CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Chase Briscoe makes his third NASCAR Cup Series Playoff appearance when the 10-race chase to the championship begins Sunday at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
However, this time around is a little different for the driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
Briscoe is the No. 8 seed among the 16 drivers who qualified for the playoffs, but enters the final stretch of the season with one of the fastest cars on the circuit having run up front consistently during the middle states of the season.
“I was telling my wife that couple weeks ago, ‘this is really the first time I’ve ever legitimately thought I could win a Cup championship,’” Briscoe said during Wednesday’s media day. “In the past, you make the Playoffs and it’s exciting, but down deep you kind of know that the odds of you winning are pretty slim, right?
“Whereas now, not to say that I’m the favorite by any means, but I feel like I have a legitimate chance to go do it, where at SHR (Stewart-Haas Racing), you never really felt like you had a legitimate shot to do it. Definitely feels different this time around knowing that you have a shot and I would say this Playoffs feels different because of that.”
Briscoe said he and his James Small-led team will need to execute to continue to advance through the Playoffs.
“I think for us is just executing. I would love to have more Playoff points,” Briscoe said. “I’m confident that we can get to that Round of 8, but once you get to the Round of 8, at our points deficit, there’s a chance you’re going to almost have to win the race. Somebody’s going to be able to point their way into the final four, but realistically for us, it’s probably not going to be an option.
“We’re already starting 20, 30 points behind, so that’s the big thing I think for us is we have to be able to execute in these first two rounds and hopefully win a race or two. If we can do that and shorten that gap Playoff point-wise, I think it puts us in a better spot.
“For me, just from an execution standpoint, that’s the biggest thing and just trying to win a race these first two rounds, just trying to get more Playoff points to set us up for easier way to that final four.”
Briscoe won last year’s Southern 500 to put his then Stewart-Haas Racing team into the Playoffs.
