Chase Briscoe dubs his No.19 a 'rocket ship' after runner-up finish at Sonoma 

Despite losing the Toyota/Save Mart 350 to Shane van Gisbergen and finishing second, Chase Briscoe put forth a positive front and not only appreciated his car and team but also praised SVG's road course dominance.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver led twice for two laps and ended up finishing as a runner-up, clinching his seventh Top-5 finish of the year. Despite going side-by-side with Shane van Gisbergen during a late-race restart, Briscoe couldn't beat the No.88 driver's lead.

Commenting on the same in a post-race interview, the No. 19 driver said:

“I felt like every time I would get close, he would just start driving back away. We were definitely the second-best car. I don’t really know what more I need – maybe a little bit a grip, but even if I had a little more grip, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to gain the speed that he had.”

However, Chase Briscoe didn't express discontent over the P2 finish and likened his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to a 'rocket ship', tweeting:

"36 racecars and one rocket ship on track today. Proud of our group for bringing the fastest racecar. 😂 Never been so proud to run 2nd in my life.

Chase Briscoe

@chasebriscoe

LINK

36 racecars and one rocket ship on track today. Proud of our group for bringing the fastest racecar. 😂 Never been so proud to run 2nd in my life.

Finishing second at Sonoma came as a breather for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, given that he finished 35th in Atlanta and 23rd at the Chicago Street Race, both following his victory at Pocono.

Interestingly, Chase Briscoe and Chase Elliott are the 2 racers who've dominated the racetrack since Shane van Gisbergen clinched multiple victories at Mexico, Chicago, and now Sonoma. Talking about feeling overlooked in terms of performance, the No. 19 ace said:

“I feel like I get overlooked a lot of the time. Hopefully we’ll be able to earn the respect of a lot of guys — not even all the drivers, but I think just everybody. I always felt like I was capable of doing it and the 19 car finally lets me show what I feel like I’m capable of. It’s just so fun to drive fast race cars.” (via NASCAR)

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Chase Briscoe compared Shane van Gisbergen to NBA legend Michael Jordan in his prime.

In addition to admiring the performance of his No. 19 Toyota and his team, Chase Briscoe had words of appreciation for Shane van Gisbergen. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver mentioned that there was a possibility of SVG's muscle memory and heel-toe method playing an important role in why he wasn't able to catch up to the No.88 racer.

Chase Briscoe said that road course racing is "foreign" to what he is used to, adding that it might be one of the reasons that SVG struggles on the ovals as compared to the road course.

"He kind of struggles a little bit more because of how he’s using his feet, but that’s what’s natural for us, right? And it just is such an advantage on these road courses. So he does an incredible job. He’s an incredible race car driver, so I’m honestly proud of running second to that guy." Brisoe said

He continued:

"I was even saying in my TV interview, I obviously never played basketball against Michael Jordan in his prime, but I feel like that is very similar to what it would be like. It’s just a lot of fun and proud to have ran second to him.”

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Chase Briscoe currently ranks 8th on the NASCAR Cup Series table with 526 stage points and 6 playoff points.