before ultimately finishing ninth.
Because of the unpredictability that the playoffs bring, he feels confident about the final two races of the Round of 16. Briscoe has a top 10 in three races at Watkins Glen and has always run well at Bristol, even if the results don’t always show it.
Plus, he did a tire test at Bristol over the summer – which gave him valuable track time heading into the first elimination race of the playoffs.
“Watkins Glen, this is a place where two years ago, I think we started like ninth and literally drove to the lead in Stage One and won the stage, granted it was rain,” he said. “Last year, our left rear tire was stuck on the entire race, so I have no idea how we really were gonna be. This week’s probably a little bit more of a question mark, but certainly, at Bristol, we feel good about it.
“Bristol is one of our better racetracks as a company I feel like. That’s a place where I feel like we can go and be in the mix all day long.”
So for a guy that wasn’t in the playoff mix until his walk-off win at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, it’s business as usual for the next seven days.
“I don’t really feel this crazy amount of pressure,” Briscoe said. “We just have to go and control what we can control the next two weeks. Stage points are obviously going to be a premium for us, and if we can win a race, great. But we have to score a lot of points.
“If the points are enough at the end, then it’ll be enough. But all we can do is what we can do and hope that we put up enough points.”