Chase Briscoe couldn’t have scripted a better end to the Fourth of July weekend. He delivered a flawless race at Chicagoland as he held off his teammate, Christopher Bell, in the final few laps to emerge triumphant. 

At the Eero 400, the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing driver showed strong pace throughout the race and stayed in the Top 5 after starting in seventh. However, it was in the final few laps that the real challenge arrived for him as his teammate Christopher Bell slowly began cutting down the gap between them. But Bell ran out of laps and could not catch him, finishing the race with 0.276 seconds between them. 

"How about that race? Was that a good race? It felt awesome," Briscoe told TNT Sports post-race. "Yeah, what an unbelievable weekend. I feel so American winning in the Bass Pro Shop's red, white, and blue car, 4th of July weekend, 250 years. Man, just what an unbelievable race car. James did a great job. The team did a great job. Honestly, did not see this coming."

The victory was even more special as the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing car drove the Bass Pro Shops Fourth of July paint scheme. However, the drive wasn't as straightforward because Briscoe was not confident enough with the car throughout the weekend.

"I kind of felt like I was struggling in practice, in qualifying, but James [Small, crew chief] and the group did a great job. Man, just so cool to get this paint scheme back in victory lane... what a cool weekend to win a NASCAR race."

This marked Briscoe’s first visit to the victory lane this season, along with his first victory at the 1.5-mile track. For the No. 19 Toyota driver, it also marked his sixth Cup Series win. 

Chase Briscoe praises his crew chief after Chicagoland win

Chase Briscoe gifted his crew chief, James Small, a race win for his birthday. While recapping his race at Chicagoland, Briscoe praised Small's efforts to ensure progress in the race and also his career growth.

In the aforementioned interview, he further said, 

"Me and him are about the two most polar opposites in the world. He just stays on me and makes me be perfect each and every lap, and does a great job of keeping me honest. He told me if I win today, I can get some chocolate, so I'm pretty fired up about that."

With this victory, Chase Briscoe climbed up three places in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings, and he currently sits in eighth place with 538 points.

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Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Yash Kotak