Denny Hamlin provides amazing insight on the sudden emergence of Chase Briscoe

This season, Denny Hamlin has a new teammate in Chase Briscoe. The No. 19 car is back to Victory Lane this year, and could win more. When Briscoe entered the NASCAR Cup Series, Stewart-Haas Racing was already starting to fall off in competitiveness.

Last season, Chase Briscoe was picked for the 19 car because of his talent. Everyone saw it in the Xfinity Series, and the fact that he won two races at SHR in his time with the team was impressive as well. His Southern 500 win at Darlington to make the playoffs last season was an all-time clutch performance in the win-and-in era.

As his teammate, Denny Hamlin has seen Briscoe grow into his new role at Joe Gibbs Racing. Briscoe has finished P2 in the last two races.

“I think at the beginning it was a struggle. I think he struggled with understanding how differently our cars drove,” Hamlin said on the Dale Jr. Download this week. “Now, that direction got sent, you know, the way our cars drive got sent through meetings, competition meetings that we have had, where us drivers are sending our engineers down a path of, this is what we want out of our cars, this is what we need out of our cars, this is how we need them how to feel to make speed. And it was different than what he had had over at Stewart-Haas and the other places that he was.

“So, I think he struggled with, ‘Holy crap, man. These things are loose in, and all kinds of things. This is not what I’m used to.’ And I think he’s understanding now kinda how to drive our cars, and I think he’s also understanding the feedback that he needs to give the team and to make his cars better and drive better for him. I think that just took a little bit of time and now we’re starting to see it.”

Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe look dangerous

Denny Hamlin has had his fair share of teammates over the years. Ty Gibbs replaced Kyle Busch in 2023. Then Chase Briscoe joined the team this season after Martin Truex Jr. retired at the end of 2024.

Right now, you could argue that Hamlin and Briscoe are two of the best drivers in the Cup Series. With only a handful of races before the playoffs, the 11 and 19 look like they are starting to peak at the right time.

Briscoe is obviously more comfortable in his car. He is also in better shape than perhaps at any other point in his career, thanks to crew chief James Small and the JGR team. That has shown on the race track.

With Indianapolis this weekend, could Denny Hamlin’s new teammate win again? It will be Briscoe’s home race and it would be fantastic to see a Hoosier win the Brickyard 400. Can he get the job done?