It’s not looking good for Chase Briscoe. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver recently made his points-paying debut for the team at the 2025 Daytona 500, securing a pole position ahead of the season opener. Despite finishing fourth at ‘The Great American Race’, the racer finds himself in hot water after NASCAR discovered that modifications were made to his No. 19 Toyota’s spoiler, which is a strict no-no in the sanctioning body’s rulebook. As a result, the team has incurred a severe penalty, a major blow to the driver’s championship hopes.

With 35 races remaining on the calendar, will the Indiana native turn his Cup Series campaign around against all odds? Time will tell. However, it will be an uphill climb for Briscoe from this point onwards, who will need a miracle to salvage the season.

Chase Briscoe will miss his new crew chief

It looked like a dream start for Chase Briscoe. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver secured the fastest lap time at Daytona International Speedway during qualifying, ending a 27-year-long streak for the team. Before 2025, JGR had not occupied the top spot at the Daytona 500 since Bobby Labonte in 1998, while Toyota achieved the feat for the first time since its arrival in NASCAR thanks to Briscoe’s lightning-fast lap. The 30-year-old was a strong contender in the race as well and managed to take home a fourth-place result, finishing higher than his teammates Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and Ty Gibbs.

However, that’s when it all went wrong. The sanctioning body discovered the secret behind Chase Briscoe’s speed was a modified spoiler, a single-source supply part that can’t be altered in any way. Sharing his thoughts about the penalty and losing his crew chief, James Small, the driver told FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, “Yeah I mean, obviously it’s not ideal timing-wise right? Especially at the beginning of the season just as we’re trying to understand each other and get to know each other more. It would sting for sure, but there’s a ton of depth there at JGR.”

As a result of the spoiler being modified, the No. 19 team has been fined $100,000 and Briscoe has been penalized 100 driver points and 10 playoff points. To add insult to injury, crew chief James Small has been suspended for four Cup Series races while the Joe Gibbs Racing team has been fined 100 owner’s points as well. The word severe would be an understatement, as Briscoe would still be in negative points if he won every stage, the fastest lap point, and the race at Atlanta on Sunday. But it seems like NASCAR is making an example of the former Stewart-Haas Racing driver to prevent other drivers and teams from attempting such measures going forward.

The penalty has put Chase Briscoe in a difficult position, as he is still coming to terms with life at Joe Gibbs Racing. The Indiana native said, “I definitely want James (Small) there, especially this early in the season. Us getting that chemistry going is super important.” With the 2025 Ambetter Health 400 on the horizon, the No. 19 Toyota driver will set his sights on a victory to salvage his season. As things stand, the racer is -67 points difference, which means Briscoe will need to make every performance count to remain competitive in the Cup Series.

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Joe Gibbs Racing hopes NASCAR will overturn its verdict

It couldn’t have been a worse start to Chase Briscoe’s career at Joe Gibbs Racing. After a tumultuous time at the now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing, the Indiana native was looking forward to competing for race wins every weekend with his new team. While the opening race of the season largely lived up to the 30-year-old’s expectation, what followed afterward has been nothing short of a nightmare.

With nothing more to lose, the team has decided to appeal NASCAR’s verdict and released a statement that read, “Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) will appeal the penalty issued by NASCAR to the No. 19 Cup Series team today. The issue in question was caused in the assembly process when bolts used to attach the spoiler base to the deck lid caused the pre-drilled holes to wear due to supplied part interferences.”

Revealing his thoughts on the bleak prospect of the decision being overturned, Chase Briscoe said, “There’s still a chance to appeal so that’s what we’re doing now. Thankfully we still have that opportunity so hopefully we will prevail.” As things stand, the driver is 45th in the driver’s standings, 88 points below the cutline. This is a drastic blow, however, the last time NASCAR handed out such a fine, it was reduced!

In 2023, three Hendrick Motorsports drivers, William Byron, Alex Bowman, and Kyle Larson, were in a pickle. Issues with hood louvers were found on their care after a race at Phoenix Raceway which saw Bowman, Larson, and Byron docked 100 points, while all crew chiefs were suspended for four races. Does it sound familiar yet? The team fines in terms of finances and points were the same as what JGR currently serves, but it didn’t last long for HMS.

JGR would hope the similarity in these cases continues as just over a week later HMS was absolved of this and the points were restored. However, the crew chiefs were still fined and suspended for four races. If history is to repeat itself, this would be bittersweet for Chase Briscoe as he is hoping to build chemistry with his new crew chief early into the season, as he mentioned. However, entering Atlanta without a negative points tally would be a huge relief.

If history is anything to go by, the odds are stacked against the team’s favor as out of 175 appeals since 1999, only 39 have been reduced and 16 have been overturned. However, Joe Gibbs Racing will hope for a miracle to turn their fortunes around, even if the chances are virtually non-existent.