NASCAR CUP SERIES: THE GREAT AMERICAN GETAWAY 400 PRESENTED BY VISITPA.COM

June 22, 2025

Chase Briscoe

Press Conference

An Interview with:

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by our race winner, Chase Briscoe. We'll start with questions.

Q. Closing laps, Denny was right behind you, 81 feet behind you. I asked James if he was worried. He was like, Absolutely. What was going through your mind trying to hold him off?

CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah, I mean, for sure, out of anybody you could have behind you here at least, Denny is the last kind of guy you want because he's so experienced and so skilled. He makes speed here where other guys can't.

Honestly, I wasn't crazy nervous just because I was honestly going so slow. I was so backed up, but I was still driving away. Honestly, it would have been probably harder if I was on the ragged edge.

The biggest thing for me was I didn't want him to get close enough to where he could make somewhat of a move on me, especially with how much I was having to lift into the corners. I didn't want him to be able to drive in deeper.

Yeah, definitely surprising to me how I was able to kind of drive away. Definitely feel like I learned something.

Q. James Small talked about how much there was a change in expectations, change in work ethic, that's needed at JGR that might not have been at SHR.

CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah.

Q. I'm curious what it was like last year in your final year and how much of a change has it been?

CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah, it's definitely way different. Just the expectation is so much higher. Like, I've only won three races in the Cup Series, right? This is by far the least enjoyable because it's expected now. You have to go win.

At SHR, I feel like you really felt like you kind of surprised the world when you won. With JGR, their cars are capable week in and week out. Certainly the expectation is different.

Yeah, I mean, it's definitely more work, but it's because they are at such a high level. So yeah, it's been an adjustment for me. Even just racing with teammates that are winning has been an adjustment for me. It's definitely been a big learning curve. It's one that I've really enjoyed.

It's crazy truthfully now looking back on it what I was racing against every single weekend. It's mind-blowing how the cars drive, preparation leading into the week. Nothing against SHR. Now being inside the walls of JGR, it's mind-blowing the level they do it at.

It's been a lot of fun for me to be the guy that gets to drive one of these cars because the performance is so good.

Q. You see Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell win three races. What is it like seeing that when you hadn't won in terms of pressure?

CHASE BRISCOE: It's unlike anything I've ever had in my career. The only expectation I would say is being teammates with Kevin. Even when I was there, Kevin wasn't really winning either. That expectation was always there with Kevin, but it wasn't necessarily guys winning week in and week out.

Now you come to JGR, and Bell has won three races, Denny has won three. Me and Ty hadn't won yet. Last couple weeks especially, I've just been like this huge weight on my shoulders, unlike anything I've ever experienced before. My wife is, What is going on with you? I'm like, I have to win. I don't think you realize how bad it is if we don't win a race and lock into the Playoffs.

I feel like I honestly weigh a hundred pounds less already. Literally when I was doing my contract with JGR, I remember them showing me the stat thing about how about out of 40 attempts for Playoffs, they have made it 38 times. The expectation is if you don't make the Playoffs, you're not going to be in this car anymore.

For sure it's nice to be locked into the Playoffs, especially with the races coming up. So many wild cards in there.

Q. Was there a moment over the first part of the year where you doubted yourself, the team?

CHASE BRISCOE: No, not really. Literally when we went to Bowman Gray, I ran the first five laps of practice, I'm like holy smokes, unlike anything I've ever driven before. It took me a long time, longer than I would have liked.

I would say up till Charlotte in qualifying especially, I was always underdriving the car. I am so used to having to lift in certain spots, and the car has never been able to take it. Where the last month, I feel like I finally have been getting used to what this car is capable of, how hard I can push it.

It feels normal now, where at the beginning of the year it felt so foreign how far I was able to drive it in the corner, how hard I could pick up the gas. Everything was so opposite of what I've been able to do my entire career.

Hopefully this will be the start of what is more normal for us. I felt like today was honestly the first race all year long where we executed. We never had a dumb mistake or hiccup on pit road or anything like that. We were finally able to be in the mix.

Q. I don't think I've ever heard a winner describe their victory as their least enjoyable.

CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah (smiling).

Q. I would think after all of this, it would make this more enjoyable because of the pressure. Can you clarify.

CHASE BRISCOE: It's still enjoyable, right? It's a different feeling because if you do your job, you should win in a JGR car, where I've not really had that my entire career. Honestly, the closest thing I feel like I can relate it to is when I was in ARCA. I knew if I went and did my job, I was probably going to win. Now, obviously it's way, way, way harder at the Cup level. There's so many things that go into it.

If we execute, things go our way, I do my job, we should be in the mix to win. It's different, I guess, just because the expectation is there. At SHR, it honestly felt like you shocked the world when you won. Here, it doesn't feel like that because they do win a lot.

Q. James talked about accountability. Can you give us a sense of how much more work you have to do, what more you're doing, what's expected out of you in this situation?

CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah, I mean, my prep work is for sure a lot more. I wouldn't say I'm doing more sim time or stuff. Just the paperwork of the job, right? Reading notes, going through videos, all that stuff.

Honestly, it's not been really much more work because how JGR does it. It's almost like here is a pamphlet, read through this. At SHR, we got to that kind of towards the end. Still, our level of preparation was not even near as much as what it is now.

It is more work, but at the same time it's so simplified now, it doesn't really feel like I'm doing a lot more, outside of working out. I work out now, before I didn't really do that. Other than that, it hasn't really changed a lot, to be honest with you.

Q. Even though you say this is the least enjoyable victory, is it more enjoyable because you beat the guy who is the all-time win leader at Pocono?

CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah, I don't want it to get taken out of context that it's not enjoyable. It's still very enjoyable. It's a different feeling.

Certainly if you were to beat Denny in anything here, you feel like you've accomplished something, right? But certainly to do it in something that's head-to-head, he's got the same equipment as I got, there's a lot of confidence that comes along with that.

Yeah, he is the greatest of all time here. Nobody will be able to do what he's done here. To be able to beat him, honestly kind of maintain my composure, I'm proud of the work I put in to be able to do that.

It was not easy running and saving fuel while still trying to hold off Denny and stuff. It's definitely rewarding, for sure, whenever you can beat a guy like Denny with the same equipment arguably at his best track.

Q. When laps are clicking away, what are the emotions not knowing if you are going to make it on fuel?

CHASE BRISCOE: I think some of that is probably why I've not savored the moment as much because I truthfully did not think I was going to win. I'm still in shock truthfully. It's still not hit me just because I fully expected to run out of fuel. I didn't know our fuel situation. I knew we were probably going to be short.

I knew inside the car, I mean, I couldn't have saved any more fuel, but I still figured when the two to go came, I've watched races here long enough to see where the leader runs out of fuel. I'm going to be the next guy that runs out. I was waiting for it.

We took the white flag. Waiting for it to stumble off of one, stumble off of two. In three, I kind of lifted early to try to save fuel. Man, what if I don't run hard here, if I run out and they beat me to the line. It was just a weird mix of emotions because I've never really been in that situation before.

Yeah, I definitely am surprised that honestly we made it on fuel. I guess maybe we learned something because we've talked about that all year long, we're probably taking too much fuel in a lot of these races. For us to be able to stretch it like we did, hopefully we can learn something from that.

Q. Your official announcement with JGR was June 25th last year. Here we're June 22nd and you're in Victory Lane. We know how much JGR recruited you. How much more validating, knowing there was a mistake late that put you in a situation where you had to overcome adversity today, all of that combined, how has that helped validate everything?

CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah, definitely it is validating for sure. I didn't realize it was a year ago. I knew it was around this time.

I mean, I read the Internet. People are like, Why would they put that guy in? Even when I won three poles in a row, not winning the race, people are trashing you.

I knew we were more than capable. I knew myself that I was capable. You never really know until you go do it, right? For us to be able to come here, it's certainly nice to get that monkey off your back.

I can't thank Coach and Johnny Morris and Toyota enough. There was a lot of people they could have put in this car. It was the most sought-after seat in the off-season. For me to be the one blessed enough, lucky enough to get it is great.

With that you have to prove yourself. For me to be able to come here now and win, it doesn't mean I'm guaranteed to be in it for a while, but it certainly is nice to know I can do it at this level, in this equipment, and hopefully I can be here my entire career because the sky definitely feels like it's the limit here.

Q. Can you talk about on the pit stop, I guess you left too early, the sequence, what happened, what you heard.

CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah, so typically I knew I was going to be waiting on fuel. When we do that, typically the queue for me to go is when we drop the jack. James told me you're going to go on me, we're not going on the jack.

As the tires got done, I knew we were sitting there waiting on fuel. I started revving the engine up so I wouldn't stall it when I left. I think James said, Wait. As soon as I heard anything, I just went.

I knew right away when I came out, the next lap, I knew Denny had pitted the next lap, they were a full straightaway behind me. I knew I was probably not in the best of shape. I instantly started saving fuel down the straightaways. That caution obviously saved us to be able to save fuel there.

It was honestly one of those things where we can definitely learn from it, do better on it. I was waiting to hear anything, expecting James to say, Go. When he said, Wait, I just went.

Q. You won the Xfinity race here in 2020. There were no fans. What was it like being in Victory Lane with a sell-out crowd?

CHASE BRISCOE: It's super cool. COVID definitely makes you appreciate racing in front of fans, especially at a place as big as this when there's nobody here. It's very, very odd.

Yeah, I mean, anytime as a race car driver, in any sport, when you're racing or playing in front of a sold-out crowd, there's an atmosphere and energy, you feed off that as a competitor. To be able to win in front of a sold-out crowd, it's cool. Makes you feel like you're doing something that's a big deal.

