NASCAR CUP SERIES: YELLAWOOD 500

October 19, 2025

Chase Briscoe

Press Conference

An Interview with:

THE MODERATOR: We're now joined by our race winner, Chase Briscoe. Congratulations.

CHASE BRISCOE: Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: Headed to the Championship 4. What was the race like? Are you excited to go to Phoenix?

CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah, the race was extremely stressful. I think I told MRN, I don't have very much hair in the first place, but what I had left was going to be gray.

It's a miserable feeling trying to battle for points and just trying not to get caught up in a wreck. For us to just have the day that we had. Obviously I shot ourself in the foot there at the beginning, got the speeding penalty. It happened to work out where we didn't lose a lot of points to other guys.

There at the end I was kind of sick when the caution came out because I felt like I was going to finish in the top five and be okay points-wise. Yeah, that last restart was truthfully trying to push Bubba to the win. I did not want William to win. If Larson won, that was a best-case scenario out of Playoff guys. It was really just trying to push Bubba to the win. I felt like that was going to be the best thing for me.

I don't know what really happened on the bottom lane, but was able to push Bubba far enough out. Made a move. The 54 came with me. Ty was the whole reason I won the race. He was extremely committed to me from the get-go. Really did a good job of keeping me up tight to Bubba so I could keep pushing him along.

When I made a move, Ty went with me. Was selfless in the fact that he's going for his first win, could have easily tried to make a move, did something different. He pushed me to the win. An incredible team effort. Yeah, can't thank Ty enough.

THE MODERATOR: We'll go ahead and open it up for questions.

Q. I'm taken back to your introductory press conference last year with JGR. You said if you don't win and perform at a championship level, it's basically time to go do something else. Are you surprised to be racing for a championship in year one?

CHASE BRISCOE: Uhm... Not surprised. I knew it was capable of happening. I knew all the pieces were going to be there. It was just a matter if I could go and perform.

I feel like I was capable of doing it. But you don't know until you go and do it. Yeah, I would be lying if I said the first kind of couple months of the year I was like, This is way harder than I thought it was going to be. I was able to start getting some momentum rolling.

Once we honestly won Pocono, I felt like the weight of the world was off my shoulders and everything started honestly feeling very similar to 2020 in Xfinity and even my ARCA season where I just go to the racetrack and I'm just fast. I'm not doing anything different. I finally know what I needed out of the car.

Yeah, I definitely felt like we were capable of this. It's rewarding now that it's actually been done and satisfying, for sure. Yeah, I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel like we were capable of doing it. That's why I said even what I said at the beginning of the year. If I don't go win, I'm never going to get hired again because the expectation is you have to go to JGR and win. If you can't win in a JGR car, why would anybody hire you for another team?

Glad that I've been able to I feel like prove my worth. To be in the Championship 4 is a huge accomplishment itself. We want to win the championship. But to be one of those elite guys is a pretty special feeling.

Q. From a mental preparation standpoint, is it good to have the week off or do you wish the intensity would have carried from week to week?

CHASE BRISCOE: No, I'm totally fine without being stressed out next week (laughter). I've had my share of stress after today.

Yeah, I'm good on that.

I think it will be an advantage for us. This week, next week, we were going to run a sim for Martinsville. I'm sure we'll do a little bit because we want to go there and run good. Full focus on Phoenix. Even our car, we can put a ton of detail into it.

Obviously it will be an advantage for myself just to not be stressed out. But even for our team, it will be a big advantage.

Q. Coach was in here a few minutes ago and talked about the challenges of dealing with three individual race teams, trying to keep everybody focused. You talked about the stress and anxiety that this race created. Jump ahead a week, say Christopher Bell gets his job done, you have three JGR cars in the Final. What kind dynamics is that going to present for individual drivers?

CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah, I mean, truthfully I hope that happens. It would be tough because I feel like they're my biggest competition for it.

Honestly, I don't think it's any different because I've learned, took me a couple months to kind of learn this, but at JGR you compete for wins against your teammates all the time. It's not really like it's unchartered territory for us.

Obviously there's more on the line when you're racing for a championship. Yeah, honestly if I'm going to go against anybody, I hope it is them because I feel like at the end of the day if one of us can't win, we hope the other guy wins, right? It would be just a huge thing for our company to have a three-in-four shot.

I feel good about Christopher going to Martinsville, too. Hopefully he can get in. Hopefully all three of us can be going for it. That would be a pretty special thing. Hopefully we don't screw it up like the end of Kansas, and one of us gets it.

Q. You talk often about performing under pressure. How much pressure has the Round of 8 been compared to the other times you've had to perform under pressure?

CHASE BRISCOE: It honestly has felt so different this time around. I've talked about it a little bit throughout the Playoffs where I haven't, like, worried about the Playoffs at all.

