Why did NASCAR refuse Chase Briscoe from rejoining the Atlanta race?

NASCAR reportedly refused to let Chase Briscoe join the race after the Joe Gibbs Racing driver experienced a wreck and damaged his car. Even though JGR "almost" repaired the car, a bend in the chassis was all it took for NASCAR to refuse the entry for the #19 driver.

NASCAR is in Atlanta for the 2025 Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart Cup Series race, the 18th Cup race weekend of the season. The race at the Echopark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway) is also the first race weekend of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge, where drivers go head-to-head against each other for a $1 million prize purse.

As the race started at one of the most iconic racetracks in America, wrecks followed, one after another. After multiple wrecks and cautions in Stage 1, the start of Stage 2 saw another huge wreck, involving multiple drivers, including Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Brad Keselowski, Noah Gragson, Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney, and many more.

While most of the drivers failed to return to the race, and their day was done, Chase Briscoe and his team tried their best to fix the car and return to the race. However, Joe Gibbs Racing's fixes weren't enough to let their driver enter the race.

Sharing the reason, here's what renowned NASCAR journalist Bob Pockrass wrote on X:

"Briscoe said they almost had the car fixed but nascar saw something bent in the chassis and told them they couldn’t go back out. (That is part of the policy that NASCAR can see something they deem non-repairable)."

The crash took place just after the start of Stage 2 as the drivers were entering Turn 3 from the backstretch. No drivers were injured, as the drivers involved were taken to the in-field care center and released after medical checkups.

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Chase Briscoe shared "unique" angle of NASCAR In-Season challenge

Ahead of Sunday's Echopark Speedway race, Chase Briscoe shared the "unique" angle of racing in the In-Season challenge. Speaking about this, here's what the Joe Gibbs Racing driver said:

"It definitely is going to be a unique complexion to the race,” said Briscoe. “It will kind of be unique – if you are running 14th and they are running 16th – like that battle is going to be really intense." (Via Motorsport.com)

Briscoe failed to complete his challenge as the #19 suffered a wreck and saw his day come to a premature end. Briscoe's challenger, Noah Gragson, was still in the race at the time of publishing the article, and was eight laps behind the leaders.