After Switching Allegiance to Joe Gibbs, Tony Stewart’s Ace Has Struggled to Revive Playoff Hopes

At the start of the 2024 season, Chase Briscoe was saddled with an added responsibility as Stewart-Haas Racing’s senior driver. With the departures of Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola, the 29-year-old was seen as a natural leader. However, since the start of the season and 22 races into the season, a lot has changed at SHR; the big one came in as the team’s departure from NASCAR.

In response to this jolt, Briscoe did secure his future and landed on his feet at Joe Gibbs Racing, replacing a retiring Martin Truex Jr. But his job at SHR was far from done, as he was expected to lead the #14 team into the playoffs. A prospect that has taken a significant hit, especially after his JGR announcement.

Briscoe isn’t expected to have a fairytale ending to his time at SHR

Ever since the turn of the decade, SHR hasn’t been able to transition its dominance with the likes of Kevin Harvick and Co. Moreover, the arrival of the Next-Gen race car seemed to have deepened the troubles for the team to get their racing program going. It was during this turmoil that the team promoted Chase Briscoe to the Cup level on the back of his heroics in the Xfinity Series.

His statistics driving the No. 14 car don’t do justice to his racecraft or talent. And some of the blame is on his racing organization, which fell down the pecking order. From the Big 4, they became a mid-pack race team, relying solely on the brilliance of Harvick and Rodney Childers. Briscoe, meanwhile, had just a single win in the 2022 season, which was the only time he made the playoffs.

However, he could’ve repeated his past achievements to script a worthy send-off for his team. But ever since the driver secured his ride at JGR, he has been out of sorts and seems to have given up hope of his playoff qualification. The announcement came on June 25, 2024, and in his previous race, he had notched up a runner-up finish at Loudon, his best finish since the win in Phoenix in 2022.

All in all, in 18 starts, he had five top-10 and two top-5 finishes and was still in contention to make the playoffs. But after the announcement, it has all gone downhill for the driver and the #14 team. In the 4 starts since Briscoe made it after a 2nd place finish at Loudon, he was unable to notch a single top 10 result and is currently 83 points adrift of the cutline.

Had he racked up consistent top 10 runs, just like Bubba Wallace, he would be in the conversation of contenders still in the race to make the playoffs. But now his chances are pretty bleak, especially, if you are to compare him to his rivals.

The top contenders to make the last four playoff spots

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In 2024, there have been 12 different drivers who have won a race in the regular season. This technically locks them into the next round. The next criterion, if the drivers are unable to score and get a winner’s sticker on their race car, is to collect maximum points. In that aspect, it has to be said that JGR veteran driver Truex Jr is in a safe spot with a 108-point buffer over the cutline. Joining him is his teammate Ty Gibbs, who also has 42 points worth of safety cushion.

With four races to go, these two are expected to make the cut, and thus it only leaves two spots open for others to fight. The next big contender is RFK Racing star Chris Buescher, who either will turn up with a big win or continue his good run on the racetrack; he has a good track record. In three out of the four upcoming tracks, Buescher managed to grab a win last year; Darlington was the only exception that he finished on P3.

Like that, the race boils down to one spot, and this is where Bubba Wallace can put his past experiences to use. Last year, he was in a similar situation, on the bubble with the hope of a good result, and it came at Daytona. Also, with just 7 points off Ross Chastain, he can turn the tides in his favor with just a single race. So, you see, chances that Chase Briscoe mounting a comeback looks highly unlikely.

Keep an eye out for Kyle Busch though, as he is still riding the boat and could pull off a big upset in the last four races.