'Just Another Week': Chase Briscoe Reveals the Strategic Domino Effect of Winning Early in the Playoffs

By winning the opening race of the NASCAR Cup playoffs, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe has several options for the two remaining races in the Round of 16.

• He can take a nap while racing around Gateway and Bristol (Well okay, he can’t, but if NASCAR had electronic vehicles that were self-driving, he could.)
• He can practically go on vacation. We hear Hawaii is nice this time of year.
• He can go shopping with his wife and kids.
• He can make some calls on his cell phone while going around Gateway and Bristol (Okay, he can’t do that because NASCAR no longer allows drivers to have cell phones within their cars during races.)

More realistically, winning at Darlington gives Briscoe an automatic pass into the Round of 12 and gives him and his team some breathing room to prepare for the three races following Bristol.

Sure, they’re still going to try for the win at Gateway and Bristol, but they don’t have to worry as much about taking chances or risks. If they can finish fifth, rather than first, they’ll take it.

In a sense, gaining more playoff points in the next two races is more important than a win, although the latter also brings a good chunk of points with it.

“The biggest thing, probably was the playoff points, just that we gained,” Briscoe said before practice at Gateway. “I think we went from 10 to 17, so basically doubled our playoff points for the next round.

“For us, this week and next week still, if there is a situation that arises throughout the race, say a caution comes out with five to go before a stage, all of those guys are going to have to stay out and get the points.

“Where, obviously, if we were leading, we would probably stay out to get the playoff point, but if not, it allows us to be really aggressive on strategy and do things opposite so hopefully line us up better to win the race and get five playoff points, so it definitely changes some stuff for us.”

Briscoe said that his team didn’t do anything this week to prepare for the Round of 12 opener at New Hampshire, but he was confident that next week they would get ahead, noting that this was the advantage of winning the first race in the round.

Even when you’re assured of advancing to the next round, racing really doesn’t change a team’s strategy too much, other than maybe having more of a conservative approach.

“I want to keep the intensity up, just naturally, I can’t take off,” Briscoe said. “Truthfully, I don’t know how many laps the race is tomorrow, but I hope that we lead every one of them and do it again.

“Just keep that fear for everybody else, like just the competitor side of me, even as a race team, the confidence that brings.”

Briscoe treating each playoff race as a regular season outing

Sure, the race at Darlington marked the start of the playoffs, but Briscoe didn’t treat it that way. Rather, he took more of a regular season approach.

“Even last week, I never once felt like it was a playoff race or honestly, thought about the playoffs starting. Very much just feels like another week going to the race track this week” Briscoe said.

“I don’t know why this week has felt different from that standpoint where I haven’t put any emphasis at all on the playoffs, but I haven’t.

“James (Small, crew chief) and I still have yet to have a single conversation about the playoffs, so I feel like it is just another week for us to go out and try to win another race.”