Today was the first day I felt like all year long or Playoffs long, especially that first stage when I got the speeding penalty, I was so focused on where the other guys were at the end of that stage. Outside of that, I've really not worried about points one time.

Yeah, I don't know. It's just felt different because this time I feel like I don't have to do anything special. In the past I felt like I had to do something extraordinary to even have a shot to go to the Round of 4. Here I felt like if I did my job, nothing extra, I'd at least have a shot at making it.

This Playoffs has felt different. I'm curious to see how the Final 4 feels because I've not been in that position before and the weight of it. Yeah, I'm just excited to at least have an opportunity.

Q. The other seven drivers have all been to the Championship 4. Does that make the fact that you were able to make it any more satisfying?

CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah, I mean, look, when you get to the Championship 4, there's no fluking you're way there. Certainly when you look at the eight guys that are in this round in general, I feel like it's the eight strongest drivers and teams in our sport. Just to even be associated with those guys is an honor for me and a privilege.

Yeah, it's pretty cool. Definitely whoever wins this championship is going to be more than deserving. Yeah, hopefully it's obviously me. Regardless, just to even be associated with the other seven guys, it means a lot to me from what my Cup career has started like.

Q. You said that you were really stressed during this race. After the race you said you felt a peace you haven't felt. You talked about your faith. How did that play into it?

CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah, truthfully every time I've ever ran a superspeedway race at any level, I've just been, like, stressed in a sense of just crashing more than anything. For whatever reason, obviously I don't want to crash, it hurts, but I don't enjoy superspeedway racing truthfully. I'm just stressed from what can happen.

It definitely changed once I had kids. I don't want to get hurt or something for them. Today, even all week, I've just had such a peace of whatever happens happens. God is going to use it for His glory whether I win or run 38th. That was my prayer all throughout this week.

Even today I was like whatever Your plan is. Let me be a vessel for that, whether that's winning, running 38th, whatever it may be.

Yeah, just had such a peace with whatever happened. Personally I didn't want to wreck. If that was whatever the plan was and somehow to use it for Him, I was okay with that. It was definitely a peace and a calmness I've had all day. Even leading the pack, normally I would be like a nervous wreck, just feeling the emotions. I just had a total peace the whole time.

Yeah, it was definitely unique in that sense.

Q. You mentioned you had a big swing of confidence and mental shift recently. Do you think that confidence translated behind the wheel at a track like Talladega? Where is your confidence now?

CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah, you have to be confident, here especially. With the moves you make, you can't second-guess yourself. You just have to do what comes natural.

What I was just talking about, like having that peace with everything. Normally I do kind of second-guess stuff I feel like at superspeedways. Should I throw the block or make this move? I second-guess. I don't have a peace with whatever the outcome's going to be. Today I did. That was arguably probably the most aggressive I probably looked from outside that I've ever probably ran in the Cup Series.

Yeah, I don't know, it was definitely a unique day from that sense. The confidence stuff, just having I think truthfully that peace I was talking about with whatever the result may be was a lot of the reason I was able to look confident in the moves I was making.

Q. You've been talking about that peace. If you do get three drivers to Phoenix, what will be the big storyline? There's so many storylines with this team. What's the number one thing for guys like us that are asking questions?

CHASE BRISCOE: I think, how do we not screw it up (laughter)? We've been arguably the best team all year long. If you have three shots at it, you hope at least one of us gets it.

There's a lot of storylines. Obviously myself being the first time. Everybody knows the storyline with Denny. Then Christopher, a guy who has been there so many times. Whoever the fourth guy may be, they're going to have a storyline, too.

I think if three JGR cars get in it, it's how do we execute and not screw it up. If we have a 75% chance ever going there and winning it, one of us needs to win it. We won there earlier in the year as a company.

That would be the biggest thing, how do we put it all together and put a bow on what a good season that we've had.

Q. You're going to go to Phoenix a year removed from probably one of the lowest lows. You were racing for your childhood hero. You're going to go back there for a chance for a championship. Have you had a chance to think about that?

CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah, it's definitely going to be unique. I was emotional for both. Last year, I mean, I remember sitting on the grid after we fired engines and just crying for my whole childhood. I idolized Tony, he was my hero. Just the friendships and the relationships I built with all the 14 guys. We still have a group chat to this day, talk almost every day. Just knowing that chapter of my life was ending, not knowing what the JGR chapter was really going to look like.

Obviously I've loved being here, but you never know going to a new place. I'd been at SHR I want to say for eight years. To be able to go back to Phoenix, I went there a couple weeks ago for media stuff. I stood on the front straightaway. I hadn't done that since I won there. I kind of thought how that day felt, winning my first Cup race. I didn't think about it for a second. Next time you stand here, you might be a champion.

