Chase Briscoe could have well turned out to be a NASCAR Xfinity Series champion back in the 2020 season, if only the playoffs weren’t structured the way they are right now. For a casual fan or a newcomer to the sport, the playoff rounds and qualification are a struggle to get grips with. NASCAR sure had made efforts in trying to make the whole knockout rounds a more entertaining one, but it looks like Briscoe has a better idea in mind.

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season was one to forget for both Stewart-Haas Racing and Briscoe. The 29-year-old driver, after making the playoffs in the 2022 season, had a fall from grace the next year. With zero wins and sub-par performances, Briscoe only managed a P30 finish in the overall points standings. While the knockout rounds have their own unique challenges and twists, Briscoe believes, NASCAR could go into a more competitive setting, especially with the final race of the season.

“change the finale” – Chase Brisco’s idea of a season finale

The Cup Series playoffs have undergone numerous changes over the last 17 years. Starting out as the Chase for the Championship back in 2004 to the current format of the playoff format, indeed, it has been a long ride. In 2014, NASCAR wanted to reward the drivers who won the race over the ones who just had a good point day. Thus they laid down the complex yet entertaining feature of the playoff format, which is concluded by a single feature of a championship race.

Speaking in an interview on Athletic, Chase Briscoe shared his opinion of the playoff format, suggesting changes that would notch up the competitive nature of racing during the business end of the season. He said, “I would change the finale. I wouldn’t have it one race. Instead of three rounds of three races and one round of one race, I would do four rounds of all three races. That’s the fairest way to do it. It still adds a ton of drama.”

Reminiscing back on what could have been his championship in the Xfinity Series in 2022, he added, “I like the one-race thing from how exciting it makes it, and going to three races would kill some of that excitement. But I just know the Xfinity year (2020) when we won those (nine) races, I would have loved to have more than just one race to decide if I was a champion, because we finished literally fourth that year.”

It is a far-fetched thought by Birscoe, but an interesting one. However, going into this season, the driver will have a big role to play for the team. One that can prove to be make or break for them in the season.

Chase Briscoe will need to make unpopular choices and calls as the senior driver at SHR

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In all senses, the 2024 Cup Series season is a new dawn for the Stewart-Haas team. Their star driver, Kevin Harvick, has stepped away from racing, and Aric Almirola also left the team, leaving Briscoe as the senior-most driver. It is a big undertaking, considering all the drama and expectations the team has seen over the past few seasons. Highlighting his challenges as the lead driver for SHR, Chase Briscoe went on to add, “I have to be controversial, and that’s something I hate.”

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“But being the leader, you have to. If you don’t believe in something, you have to finally stand up and say something, and that’s something I’ve never done in my entire life. So I’m going to have to change. I don’t have to stand up and yell or anything, but I can still have a voice. And that’s something I struggle with, even when I know I’m 100 percent right on things. Like I just won’t say it, because I don’t want to have the argument or the conflict.”

With a respectable P10 finish at the Daytona 500, SHR’s No. 14 team will look to improve and aim for a better result this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.