Chase Briscoe’s crew chief admits he was ‘shocked’ post thrilling Pocono victory

Chase Briscoe's crew chief, James Small, shared a shocking admission after the Joe Gibbs Racing driver claimed the Pocono Cup Series race victory. Speaking to Kelly Crandall, Small shared that he was surprised by the way Briscoe made it to the finish line despite the fuel mileage confusion.

Sunday's race at the Pocono Raceway had a two-hour rain delay, following which every member of every team had one term on their lips — the fuel mileage, all the way to the finish line. However, several cautions in stage two helped the fuel strategies.

Small, the crew chief for Briscoe, called him to the pit road on Lap 79, following which he rejoined at the back of the pack. However, another caution on Lap 83 saw multiple drivers take the pit road, which brought Briscoe to the race lead.

In the final stage, the #19 driver pitted once again in Lap 119, and got out with a quick 11-second stop, perhaps too quickly. It was at this moment that Small began to worry about Briscoe's fuel mileage till the race finished. As the race restarted with 30 laps left, the JGR driver took the lead and started doing everything he could to save fuel.

In the end, Chase Briscoe took the Checkered Flag ahead of his teammate, Denny Hamlin. However, his crew chief was still shocked that Briscoe made it. Speaking to renowned NASCAR journalist, Crandall, here's what he said:

“I was shocked that we made it, to be honest.”

"Small says when Briscoe left pit road, if the race went green to the finish they would have been nine laps short," Small also added, as quoted by Crandall on X.

Here's the post on James Small by Kelly Crandall:

Briscoe started the race from sixth after a formidable qualifying on Saturday. He improved to fourth by Stage 1 and finished on top in Stage 2.

In the end, Briscoe clinched the win and qualified for the 2025 NASCAR playoffs. It was the #19 driver's third Cup Series win of his career, and first since his arrival at Joe Gibbs Racing.

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Chase Briscoe let his feelings be known on fuel strategy issue at Pocono

Chase Briscoe shared his thoughts after he came across a situation where he had to save fuel to see the Checkered Flag. Speaking about this during the Amazon Prime Video post-race show, here's what the JGR driver said:

Chase Briscoe celebrates with his team in victory lane after winning The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway. - Source: Imagn

“To be honest, that’s the first time I’ve really been in that situation before,” Briscoe said. “I knew that I was saving quite a bit. Whenever we did the pit stop, I knew that I screwed up and went too early, so I instantly started saving fuel.” (via Frontstretch)

Briscoe reportedly had a full mile-per-gallon better mileage than his teammate, Hamlin. As a result, the #19 driver did not run out of fuel and was able to claim the victory with ease.