Chase Briscoe sums up Coca Cola 600 performance dubbing No. 19 Toyota a "third place car"

Chase Briscoe reflected on his third place finish at the Coca-Cola 600 and admitted that it was a 'lot harder' than he expected. Nonetheless, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver suggested that he ultimately finished where he 'deserved to'.

Briscoe began the weekend on a strong note with yet another pole at a crown jewel event. He previously achieved the feat in the season-opening Daytona 500. Sunday's race, however, saw him lead only a single lap from pole, while he further dropped down the order from a tire violation in his first pit stop. He caught up with the frontrunners by the final stage and held off AJ Allmendinger to secure his best-ever placing this season.

Speaking to NASCAR post-race, Briscoe summed up his night and said,

"It was a lot harder than it probably needed to be. Starting on pole and got a penalty that first pit stop and just we went to the back I think two or three times. So, ended up third. Truthfully, we're probably a third-place car anyways, but just wish we could've got some stage points to go along with our finish. So, that's kind of frustrating in a sense but glad we were atleast able to recover and felt like we've finished probably where we deserved to."

The result netted Chase Briscoe his fifth top-five finish of the season, while his teammates Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell both suffered pit road mistakes that held them back. Notably, Hamlin was challenging for the lead before his fuel mishap forced him to abandon the battle.

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"I feel like we have been so bad": Chase Briscoe reflects on his debut season with JGR

Chase Briscoe delivered a mixed review of his debut season with Joe Gibbs Racing. Despite grabbing multiple top-five finishes, he admitted the team is yet to tap into its full potential. The 30-year old joined JGR for the 2025 season after spending four years at Stewart Haas Racing.

Speaking ahead of the Coke 600, Briscoe shared a honest verdict of his season so far.

"I wanted just to win, truthfully. The top-fives are great, right? I think I’m only one behind my career high, ever, and we are 12, 13 weeks in, so from that standpoint, it is encouraging, but I want to win races....It is weird. We’ve had the results, but I feel like we have been so bad. I don’t even feel like we are close to our potential," he said.[6:30 onwards]

Chase Briscoe explained how it's 'exciting' to run competitively despite the team's struggles. He also mentioned that if he were to grade his season so far, it'd be a B- or a C+, and hopefully an A in a month's time.

Briscoe currently ranks 11th in the Driver's standings with 314 points and an average finish of 14. Notably, his five top-5s are the most he has achieved this early in a Cup Series season.