Briscoe finally has a 'good night' at Richmond despite win slipping away

Chase Briscoe nearly solved the puzzle that had been Richmond Raceway for him on Saturday night.

Joey Logano, however, had other plans. Briscoe was caught and dispatched by Logano going into the final round of green-flag pit stops, which ended up making the difference. The Team Penske driver kept Briscoe behind him off pit road, then cycled to the race lead while Briscoe could only chase him.

“It was a good night,” Briscoe said after finishing second. “This has been a huge struggle for me, so to be competitive and race with guys that I’ve watched win races [here] and battle up front – that was a huge confidence booster and a testament to James [Small] and the engineers with all the work they’ve put in with me trying to get better here.

“So, that was great.”

It was a career night for Briscoe at the Virginia short track. The finish was far better than any he had previously earned at Richmond (which was 11th, twice), and came with the first laps Briscoe had ever led there as well.

Briscoe led a race-high 171 laps. Furthermore, the loop data statistics reveal it is the first Richmond race in Briscoe’s career in which he averaged a running position inside the top 10.

But giving up the lead in the final run to the pit cycle was the highlight Briscoe hung up on.

“I thought my car was really, really good, and before that final pit stop, I started losing brakes and got really loose and gave up a three-second lead,” he said. “If I could have had any buffer at all, I felt like I would have won the race because I definitely was better than him that final run. But I just gave up way too much time that one run, and that was ultimately the difference maker. You have to be perfect for 400 laps.

“Joey’s car was odd. It was kind of like mine in a sense where he had two runs where he was phenomenal and the rest, he was the same as all of us. It was odd from that standpoint of how guys would be really good one run and then be back to how they were the rest. It’s still a solid night; just rough to be that fast and not get it done.”

A missed win aside, Briscoe clinched his spot in the Chase. Over the last seven races, Briscoe has scored one win, six top-six finishes, and moved to fifth in the championship standings.

And he moved into a confident space of believing he and his No. 19 team are legitimate championship contenders alongside his teammates and others.

“I feel that way,” said Briscoe. “Outside of Atlanta and last week, I think it’s seven weeks in a row now in the top five or something like that. So, yeah, we’ve been scoring a lot of stage points, finishing well, and finally just executing races. We’re having great pit stops and started up front today.

“I feel like we’re in championship form, for sure. We just still want to win races. That’s going to be a huge difference maker once you get into the Chase. … Winning is a huge difference maker in your points, and we need to get a couple more wins.”