Chase Briscoe reacts to losing Las Vegas playoff race: 'That one's gonna sting'

Tonight, Chase Briscoe let a win slip through his fingers. Instead, his teammate Denny Hamlin is celebrating in Victory Lane. Briscoe had control on the final restart. But with only two tires on the last pit stop and four for others like Hamlin, he was at a disadvantage.

Chase Briscoe has been fantastic in these NASCAR Playoffs. Still, he is not comfortable with his position in the points. He can still have a bad Talladega race and be in a really tough position going to Martinsville.

With a few laps to go, Hamlin zoomed around Briscoe. From there, the 19 car dropped to P4 overall. This is one of those races that will stick in he back of his head for a while.

“Well… that one’s gonna sting for awhile [sic],” Briscoe tweeted after the race. It could be worse.

Well… that one’s gonna sting for awhile.

— Chase Briscoe (@chasebriscoe) October 13, 2025

This season, Chase Briscoe has won twice. Today looked like it might be another day that ended with the 19 being showered in confetti. Now, the team has to regroup and focus on the task at hand – advancing in the NASCAR Playoffs.

Drivers have to have short memories. If you are stuck thinking about the way the last race finished or the last wreck you had, then you aren’t going to win races. Briscoe knows that and he is going to move on from this soon. But that doesn’t mean he won’t think back on it and wonder, “What if?”

Perhaps most notably, Team Penske is in dire circumstances. Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney are the 7th and 8th in the standings and are in must-win situations at this point. That will be very exciting to watch next week at Talladega.

Chase Briscoe manages to rack up points at Las Vegas

Today, Chase Briscoe led 57 laps at Las Vegas. He was one of the best drivers with one of the best cars. But when it comes to those late-race restarts, you have to be perfect. Not just the driver, but the car. Hamlin noted that whatever Chris Gayle did on the last stop really took his car to a new level.

Briscoe didn’t do anything wrong. His crew chief and his team tried to play the game and they just didn’t make the right move. If I am a fan of the 19, I still feel good about today’s race. Besides, I kind of like Briscoe’s chances if it comes down to points or a win at Martinsville to make it to Phoenix.

Really, this could have been so much worse. William Byron, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, and Ryan Blaney all had major issues, or just not enough speed, that cost them a lot of points and positions. Logano had a good race, but too many others also scored stage points ahead of him. It wasn’t enough to make a serious push on the cutline.

For Chase Briscoe, today should be a reminder that they can still win races. It is late in the season and now is when these performances have to happen. If not, you can easily find yourself out of the championship picture before it ever really comes into focus.