DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Chase Briscoe’s first DAYTONA 500 with Joe Gibbs Racing was a rollercoaster ride, but when chaos unfolded in NASCAR overtime, he emerged with a strong fourth-place finish in the “Great American Race.”
Briscoe, making his debut in the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry, kicked off Speedweeks in dominant fashion by capturing the pole for the 67th running of the event—securing Toyota’s first-ever top starting spot in NASCAR’s biggest race.
When the green flag dropped, Briscoe led the opening four laps before losing the lead to Ty Dillon’s Kaulig Racing Chevrolet. Still, he remained a fixture in the lead pack.
A weather delay arrived on Lap 10, halting the action for nearly three and a half hours.
Once racing resumed, Briscoe’s car remained competitive, but navigating traffic proved challenging. He finished a distant 32nd at the end of Stage 1.
Stage 2 didn’t bring much relief for the Mitchell, Ind., native.
He was caught in a seven-car crash entering Turn 1 when the field stacked up, sustaining damage to his No. 19 Toyota. Despite the setback, crew chief James Small and the Joe Gibbs Racing team worked diligently to keep Briscoe in contention, making repairs throughout the race.
As the laps wound down, Briscoe clawed his way back into the fight and found himself in prime position for NASCAR overtime. Restarting inside the top 10, he surged to sixth when the white flag waved.
In a position to push teammate Denny Hamlin to his fourth DAYTONA 500 victory, Briscoe made his move.
However, contact between Cole Custer and Hamlin sent the No. 11 spinning, forcing Briscoe to navigate through the mayhem. Weaving through the carnage on the backstretch, he emerged unscathed and crossed the finish line behind fellow Toyota driver Jimmie Johnson to claim fourth place.
Briscoe’s top-five finish capped a strong showing for Toyota, with four Camrys finishing inside the top five.
“Man, it was crazy,” said Briscoe after the race. “We restarted, I think, eighth, and the seas kind of just kept parting for me. Everything honestly went my way up until the very end, there down the back straightaway. They all split off kind of three-wide and the 11 (Denny Hamlin) car was just sitting there for me, and I was like, ‘I’m going to push Denny to the win. JGR is going to win with my first race here.
“When I hit him, we all came together – I haven’t seen it yet – and somehow I was able to keep it straight and obviously move forward.”
For most of his NASCAR Cup Series career, the DAYTONA 500 has been a strong race for the 29-year-old driver. Briscoe notched his second top-five finish in five starts and his third top-10 overall at the “World Center of Racing.”
“A great way for us to start the year,” added Briscoe. “Obviously, would’ve loved to win the race, but for us to come here and run in the top five is really cool for our first race. Hopefully,
this is what we’ll be doing all year long.”
Follow Chris Knight on X (Twitter) @Knighter01 or email at [email protected].
