Chase Briscoe weighs in on NASCAR playoff format debate, favors three-round elimination over one-race championship

On the latest episode of the Dale Jr. Download podcast, the host, Dale Earnhardt Jr., was joined by the NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Briscoe. During the podcast, the duo opened up about various aspects of Briscoe's career, and Dale Jr. asked Briscoe's take on the current playoff format.

The current playoff system divides the final race of the season into four rounds: the Round of 16, the Round of 12, the Round of 8, and the Championship Four race. During the last race of the season, the four top drivers compete in a single race to secure the championship title. The Championship Four race is held at Phoenix Raceway, and Team Penske driver Joey Logano is the defending champion, having won the 2024 Cup Series championship title.

Reflecting on the same, Chase Briscoe shared his views on the current playoff system and stated:

"I don't know. I definitely don't think that there's a right answer. I mean, maybe there is. I don't, because somebody's always going to be hurt about it." [19:24]

The former SHR driver further explained, citing an example of his Xfinity Series stint, and stated:

"I think that, I don't know. I've been on multiple sides of it where you know, the Xfinity year is a great example. We won nine races that year. I finished fourth in the championship. Like, I think Justin Haley won Talladega, and he finished second or third in the championship. Like, I don't know if that was right, but he performed better in that race than what we did.

Continuing further, the #19 Toyota Camry XSE driver concluded and supported the three-race elimination format for the championship race:

"So I think for me, truthfully, I loved the chase format where it was you get into the playoffs and then it was 10 races. I always thought that was really cool because it would still come down to the final race. You outperform like you look at the Carl and Tony battle—like that was unbelievable, right? Um, but I think if you want to stay in the same kind of format of the playoffs, I would definitely not be against, like, a three-race final round. I think that would be a good option because, you know, a win doesn't really change anything for you, but you still have to be good over three races."

Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson leads the playoff standings with 26 points. Meanwhile, Chase Briscoe sits in eighth place, one spot above his Toyota teammate and 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace.

---

“I get overlooked a lot of time”: Chase Briscoe shared his feelings about being 'overlooked' in NASCAR

In July 2025, ahead of the Dover Motor Speedway race, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe was featured in an interview with FrontStretch Media. During the interview, the JGR driver shared his feelings on being 'overlooked' in NASCAR.

The #19 Toyota Camry XSE driver further claimed he has a better car than Stewart-Haas Racing and aims to showcase his remarkable skills and potential to the world this season. He stated (via YouTube):

“Hopefully. I don't know. I feel like I get overlooked a lot of the time, but I hopefully will be able to kind of earn the respect of a lot of guys, not, you know, not even not all the drivers, but it's everybody, you know, like I was capable of doing it.” [03:06 onwards]

With 2010 points to his credit, Chase Briscoe currently ranks eighth in the Cup Series points table. He has secured one win at Pocono Raceway, 12 top-ten finishes, 10 top-five finishes, and six pole positions in the 2025 regular season.