The Unique Circumstances That Make a NASCAR Playoff Underdog 'Scary'

When Chase Briscoe pulled off an upset by winning the Southern 500 in the season finale, it completely changed the outlook within his Stewart-Haas Racing organization.

The future of the four-car, 320-person team is uncertain after co-owners Tony Stewart and Gene Haas decided to fold at the end of the 2024 season. But Briscoe’s unexpected breakthrough in the playoffs has provided new momentum.

“One of my guys said it best the other day, ‘If we didn’t win that race, everyone would be counting down the days to the end of the season,'” said Briscoe, who will replace the retiring Martin Truex Jr. at Joe Gibbs Racing next season.

“Now they’re so excited and we’re counting down the days to the next race. It’s changed the whole atmosphere in the shop, the morale, people are excited again, and that’s something we haven’t had as a company in a couple of years, so it’s pretty cool to be the one to bring that to the shop.”

The SHR driver was not a favorite for the playoffs and it looked like his title fight would be over quickly after he was unable to avoid the crashed Kyle Larson in the opening round of the playoffs in Atlanta. But at Watkins Glen, Briscoe and his #14 Ford showed once again that they are not to be underestimated.

The 29-year-old collected 12 points in the stage and finished higher than all other playoff drivers in sixth place. Briscoe managed to avoid all the problems that bedeviled several expected contenders and was the only playoff driver in the top ten.

He had entered Watkins Glen dead last in the standings, 21 points behind the cutoff and with a tough climb ahead. But in one race he jumped past five drivers, including Truex and Denny Hamlin, and now he leads by six points at Bristol, where the Round of 12 is now a real possibility.

Securing his place in the play-offs with the win at Darlington has given Briscoe and SHR confidence

Photo by: Danny Hansen / NKP / Motorsport Images

“The confidence that comes with that, knowing that if we can win the Southern 500, why can’t we win this week in Bristol?” he said.

“I definitely feel like our team as a whole is a lot more confident. We’re running with more bravado. We just feel better about it.

“And to do it the way we did, beating Kyle Larson, beating Kyle Busch, it’s not like we got lucky to win. We were literally running in the top three from mile one to mile 500. All of that adds up to a lot of confidence, and I definitely feel like we have that now.”

“Now we know we can win, and to do it the way we did, the confidence and momentum that comes with it is unique”
Pursuit Briscoe

Four drivers will be cut from the title fight this weekend at the iconic short track, and as with any elimination race, Briscoe says, “You just know you have to do everything perfectly.” As at Watkins Glen, avoiding drama is key.

“You can’t have big accidents, you can’t have a bad night in the pit lane and you can’t make big mistakes on the track,” he said.

“At the end of the day, you’re probably not going to win every elimination race, even if you do everything perfectly. But if you do everything perfectly that night, you can go to bed and hang your hat on the fact that you did everything you could.

“That’s the most important thing in an elimination race: not eliminating yourself and just putting in as solid a night as you can, from start to finish.”

Briscoe says knowing his team has nothing to lose will help his cause in the coming weeks.

“No other team can match what we’re going through, and no other team has the emotions that we have, so I think that’s what makes us so scary,” he said.

Briscoe knows that avoiding a bloodbath at Bristol will be crucial

Photo by: Lesley Ann Miller / Motorsport Images

“We have a lot on our shoulders and a lot of pride that comes with it. We’re just a unique racing team right now. And every other team in the playoffs is trying to figure out how to make four cars fast in the playoffs.

“Hendrick has four cars in the playoffs, JGR has four cars in the playoffs, our team has four cars but only one of them is in the playoffs, so all the focus is on car 14 and I think that makes it a little easier for us.

“I have three teammates who will do everything they can to help me on the track. They can push the other guys a little harder than they could me.

“Then even in preparing the race cars we can take everything, the best of the best from each race car, personnel, whatever it may be, and apply it to our car. So I definitely think there is an advantage to the position we are in now.”

While Briscoe could be considered an underdog in his second play-off appearance after reaching the round of 16 in 2022, he doesn’t see it that way.

“I don’t see ourselves as an underdog,” he said. “Some people may have written us off, but me and our entire race team feel like we can win it all.

“That’s probably ridiculous for someone who didn’t even look like he was going to compete, but we look at it this way: If we can win the Southern 500, we can probably win every race of the entire season.

“Now we know we can win. And to do it this way, the confidence and the momentum that comes with it is unique. I don’t think any other racing team can match that at the moment.”