Everyone thought Stewart-Haas Racing’s playoff hopes were over until Chase Briscoe’s win at Darlington. Edging out Kyle Busch by mere seconds, Briscoe secured his spot in the playoffs, much like Harrison Burton. But while Burton will be without a team next season, Briscoe has already lined up Martin Truex Jr.’s seat for 2025.

The playoff story for both drivers is quite different. While they both struggled at Atlanta, Briscoe’s P6 finish at Watkins Glen lifted him out of the elimination zone, now sitting 6 points above the cutline. Meanwhile, Burton lags at the bottom. And, joining the playoff analysis is former SHR driver, Kevin Harvick, who recently broke down Briscoe’s impact on SHR’s turnaround.

Briscoe carrying the shutting team through the playoffs

Chris Buescher and SVG had one of the most intense showdowns on the last lap of last weekend, which ended with the No. 17 Ford winning the race. But that was not the only interesting thing. Some eyes were also on Chase Briscoe, who started from 12th on the grid and finished sixth.

In a wild 92-lap overtime race, nearly every playoff driver faced issues. Despite starting deep on the grid, the SHR driver was a top playoff contender, finishing third in Stage 1 and seventh in Stage 2. His two-stop strategy paid off when he pitted on Lap 57 alongside leaders Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen, keeping him in the top 10. He finished sixth and earned 43 points, outscoring all but Austin Cindric, who had 33. This strong performance boosted him from 16th to a tie for 11th in the standings, swinging 27 points. “We did everything we needed to do,” Briscoe said.

In the 17th September edition of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, co-host Kaitlyn Vincie stated, “I want to give some props to the SHR driver, and that would be Chase Briscoe.” Kevin Harvick then chimed in to add, “You know, what I loved about this weekend was the fact that Chase Briscoe, coming across the radio, wasn’t just saying, ‘I don’t know’ about his crew chief’s question and decision of whether to pit or not.”

Briscoe, instead, was more forward with his team as Harvick explained, “Instead, he’s like, ‘Hey, we got to do this. This is what we got to do.’ He was positive, straightforward, and quick to think. I love that, too. He was the leader.”

After Kevin Harvick acknowledged what Briscoe pulled off, he emphasized the young talents becoming the race leaders. Harvick said, “But to me, that is a confident driver who was sitting behind the wheel, just saying, ‘Yep, this is what we need to do,’ and that was the end of the conversation.”

Briscoe clearly has impressed the former SHR driver, as everyone once connected to SHR is looking forward to a good ending for the team. As the No. 29-year-old moves into the next round of the playoffs, he can finish the season knowing that Joe Gibbs Racing knows what he brings to the table. At Bristol, he will go back on track and try to cement his place in the next round while scoring more points for the team.

Chase Briscoe’s run at Bristol Motor Speedway in the past

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Did you know Kevin Harvick’s only cup win came at Bristol?

Despite starting toward the back of the pack at the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, Kevin Harvick pulled off a stunning win. Now, the thing to note here is that Chase Briscoe has only raced 4 Cup Series races in Bristol. Things are quite different compared to the Xfinity Series, where he managed to finish 4th and 2nd in 2019, then 2nd again in 2020. Later that year, he won a race at the same track. Judging from these stats, it’s easy to say that he does well there, but when it comes to his Cup Series performance, it’s a different story.

In the 4 races that he has had there since 2021,

1. Briscoe has come 13th that year,
2. 14th in 2022
3. 27th in 2023.
4. This year too, he matched his best finish at the track and came in 13th in the Food City Dirt Race.

While top 15s are decent results, in the playoffs, it’s always better to be closest to first. He isn’t inconsistent at the track, but if the intention is to win the playoffs, he will have to perform in the coming weekend.

With strong praise from Kevin Harvick, Briscoe now has the responsibility to pull through and give SHR the goodbye it deserves. Next year, the Haas Factory Team will emerge, and Tony Stewart will leave the partnership. Knowing that this is his last chance to prove himself under the SHR name, do you think that Chase Briscoe has a shot at winning the title this year?