"It kept escalating": Chase Briscoe clears air on Noah Gragson 'feud' as fans get carried away

When NASCAR fans noticed back-and-forth jabs between Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe and Front Row Motorsports driver Noah Gragson after their inaugural NASCAR In-Season Tournament matchup, many assumed a real feud was brewing between the two drivers. But Briscoe in the recent episode of Rubbin' is Racing clarified that it was all just light-hearted fun, nothing serious that spiraled into something bigger in the eyes of fans.

Briscoe and Gragson are best friends who locked horns against each other in the first round of the NASCAR In-Season Tournament at Atlanta. After the event, the two engaged in some playful banter on X.

Briscoe auctioned off his gloves signed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., which Gragson won in the auction and posted on X, saying he’d get them framed. The JGR driver followed it up by jokingly revealing that he drove up the price of gloves in the auction. However, some fans took the playful banter as a real feud, escalating the situation unnecessarily.

Breaking silence on the feud with his close friend Gragson, here’s what Briscoe said [36:00 onward]:

“I mean, honestly, No is probably the one guy I talked to more than anybody else that's on the circuit. So, yeah, it was fun. He, uh, I don't know; it just kind of started as we were joking around, and then it just kept escalating more and more and more. And I think some fans thought we were, like, legit mad at each other or going back and forth, but yeah, it's just fun.”

Noah Gragosn won the first round over Chase Briscoe, who had a DNF result. Whereas after finishing 25th, the FRM driver advanced to Round 2 and is now pitted against Ryan Preece.

---

Chase Briscoe reflects on his chances to win Chicago race

Ahead of Sunday’s highly anticipated third edition of the NASCAR Chicago Street Race, Chase Briscoe expressed optimism about his chances for better results with his new team, JGR, despite having a below-average finish at this track in the past.

Speaking to CBS Chicago, here’s what the #19 driver said [2:09]:

“I think they should be good. Um, you know, this has been a track that, results-wise, I haven't had the greatest results, but certainly I feel like we've had good speed, and then obviously now coming to a new team, I think this team just has way better race cars. So, um, yeah, I'm excited for”

Chase Briscoe, who sits 10th in the Cup Series points table, heads to the Chicago Street Course with an aim to win his second race of the season on Sunday, July 6, at 2 pm ET.