Every week before we take the green, I look up in the grandstands and savor the moment that on Sunday I'm racing in front of this many people. This one really caught my attention. How long the grandstands are, to see people. There's not a single seat open. As a race car driver, as a competitor, this is a really special feeling.

Q. Coach earlier was talking about how this win made him feel validated in his decision to put you in this car. What has it been like getting to know him and now delivering a victory?

CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah, it's super special, just humbling first off that out of all the people coached picked me. I'm sure there were a lot of people scratching their head. Even internally, when he said, Hey, I think we should go with this guy. For him to feel validated is a great thing, as a driver to know your boss is happy with you.

If you look at the list of Hall of Famers that got to drive for Coach Gibbs, honestly the fact I'll be on that pretty short list is pretty special.

Literally as a kid, I talk about it all the time, I would play my sprint car game in a Joe Gibbs Home Depot uniform. Just being a diehard Tony Stewart fan. Being able to deliver a victory for Coach is pretty special.

Q. In the closing laps, you have James Small in your ear telling to you save more fuel. You're doing so. Were you surprised to see that you were actually pulling away from the 11?

CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah, a little bit. It's crazy. We've seen it time and time again here. I remember Harvick at Atlanta back in the day, just driving away from people.

My dad chews me out almost every single week about how I'm overdriving. If you would just slow down, you would go faster. Today was certainly a testament to that (smiling).

It's crazy. When you're right there on the limit, pushing past it, you're typically going slow. Today, lifting as early as I was, really trying to make the straightaways as long as possible, there's certainly something to be learned from that.

It's hard. You're so used to driving into a certain spot. When you start backing it up, you feel like you are literally crawling getting into the corner. They're yelling at you, You need to back it up even more. I cannot go any slower. It's a hard balance to have, especially when you know you have Denny right behind you.

Yeah, we were obviously able to hold off and it was a special day.

Q. James said your habit is to drive it until you see Jesus.

CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah, that's about right (laughter).

Q. Do you agree with that? How important is to it have a crew chief that admires your driving and believes in you?

CHASE BRISCOE: I certainly overdrive way more than I underdrive. That's something we know is a common thing for me. I always drive in way too deep. It's great when you're out front. In traffic it just kills you.

It's not been I would say smooth sailing from the get-go between James and I. There's an early part of the season where it was almost like, Hey, we want you to drive this way. It didn't feel right to me. I had to go to them and say, Look, let me do my normal thing. If it works, great. If not, I'll really try to change my whole style.

This last really month I feel like James has put a ton of trust in me to go out there and drive it to whatever I think is best, to my ability. They've done a really good job of just getting the car more suited for my driving style.

I feel like we're underrated for the speed that we have a lot of time. We get overlooked a lot because we don't execute. Hopefully now with this win, we can kind of start building on that and start being a contender week in and week out.

Q. All three 23XI Racing cars left the race with brake issues. Did that worry you at all?

CHASE BRISCOE: Anytime somebody has a brake issue, you're scared to death, especially at a place like this. I knew Riley wrecked early. On my radio they told me that Bubba lost brakes.

For sure you're worried. More often than not I feel like our cars and 23XIs are close. I hadn't had any issues up to that point. This is certainly one of those tracks you don't want to have a brake issue. As a driver, you're cringing every time you go into the corner hoping you have them.

It was a slight concern. I didn't have any issues up till that point. I tried to put it in the back of my head.

Q. Do you feel like that helped you with the win today, not having dirty air?

CHASE BRISCOE: Absolutely. The first stage I think we ran fourth or third or something like that. We pitted. I came out 15th. I was stuck in 15th. I had nothing I could do. As soon as we pitted and I came out in clean air, I was really, really fast. My car drove great.

That's Cup racing everywhere we go. Clean air is king. Dirty air is not good for you. Here, you can dictate so much when you're that lead car. I knew when I got clean air I had to do everything I could to keep it. If I was going to second, I would never pass the guy back.

Q. I believe you made the announcement of the worst kept secret in the garage that you're going to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing on June 26th of last year. How has your life changed?

CHASE BRISCOE: It changed whenever the contract I signed, but certainly now today, it's changed even more. It's crazy just the opportunity that I've got. There's only 40 guys week in and week out that get to say they're a Cup driver. 36, I guess. Out of those 36, there's only a handful that are driving in cars capable of winning every week.

For me to be able to be one of those guys is a huge blessing. It's an opportunity that I don't ever want to lose. I've been on the other side where you're struggling. Not to say that it never happens at JGR, you see it go in cycles all the time. Certainly they have it all together.

As a race car driver, you don't want to lose that opportunity because you know how good you've got it. It's been great to be able to be a driver at JGR. Certainly now more than ever to finally get a win, it definitely is very nice and just rewarding and a huge sigh of relief, for sure.

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations on the win.

CHASE BRISCOE: Thank you guys.