The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season is off to a good start for Joe Gibbs Racing, with Christopher Bell winning the most recent Atlanta race. But before Bell made coach Gibbs proud… It was Chase Briscoe. He bagged the pole at the Daytona 500, followed by a P4 finish. However, things went south after he was slapped with an L2-level penalty. So, first a $100,000 fine for Joe Gibbs Racing. And then what must have hurt the most – 100 regular season points and 10 playoff points docked for Briscoe and the owners. It’s probably one of the harshest ones you could say. 

Finally, #19’s crew chief will miss the next four races after the penalty. NASCAR accused the JGR team of having altered a ‘stock part’. A spoiler is what the NASCAR’s single-source supplier gives all the teams. And the rule says it should remain unaltered. However, after a recent update on the penalty, Briscoe must have breathed relief. 

Chase Briscoe’s appeal date gets closer

NASCAR claims the modification allowed the #19 car’s spoiler to bend under air pressure. It automatically increased the #19 car’s top speed. Still, the journey from P1 to P4 doesn’t seem like the fastest car on the track. Anyway, the penalty has put Briscoe in a pickle. He entered the Atlanta race in -67 points, last in the standings. Naturally, the JGR team decided to appeal the decision. 

Chase Briscoe and his team may not be as excited about the appeal now that the date has been set. The National Motorsports Appeals Panel will hear the case on 5th March. It’s the week after the Circuit of the Americas race gets scheduled to green flag on 3rd March. This means the #19’s crew chief would still be James Small in COTA.

This is big for the team. Small was Martin Truex Jr’s crew chief, and the duo won eight races, had 45 top-fives, 86 top-10 finishes, and four NASCAR playoffs appearances. So clearly Briscoe needs him to get out of that points deficit if they lose the appeal. Briscoe got a P21 finish at Atlanta and is starting the COTA race in a -51 points deficit. So he needs Small’s talent behind him as much as possible.

But Chase Briscoe is not worried about the situation he is in. The Indiana native believes he performs well under pressure. “If my back is up against the wall (to make the playoffs), I don’t hate that feeling. I feel like I do better almost in those situations a lot of times.” Which is true.

Last season he took a struggling Stewart Haas Racing team to the playoffs after winning the final race of the regular season (at Darlington). Who can forget him fending off against a desperate Kyle Busch?

So no matter the decision on the appeal, Briscoe is confident he’ll get out of this situation.

Trending

1

Kyle Larson Cleared of Guilt by NASCAR Veterans Despite Austin Cindric’s Atlanta Callout

2

“It’s A Shame”: Kyle Larson Accused by Roger Penske’s Star After Reckless Aggression in Atlanta

3

Jealous of HMS Teammate, Kyle Larson Punishes Himself for His Biggest Racing Weakness

4

When Dale Earnhardt’s Secret Life Left Dale Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt in Total Shock

5

Old School Hall of Famer Reveals 2-Worded Mantra for Carson Hocevar Amidst Public Hatred

Can Chase Briscoe salvage his season? 

Briscoe is not making a fuss over the penalty. After announcing the penalty, he pointed out, “If we don’t win the appeal, you’ve kind of used up your mulligans. You kind of have three or four times where you have a DNF throughout the season and still make the playoffs.” And he thinks it is still too soon for him to get bummed out. “We really don’t even know each other yet,” he added, referring to the #19 team.

COTA is only the third race so the points difference between him and the leader (currently Ryan Blaney) isn’t much. He’s only 138 points behind which can be easily covered with a few top 5s. And we know the #19 car has speed this season. Maybe they can even target winning COTA to come out of the deficit. If you do the math, he’ll be out if he wins the race, combined with a stage win.

And like Superspeedways, road courses are also highly unpredictable. So maybe he can bag a win there. In the four times he ran COTA, he has finished thrice in the top 15. His best came in 2021 when he finished in 6th position. So he needs to better that. However, while he’s got Small and the #19 crew, there might be an added challenge of defeating Road Course King – Shane Van Gisbergen. He’s a favorite entering the race!

Also, the ‘win it and you are in’ format makes things easier for Briscoe. Points don’t matter as much if he’s got the wins. And that’s also his goal for the season. He had previously said, “We should be able to go to the racetrack and contend for wins on a lot more consistent basis. So, you know, my whole approach going into this year was trying to win multiple races and that doesn’t change. The points situation obviously is unfortunate. But I mean, we still just need to go win races at the end of the day.”

It’s a solid mentality after all and hopefully, Chase Briscoe gets a clean slate. What do you think? Can Briscoe come out of this mess? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.