It's definitely going to be a special feeling. I'm excited to go to Phoenix. It's a place I feel good about. I'm sure it will be emotional. Just having my family there and all those things would be emotional. I'm emotional in general.

Yeah, it will be a special day regardless.

Q. Do you think now with this win you can get Coach or Johnny Morris to pay the rest of your bail?

CHASE BRISCOE: I do need to ask them that. I also need to see if one of them will fly my whole family to Phoenix. Because me and Marissa, we're already talking about how chaotic that's going to be, flying commercial with three toddlers. Maybe I can get lucky and see if they can let me go on one of their planes.

Q. I believe someone mentioned a new 10-year contract earlier. James objected because he wants to keep you hungry. But Joe said you could have anything you want.

CHASE BRISCOE: I'm going to call him real quick (laughter).

Q. The winning move, can you walk us through that. You made it a point you never won on a superspeedway. As that unfolds over the last couple laps, you're committed to pushing Bubba, what did you see? What was the confidence you could make that move?

CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah, my full intention was to push Bubba to the win. You never know how it's going to play out at the end. That was my full commitment, was just push Bubba as hard as I could. I really needed a non-Playoff guy to win to keep me above the cut line.

I was pushing him. I don't know what happened to the bottom. We cleared the bottom lane there for whatever reason down the back straightaway. I told Drew, my spotter, whenever we chose for the restart, Ty picked behind me. I said, Please tell me to stick with me wherever I go. I told him, too, Make sure he knows I'm just pushing Bubba.

We cleared that bottom lane. I kind of shoved Bubba out a little bit. It just kind of opened up. I was surprised that Bubba didn't cover going to the left. I just kind of timed it right to where right when I made the move, Ty was also clear on the bottom. I knew I could take that help with me.

Truthfully, when I made the move, too, I didn't know if I was necessarily going to win the race, but I felt like at least if I was leading the lane on the bottom, I was probably going to at least run top five. It was going to be okay if Bubba won. I cleared Bubba and Ty kept shoving me.

Yeah, I couldn't believe I won a superspeedway race. Boswell stopped me there on pit road, I'm speechless, I won a superspeedway race. It's such a big thing on the 14 car, how bad I was at 'em.

It's so cool to finally win a superspeedway race. It was kind of the last style of track in my career I've not been able to win on. That was a huge checklist there, as well.

Q. Larson ran out of gas.

CHASE BRISCOE: I knew he was close on fuel, but I didn't know that's what happened.

Q. You've talked about feeling like you need to prove yourself. What do you feel you still need to prove after a day like today?

CHASE BRISCOE: I mean, I still want to prove to myself that I can do it. When I moved to North Carolina, slept on a couch for three and a half years, was scrapping money to go to be able to pay Ross $50 rent, I was doing it in the hopes of one day hopefully being a champion.

Truthfully, I feel like I've moved the goalpost as I've kind of went throughout my career. When I got to Cup, truthfully that's all I wanted to do. I just wanted to make it to the Cup Series. It was the same when I got to the Truck Series, the Xfinity Series. Then you win a race, and then you move the goalposts more.

Now, yeah, I've kind of talked about it the last couple months where this is the first time in my life I've been like, Man, you could actually win the Cup Series championship. In the past, I didn't really believe it just because of the uphill battle we were fighting.

Now, I mean, yeah, I have every opportunity in the world to go do it. It just felt different from that standpoint.

Yeah, I do want to prove it to myself. I feel like I am more than capable of doing it when I do my job. I have an incredible opportunity that hundreds of thousands of race car drivers would kill to be in. Just need to try to make the most of it.

Q. What would it mean to have that championship designation on your uniform next year?

CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah, I mean, I talked about it after the Southern 500. Just seeing the names and the faces on that trophy, it's like, Man, I don't belong to be on this thing. If you looked at the championship one, I mean, it's crazy to think that my name could even relatively be close to those guys.

So yeah, I mean, it would be cool. As a kid, like, you dream of that moment. To be this close now to it, yeah, it would be devastating if it doesn't work out. In the big scheme of things, there's way more to life, too, than winning a championship.

I think that's the one thing that I've always tried to keep in perspective. We're on this world for a very short amount of time. Me winning championships isn't the biggest difference maker where I'm spending eternity. Just trying to keep that in perspective no matter what the results may be. I'm still going to give it my 110% best effort.

Q. All the drivers below the cut line are in must-win mode. How glued will you be into what they're doing?

CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah, I mean, I'll definitely be paying attention, right? Truthfully I'll be rooting that a Penske car doesn't win (smiling). I think all of those that are in the Finals will be doing that.

