Chase Briscoe reveals goals for 'no stress' Martinsville elimination race, his approach to Penske

While Chase Briscoe has locked into Phoenix, this week’s race at Martinsville is going to be anything but stress-free. The NASCAR driver knows that he still has a responsibility on the track to his team and possibly, his teammate, Christopher Bell.

With how the points line up going into the race, a win from Chase Briscoe or Denny Hamlin would more or less lock Christopher Bell into Phoenix as well. There is a lot to race for, not to mention just the pride of a racecar driver. No one wants to do 500 laps at Martinsville just riding around.

This race is going to establish the Championship 4 for next week. So, stress is only going to be natural.

“I mean for us, I think it’s trying to just go there and win again, truthfully. All of us want a grandfather clock, right?” Briscoe said on the Dale Jr. Download. “I feel like that’s a place where I’ve always ran really, really good, I just haven’t been able to win all the way. Keeping the momentum up, confidence high. And truthfully, as a company, if me or Denny can go win the race, it essentially locks Bell in no matter what. So, yeah, our focus is trying to go there and win.

“Even tomorrow I’m still going to go run sim for Martinsville just trying to be the best we can this weekend. So, yeah, for us it’s no different than any other week. The stress is off in a sense of the playoffs, but you know, you don’t want to go to Martinsville and run terrible and run 28th and then carry that into Phoenix. You want to go there and have a good run and kind of carry that momentum.”

Even though Chase Briscoe has his ticket to Phoenix, he can do more to help Joe Gibbs Racing. If they are able to get three drivers in the Championship 4, the chances of winning the title will go up astronomically. It would also be awesome to see Kyle Larson go up against JGR’s three drivers, to be honest.

Briscoe also noted the desire to keep Team Penske out of Phoenix. Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney are both going into this race with one goal – win. With their domination of the Next Gen era at Phoenix, letting them into the Champ 4 is a massive mistake.

Bell won the 2022 race at Martinsville. He did it in a must-win situation. That is not the case this weekend, where he has more than 30 points on the cutline. However, one winner below the cutline creates a tight points battle between Bell and Larson.

Chase Briscoe has had a fantastic season. It is his first year at JGR, and he has won three races. Replacing Martin Truex Jr. was never going to be easy. Still, it’s hard to argue that Briscoe hasn’t done that at this point. If he nabs a championship in his first season with the team, that would be quite the achievement.