Chase Brisce's two-tire gamble doesn't quite pay off at Las Vegas

In a city where taking risks is encouraged to the extreme, Chase Briscoe and crew chief James Small put all their chips in on a two-tire call late in Sunday's South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. 

Briscoe led the field to the green flag for the final restart with 14 laps to go after taking two tires on his final pit stop of the day. 

While the risk did end up paying some dividends — Briscoe finished fourth and currently holds the fourth and final provisional Championship 4 berth by 15 points — Briscoe was easily passed by Denny Hamlin for the lead with four laps to go and lost two more positions by race's end. 

Chase Briscoe will now have to claw back to Championship 4 berth

While a fourth-place effort certainly isn't anything to scoff at, Briscoe will have to scratch and claw his way to a Championship 4 berth. Unlike his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate in Hamlin, he can't relax over the next two weeks and prepare for Phoenix. 

"I thought I was in a really good spot there," Briscoe told USA Network. "The first three or four laps after the restart, my car drove really good. I thought for a while when they (Hamlin and Kyle Larson) were racing hard enough, maybe I was going to sneak one off on them."

"...That's going to sting for a while."