"If he punches me, he punches me" - Chase Briscoe rues causing last lap incident with Tyler Reddick

Stewart-Haas Racing team driver Chase Briscoe ran second just behind leader Tyler Reddick on the final lap of Sunday’s dirt race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Briscoe tried to pass Reddick for the win. Unfortunately, he made contact with the #8 Chevrolet Camaro. As a result, both the drivers lost control and Briscoe ended up backward.

Reddick was able to return back on track but he was nipped by Kyle Busch mere yards. Busch won the race, while Reddick, who led 99 laps, finished as the runner-up. Briscoe, who led 59 laps, finished 22nd.

After a heartbreaking end to Bristol’s dirt race, Briscoe walked up pit road to apologize to Reddick. Briscoe said,

“Yeah, I’m gonna go talk to him. If he punches me, he punches me. I get it. I think it was just a racing deal and we’ll see what he says.”

A victory in NASCAR won't come easily and Reddick will have to wait for his first win of the season. Reddick had many reasons to fight Briscoe, but instead of throwing punches at each other, both the drivers shared a bond of perfect sportsmanship, including an apology from Briscoe.

---

Chase Briscoe speaks about the final lap incident at Bristol Motor Speedway

During the post-race interview, Chase Briscoe spoke about the final lap drama and acknowledged that he was going for the win and it proved to be the wrong move. Further, he went on to state,

“I was running Tyler down and I just tried throwing a slider. I didn’t expect him to drive in there on me and I was spinning out, I think, either way and I hit him. I feel terrible. I was wanting to race him clean. I wasn’t gonna wreck him for the win. That’s why I tried to slide him and I was trying to leave him enough if I didn’t get there and that was my fault 100 percent. I hate it for Tyler."

He continued,

“Yeah, I was just trying to win the race. I ran him down so fast and I knew it was gonna be hard with lap traffic, so I tried throwing a slider and it was the wrong move.”

NASCAR Cup Series returns next weekend for GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. The race will go live at 7 pm ET on Sunday, April 24.