Chase Briscoe explains why winning with Joe Gibbs Racing isn't a 'shock' like it was at Tony Stewart's defunct NASCAR team

Chase Briscoe knew the expectations were different the moment he stepped into the No. 19 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. On Sunday at Pocono, he finally delivered on the pressure he's carried all year in one of NASCAR's most prestigious rides.

In his first win since leaving Stewart-Haas Racing, Briscoe held off seven-time Pocono winner and teammate Denny Hamlin to score his first victory of 2025. It took 17 tries, four poles, and more than a few close calls, but the win couldn't have come at a better time, locking the 30-year-old into his maiden NASCAR Playoffs.

Speaking in the post-race press conference, Briscoe discussed the major difference between his former team and Joe Gibbs Racing.

"It's different I guess. Just because the expectation is there (in JGR), whereas at SHR, it honestly felt like you shocked the world when you won. Whereas here it doesn't feel like that because they do win a lot," he said (0:33 onwards).

After four seasons with Tony Stewart's SHR, Chase Briscoe made one of the biggest moves of the offseason by joining JGR to replace the retiring Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 19 car. It was a leap from a team grappling with performance decline to one of the sport's top-tier operations. And so far, the performances reflect that.

Briscoe's 13.7 average finish in 2025 is the best of his Cup career, a sharp improvement from his previous best of 17.3 at SHR in 2022. His two Cup wins at Phoenix (2022) and Darlington (2023) for SHR came in four years. He's already earned four pole positions this year, including Daytona's season opener, and has led laps in eight different races. But until Pocono, the win had eluded him.

NASCAR Cup Series Driver Chase Briscoe celebrates winning the Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono. Source: Imagn

That's why the weight of Sunday's victory was so palpable.

"If you do your job, you should win in a JGR car, (whereas) I've not really had that my entire career. Honestly, the closest thing I can feel like related to is when I was in ARCA. Like I knew if I went and did my job, that's where I was probably gonna win," Briscoe added (0:06 onwards).

In 2016, Briscoe dominated the ARCA Menards Series with Cunningham Motorsports, winning six races on his way to the championship. That same sense of confidence had been hard to come by in his Cup career until now. He never qualified for the Playoffs with SHR, finishing as high as ninth in 2022. With Joe Gibbs Racing, he's already checked that box.

---

Joe Gibbs Racing's Pocono dominance continues as Chase Briscoe becomes the third Playoff lock

Chase Briscoe celebrates winning the Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway. Source: Imagn

Chase Briscoe led a race-high 72 of 160 laps, ultimately edging Denny Hamlin by .682 seconds to notch his third career Cup Series win in the Great American Getaway 400. The win extends Joe Gibbs Racing's reputation at Pocono. The team now has seven victories and five pole positions in their 13 races at the track.

With his victory, Briscoe also became the third JGR driver to officially qualify for the 2025 Playoffs, joining teammate Denny Hamlin and longtime friend Christopher Bell, each of whom has already qualified with three wins each this season. But the win didn't come easily for the No. 19 driver.

"There was a lot (of pressure). It was kind of weird. I wasn't driving hard, so it's not like I was on the ragged edge, but it was just so hard having a guy chasing you, especially the guy that's the greatest of all time here, to be trying to save fuel and everything else," Briscoe said via NASCAR.com.

With 34 laps to go, Briscoe found himself leading teammate Hamlin, Pocono's all-time winningest driver, and Team Penske's Ryan Blaney, who's also won at the 2.5-mile triangle. To make things worse, he made a mistake in his final pit stop, pulling away as soon as the jack dropped, before fuel service was complete.

It could have ruined his day. Instead, Chase Briscoe leaned into the guidance of crew chief James Small, saving fuel and holding off two elite closers.