Briscoe feels this year offers him a better chance to win Cup Series title

Chase Briscoe made a run to the NASCAR Cup Series championship race last year, but the Joe Gibbs Racing driver feels this time is actually his best chance yet to win the title.

“Up until the playoffs last year, we weren’t really a strong, dominant team,” said Briscoe ahead of Darlington Raceway's Chase opener on Sunday. “Once the playoffs began, we were arguably one of the best teams. So, last year, when we started, I felt good about it, but I didn’t really know what our true potential was. Now I feel we are more than capable of going and winning the championship.

“Yeah, it definitely feels different from that standpoint. And internally myself, James [Small, crew chief], and the entire team feel way better about this year than last year because we know what to expect, and we also know what the expectation is now for ourselves because we kind of do it week in and week out.”

Whereas last year Briscoe won his way into the championship race, consistency in a Chase format will keep a driver in title contention. Briscoe prefers the new format because of that variable and the strong racetracks that Toyota drivers have ahead.

But perhaps, to Briscoe, there is something to be said for going through a playoff format the last few years – the walk-off wins, Game 7 moments, races where drivers and teams had to rise to the occasion, and the thinking that the finale might come down to finishing ahead of the competition.

“I think experiencing the highest pressure you’re ever going to get to experience in this sport,” said Briscoe, “will hopefully pay dividends in this format.”

Briscoe begins the Chase from fifth in the standings. The gap is 45 points between him and teammate Denny Hamlin. And there is no better place for Briscoe to begin his championship hunt than where he’s won the last two straight Southern 500s.

“I feel like (2025 and '26) feel completely opposite, truthfully,” Briscoe said. “The stats at the end of the day look very, very similar, but I feel like the two years could not feel any more different just from the standpoint of where we’re at as a team. This year our results look the same, but we’ve been way faster every single weekend, whereas last year it felt a little more sporadic. So, it definitely feels way different this year.”