There is still a lot for Chase Briscoe to feel optimistic about in his first season at Joe Gibbs Racing even amidst a penalty after the Daytona 500 that has him facing a deep deficit.
Briscoe was assessed a 100-championship point and 10-playoff point penalty by NASCAR because the No. 19 car was determined to have a rear spoiler brace that did not meet the single source supplied part spec.
“I’m excited for what this opportunity is,” Briscoe said on Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. “I was telling (wife) Marissa just last week that in the past, I told myself that I could win a Cup Series championship but down deep, I know the odds are not likely but where I am now, I feel like I can legitimately win a championship just from an equipment standpoint.”
Briscoe said that even from the small sample size of just the races at Bowman Gray and Daytona that ‘it was eye opening’ what he was racing against while racing for Stewart-Haas Racing the past four years.
How did he respond to the penalty?
“I was super bummed when I went to bed that night but I woke up the next morning and it was just like, I had to move on,” Briscoe said. “There’s not a lot I can do to change the outcome. The team is working on an appeal but from my standpoint, all I can do is try to win the race this week, the next week, and whatever week.
“That’s my goal. My job is to win races and so this doesn’t change a lot from my side. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t down in the dumps that night but I just tried to move on.”
Briscoe also said he’s disconnected form a technical side because that’s just not his role.
“I can’t tell you how to set the car up and I can’t put one together,” Briscoe said. “They don’t tell me how to drive the thing and I don’t tell them how to build it. I don’t get into the weeds on that stuff because they could tell me one thing, make something up, and I wouldn’t know what they’re talking about half the time.”
Briscoe said he found out when Cup Series managing director Brad Moran called him on Tuesday and said ‘hey buddy, got some bad news for you,’ and gave him the details.
“From there, I talked to JGR, some executives and (crew chief) James (Small) and everyone else so yeah, you never want a phone call from Brad,” Briscoe said.
But again, there’s no added pressure or expectation from what there was at the start of the season because he’s been steadfast that all he wants to do is win races now that he’s in a championship caliber car and all he can control is the things he has in hands on.
“If you don’t win the appeal, you’ve kind of used up your mulligans, you kind of have three or four times when you can have a DNF in the season and still make the Playoffs,” Briscoe said. “If we don’t win the appeal, I’ve already used those up and I won’t have any weekends I can do badly [in the race].
“I still have to win. If you want to be a championship contender you have to win a race anyway to get into the Playoffs and hopefully that’s what we can do.”
“I already feel like there’s a lot of pressure this year anyway, but certainly if my back’s up against the wall I don’t hate that feeling. I feel like I do better almost in those situations a lot of times. Hopefully we win the appeal, but if not, we’re just going to try to go win races.”
More About:NASCAR