Chase Briscoe had entered the season with hopes of carrying forward the run he built late last year with Joe Gibbs Racing, when he wrapped up the campaign near the front of the standings in third place. The new season, however, has begun with more bumps in the road. The driver opened the year with a 36th-place finish at the Daytona 500, which left him sitting 37th in the standings.
A runner-up result at Atlanta Motor Speedway then helped him claw his way back to 16th before the series went to Circuit of the Americas. But the wave turned once again against his direction. 37th at COTA and another 37th at Phoenix Raceway finishes last weekend sent him sliding down to 33rd in the standings.
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Speaking on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Briscoe admitted the stretch has tested his patience but said the speed in the No. 19 camp keeps the door open. “It’s certainly frustrating… We’ve scored 40, I think 44 points at Atlanta. We have 47 points on the year. It’s just, it’s been a rough go. But I think the encouraging thing is we have been fast.”
“We’ve literally been in the mix to win every single time when this has happened. Once we can put some of this behind us and get a little bit of luck on our side, I think that we’re going to be certainly right there in the mix.” The driver also noted that the current format has altered the team’s approach from week to week. “It’s changed every single week for us. We’re getting in the point now where points are certainly a premium.”
“But our whole goal is to be, you know, top three at the end of the regular season. And, we’re getting to the point where we’re going to have to average, I think, like 38 or 39 points a race to even have a chance to do that. So just getting into where it’s getting harder and harder.”
Briscoe faced a slow start last season as well, though by this point last year, he had already stacked three finishes inside the top 20 along with a fourth-place run at Daytona. This year’s opening stretch has left him banging his head against the wall, particularly after entering the season expecting to ride the momentum from the latter half of last year.
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For the #19 driver, the path forward comes down to keep doing what they have been doing consistently and staying out of trouble. The No. 19 team has shown the pace to fight for wins, yet factors beyond their control have left them empty-handed.
Next on the schedule is Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a track where Briscoe has often struggled to bring home results. In 10 starts there, he has posted two finishes inside the top 10, with an average finish of 20.3. Still, he managed to turn heads in last year’s fall race, bringing the car home in fourth after starting from second on the same track.
As the series heads to Nevada, Briscoe hopes that run will spark his better start to the year.
The post Chase Briscoe Lays Out Exactly What He Needs to Reach the NASCAR Postseason in 2026 appeared first on The SportsRush.
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