It’s been a solid regular season for Chase Briscoe of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team and the organization as a whole, with all of its drivers locked in for the Chase, which begins after two races. And overall, there aren’t many glaring weaknesses that should have them feeling nervous. Briscoe, however, has pointed out one ahead of the Dollar Tree 301.
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With 10 top fives and a win under his belt, Briscoe is fifth in the standings. However, his confidence heading into the Chase is tempered by this weekend at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
“I feel like my whole career, I feel like this is a track where I just feel extremely lost every time I come here. So yeah, we’re searching for help this weekend.” Briscoe told Frontstretch in an interview on August 23.
Briscoe noted that the surface demands extreme discipline in car placement, and the field can change noticeably from one lane to the next. Sections of the track that offer reliable traction can lose it quickly, leaving drivers constantly searching for the right balance.
“Just the grip level is so different, like from lane one to two to three, and then even above that, they sprayed stuff a couple years ago, and it seems like these last couple years we’ve been able to get in that, and it has a ton of grip and then it goes away. You’re just constantly chasing grip here.” Briscoe added in the same interview.
Briscoe may be feeling lost, but that doesn’t mean he’s struggled at New Hampshire, results-wise, either.
In 2021, he finished 27th in his first Cup Series race at NHMS. Since then, however, he’s gradually improved, finishing in the top 10 every year since 2023, including a P2 finish in 2024.
The weakness, however, has been his single-lap pace. His average starting position in New Hampshire has been 21.0, with the No. 19 driver set to start from 17th in this year’s Dollar Tree 301.
Briscoe is looking to climb the Cup Series standings in the final two races and continue his recent run of strong results. However, as he admitted, his team still has to “search for help” to find the speed needed.
A strong finish for Briscoe, coupled with trouble for the drivers ahead, could help him gain ground. For now, the focus is on delivering two clean, competitive races before the Chase reset, with the bigger challenge at Loudon being the grip characteristics of the flat 1-mile oval.
Confidence is high, and the team views a strong finish to the regular season, with fifth in points a realistic target under normal circumstances, before the Chase begins. Briscoe currently sits 116 points behind Tyler Reddick in fourth, and unless he wins both races while collecting additional stage points and Reddick faces trouble in both, he is likely to remain fifth.