It's going to be a dogfight truthfully. I even talked about it pre-race with Dillon on TV. Just trying not to be on the cut line. Leading this race was such a big thing. When you look at the eight guys in the field, all those guys are going to run in the top eight probably all day long at Martinsville. It is the who's who of that run up front at Martinsville. Even the teams that run up front at Martinsville.

As a fan, it's going to be exciting to watch. I'm glad I don't have to go there necessarily and perform to the absolute best and still it not potentially be enough. It will be nice just to go there, keep the intensity up, but certainly not be so stressed out of, Man, I have to get this one spot for sixth place, whatever it may be. I can just kind of be a race fan in a sense.

Q. Who is the driver you most would like to see as the fourth driver, and who is the driver you would hate to see heading into the final race?

CHASE BRISCOE: I mean, honestly, like, it doesn't matter who you put in there, they're going to be a super tough competitor.

It honestly doesn't make a difference. All those guys can go to Phoenix and win. I think I'd be lying, right, we all see it, three years in a row the Penske cars have been unbelievable at Phoenix.

Yeah, I mean, personally I would love to not see a Penske car get in there. It doesn't matter if it's a Penske car, another Hendrick car. Whoever it is, they're going to be super hard to beat. All three organizations that are left are the three elite teams. You're going to be fighting hard for it no matter who it is.

Q. Potentially you're going to have two teammates. You could have three of the four all be JGR. How do you have to change things because at that point you want to beat them? Is that a mind shift you can anticipate having to make?

CHASE BRISCOE: I don't think it's really a mind shift. Truthfully more often than not, I know to beat them for a win, I'm probably going to be going up against my teammates. So that doesn't really change. If I can't win, yeah, I hope that one of them win.

I even told Marissa that the other day. I'd love to win the championship, but if I can't win, I hope it is one of my teammates. I genuinely want that for them. Whether it's Denny and everything that he's gone through and going through right now, or Christopher. Me and him have been friends since we were 11, 12 years old. I know how much he want is it, too.

Yeah, selfishly I want to win it. If not, I genuinely hope one of my teammates do win it.

Q. You mentioned this being your first superspeedway win. What has it taken to become better at superspeedway racing? Do you always feel like that skill set was there?

CHASE BRISCOE: I kind of went through different phases of superspeedway racing. When I first started in the ARCA Series, I was trying not to crash. I would ride around and hoped when they crashed, I missed it. Whenever I finished, I finished.

I got to the Xfinity Series and talked to Dale Jr. He was like, Man, you just got to be the most aggressive guy on the racetrack.

I went through a phase where I was extremely aggressive, probably too aggressive at times. Then I kind of went back to being not aggressive enough. Kind of morphed it into a hybrid of where I'm at now.

Yeah, today I thought was the best superspeedway race I ran, outside of the speeding penalty. Just putting my car in places, making the right decisions. A lot of that comes down to just the team and their prep work, my spotter, Drew, even the circumstances kind of playing out at the right time.

Yeah, I think you have to be aggressive to win these races. There's a reason the same guys are typically up front. It's because they put themselves there. If you're just riding around, you might get lucky one out of a hundred. The guys that are typically up front are typically the most aggressive guys. It's a matter of that fine line of too aggressive or not aggressive enough.

Q. What is going to stick out most about this race when you look back on it?

CHASE BRISCOE: Honestly the stage win. I was just pumped that I won a stage at a superspeedway (smiling), because of how big of a struggle it had been. I felt like that was a win in itself.

Yeah, at the end I fully committed to just pushing Bubba to the win. I was okay with that because I thought that was what was best for me.

The biggest takeaway is at the end of the stage when I thought that was the best I've done controlling the lead. A lot of the time I've been able to lead laps at superspeedways, but I've made myself get shuffled out and don't do a good job of managing the gap, whatnot. At the end of that stage I thought that was the best I'd ever done before. Yeah, that was honestly the biggest takeaway from today.

Q. Have you talked to your dad yet?

CHASE BRISCOE: I have not. I have not talked to them. I'm bummed they're not here. I think this is the first race I've ever won where nobody has been here.

My dad was kind of sick. I was obviously sick at the Roval. Everybody heard it. He got what I had. He was going to come here. They were at my house all week. My mom was on fall break for school.

He was going to drive. He decided Thursday, he was just going to go home. Then Marissa and the kids, they were going to come this morning. The weather didn't look very good. We didn't want to fly with it being rough. So they decided to stay home. Yeah, this is the first time I've not had anybody here.

I was thinking about what it was probably like at my house, my parents watching, my grandparents, obviously Marissa and the kids. I'm excited to talk to them, for sure.

THE MODERATOR: Chase, thanks for your time.

CHASE BRISCOE: Appreciate it.