Chase Briscoe reveals his crew chief James Small is a “different person in victory lane” who lets all his emotions out

Chase Briscoe revealed that his crew chief, James Small, turns into a different person whenever the No. 19 car wins a race. He is a workaholic, grinding day in and day out to make the car as fast as possible. And when all that pays off, Small just loses it.

Briscoe’s comments surfaced during a recent episode of Corey LaJoie’s Stacking Pennies podcast. Having wheeled the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford from 2021 to 2024, the driver is currently in his maiden year with Joe Gibbs Racing, driving the #19 Toyota Camry.

“James is definitely...I don't know how to explain it...he is a different person in Victory Lane,” Chase Briscoe told LaJoie (28:25). “He just lets all his emotions out. He's all jacked up and like, when the car crosses the finish line, it's funny to see him like that because you don't see that very often.”

“But it's because the guy literally, like, that is all he does...just work, work, work on making the 19 car as fast as possible. He puts so much effort in it,” Briscoe added.

Last week’s race at Darlington Raceway marked Briscoe’s 27th race with James Small as his crew chief. Next up for the duo is the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway. Briscoe doesn’t need to win the race as he is already locked into the Round of 12, thanks to his win last Sunday (August 31).

Currently, Chase Briscoe sits at the top of the 2025 Championship standings with 2070 points to his name. He has won two races this season, besides bagging 11 top-fives and 13 top-10s. He has led a total of 628 laps so far, with an average finish of 13.222.

All eyes are now on World Wide Technology Raceway. Fans can watch the 240-lap race live on USA (September 7, 3 p.m. ET onwards) or listen to its exclusive radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Richard Petty doesn’t hold back while lauding Chase Briscoe for his Darlington victory

Richard Petty, also known as the ‘King’ by the NASCAR aficionados, was impressed by Chase Briscoe’s run at Darlington. After all, the Joe Gibbs Racing newcomer swept both stages from the pole and led a total of 309 of the 367-lap event.

In an episode of his ‘Petty Family’ podcast, the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion said (3:05):

“19 was the superior car. And on new tires, he could just run away from everybody. And then for about 15-20 laps, then everybody would get to running the same speed, and then the next part of the race, they’d all start catching up with him.”

The closing laps were the most challenging for Chase Briscoe. 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick tried everything he could to clear Briscoe, drifting high once, and then dropping to his outside.

But nothing worked. Like a true champion, Briscoe maintained his stronghold and thus became a repeat winner of the event.