Pressure paused after 'expected' first JGR win for Briscoe

Chase Briscoe didn’t necessarily look like a driver who had won a NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday at Pocono Raceway. Sure, there was hollering over his radio with the team, he did a burnout on the frontstretch and saluted the fans. And, yes, there were plenty of smiles, confetti, and liquids of all kinds in victory lane.

But winning was more of a release of pressure than joy for Briscoe. Something he had been carrying with him lately.

“The last couple weeks especially, I've just [had] this huge weight on my shoulders, unlike anything I've ever experienced before,” Briscoe said. “My wife [Marissa] has been like, ‘What is going on with you?’ I’m like, I have to win. I don't think you realize how bad it is if we don't win a race and lock into the playoffs. I feel like I honestly weigh a hundred pounds less already.

“Literally when I was doing my contract with JGR, I remember them showing me the stat thing about how about out of 40 attempts for playoffs, they have made it 38 times. The expectation is if you don't make the playoffs, you're not going to be in this car anymore. For sure it's nice to be locked into the playoffs, especially with the races coming up. So many wild cards in there.”

Briscoe has been a Cup Series driver since 2021 when he was handpicked by Tony Stewart to take over Stewart’s ride. It was a dream come true for the Indiana native to drive for a fellow Hoosier who he grew up idolizing. But Stewart-Haas Racing, by the time Briscoe arrived, was no longer on the same level of Joe Gibbs Racing, and the expectations had shifted.

So, for four years, Briscoe did his best for Stewart-Haas. It amounted to two wins and two playoff appearances.

Then, when Stewart-Haas Racing announced plans to close its doors after the 2024 season and Briscoe went job hunting, Gibbs went all in. Gibbs wanted Briscoe. Badly. So much so that the organization had a contract ready for Briscoe as soon as they had an answer from Martin Truex Jr. on whether he was retiring or not.

Briscoe was given the keys to the No. 19 Toyota and the expectations that come with it. He started the year winning the pole for the Daytona 500 but then watched two of his teammates, Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin, combine for five wins in the first eight races. As they did, Briscoe and James Small sat 14th in points with nine laps led, and struggled to find consistency and clean races.

“It's unlike anything I've ever had in my career,” Briscoe said of the pressure driving for Joe Gibbs. “The only exception, I would say, is being teammates with Kevin [Harvick]. But even when I was there, Kevin wasn't really winning either. That expectation was always there with Kevin, but it wasn't necessarily guys winning week in and week out.

“Now you come to JGR, and Bell has won three races, Denny has won three and me and Ty [Gibbs] hadn't won yet.”

Briscoe was a two-time winner for SHR, and took the organization's last Cup Series victory at Darlington last year. Meg Oliphant/Getty Images

Gibbs is now the only winless driver in the stable. Briscoe and Small have a one-week reprieve from suffocating from the pressure.

Briscoe knew what he was getting into. The day his deal with Gibbs was announced, he acknowledged how great an opportunity – probably the best of his career – it was and the need to perform to keep his job. A straightforward guy, Briscoe has never hidden from the truth and isn’t afraid to be the one who offers it without having been asked.

Small, on the other hand, was right there with his new driver. Pocono was the first time in nearly two years since he and his team had celebrated a Cup Series victory. The last being the summer of 2023 with Truex.

Truex was given a lot of the credit for the team’s success. There is no arguing he earned it, as Truex is likely a first ballot NASCAR Hall of Famer who delivered for every team he drove for. So, when things weren’t going well, it was hardly Truex who was blamed by the pundits and social media warriors, but instead Small and those around him.

One would think that Truex retiring lessened the heat on Small. Instead, he’s wanted to prove that he can win without a champion driving the car.

“It's been tough,” said Small, whose voice in his post-race interviews seemed to reflect the emotion of the day. “I'm my harshest critic. If something goes wrong and I thought I could have done something better, I let it eat me and I try to make sure I learn from all those mistakes. I'm just thankful to be surrounded by really, really good people. We know when we roll up to the track, if we can put a race together – it was the same with Martin – we're capable of winning every race. There's been a little bit of a learning curve with Chase, just trying to understand all of that. But I feel like last five, six weeks we've been in that position.”

The drive and determination Briscoe and Small has make them a good pairing. The understanding of what is expected of them driving for one of the top organizations in the Cup Series might be hard to carry for some, but they haven’t cracked under the heavy weight.

Pocono was business as usual for Briscoe, Small, and the team. No one would have batted an eye had the celebration been bigger and the emotion more overflowing, but while the pressure was finally able to release, it was like peace took over instead.

“I've only won three races in the Cup Series but this is by far the least enjoyable just because it's expected now,” Briscoe said. “You have to go win. Where at SHR, I feel like you really felt like you kind of surprised the world when you won. With JGR, their cars are capable week in and week out. Certainly, the expectation is different.

“It's definitely more work, but it's because they are at such a high level. So it's been an adjustment for me. Even just racing with teammates that are winning has been an adjustment for me. It's definitely been a big learning curve. It's one that I've really enjoyed. It's crazy truthfully now looking back on it what I was racing against every single weekend. It's mind-blowing how the cars drive, preparation leading into the week. Nothing against SHR – now being inside the walls of JGR, it's mind-blowing the level they do it at. It's been a lot of fun for me to be the guy that gets to drive one of these cars because the performance is so good.”