What went wrong for Chase Briscoe in the closing laps at Gateway? 

Chase Briscoe, still riding high on the wave of his breakthrough win at Darlington, had fought hard toward the front at Gateway, only to stumble when it mattered most. Briscoe charged hard during the Enjoy Illinois 300 race this weekend, winning the first stage of the race and then again battling it out to sit in second during the final stage.

The race saw Denny Hamlin take his fifth victory of the season in another dominant fashion. Hamlin led 75 laps during the race and timed his pitstop to perfection; otherwise, Briscoe might have taken consecutive victories in the playoffs. At the end, Briscoe secured a runner-up finish even after facing a problem with his left rear tire.

He reflected upon his race and indicated what went wrong during the closing stages that may have cost him the victory.

"Our strength was our speed, really, really good. Our weakness was just the sloppiness. Whether it was me behind the wheel or on pit road, not sure what the issue was," Chase Briscoe said post the race via NASCAR's official website.

Briscoe was also involved in an incident with Daniel Suarez on lap 61 of the race. In an attempt to evade another car, he made contact with Suarez, bumping him into the wall. Suarez lost his grip after the incident and was later ruled out of the race. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver bounced back, ultimately finishing second behind the race winner Denny Hamlin.

In the end, Briscoe wasn’t eliminated; his Darlington win last weekend has already locked him into the Round of 12.

---

Chase Briscoe opens up about his journey in his first season with the Joe Gibbs Racing team

After losing his seat at the end of the last season due to Stewart-Haas Racing team closing its operations, Chase Briscoe was in an uncomfortable position, but luckily for him, things worked out as Martin Truex Jr. announced his retirement from the Joe Gibbs Racing team, making up a spot for Briscoe.

While things can be tough moving to a new team and adapting to the new atmosphere, things have worked out well for Briscoe as he recently won the first race of the playoffs in Darlington. But things weren't smooth for him at the start of the season, as he recently opened up about his struggles.

"The first 10 weeks of the season were just us figuring each other out, like just trying to even learn what a baseline is, and in the beginning of the year, they’re kind of going just with what Martin Truex Jr. ran because they don’t know what I need in the car yet," Chase Briscoe said via the Stacking Pennies podcast.

Briscoe is currently ranked second in the NASCAR Cup Series, scoring 2115 points so far, as he heads for the round of 12 of the NASCAR playoffs. He will now be back in action for the next race in Bristol.