Briscoe Secures Dramatic Pocono Victory, First with JGR
LONG POND, Pa. — Chase Briscoe navigated a tense, fuel-saving finish Sunday at Pocono Raceway, holding off his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin to secure his first NASCAR Cup Series win with his new team. The dramatic victory automatically qualifies Briscoe for the NASCAR playoffs later this season.
The triumph marked the third career Cup Series win for Briscoe and the first for the No. 19 Toyota team since 2023, when Martin Truex Jr. was behind the wheel. Briscoe joined Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2025 season after Stewart-Haas Racing, his previous team, ceased operations. Stepping into Truex’s former ride, Briscoe delivered the crucial first win for his team this year.
Briscoe masterfully conserved fuel over the final laps, managing to stay ahead of Hamlin, who boasts a track-record seven wins at Pocono. Though Hamlin in the No. 11 Toyota appeared poised to challenge, he ultimately couldn’t close the gap for an unprecedented eighth win at the Tricky Triangle.
“It was just so hard to have a guy chasing you, especially the guy that’s the greatest of all time here,” Briscoe remarked about fending off Hamlin.
Pathway to the Playoffs and Recent Form
The Pocono victory is Briscoe’s first Cup win since Darlington in 2024 and adds to his success at the track, having won an Xfinity Series race here in 2020.
Briscoe has shown strong momentum recently, with this win marking his fourth top-10 finish in the last six races, including a solid seventh-place run in the recent event in Mexico City. The win makes him the 11th different driver to clinch a spot in the 16-driver playoff field, with just nine races remaining before the cutoff.
Race Highlights and Incidents
Briscoe’s win adds to Joe Gibbs Racing’s impressive record at Pocono Raceway, giving the team its 18th Cup victory at the 2.5-mile triangle.
“To get here and finally deliver a win is just an awesome feeling,” Briscoe stated. “To be able to get Coach [Gibbs] in victory lane after taking a chance on me, it’s just so rewarding.”
The race itself faced an initial delay of 2 hours and 10 minutes due to rain. When green flag racing finally began, Briscoe proved strong throughout the humid afternoon, leading a race-high 72 laps and winning the second stage.
Beyond the lead battle, the race saw a few notable incidents:
Pit Road Scare: A tire struck by AJ Allmendinger’s car flew into a crew member from another team. Jonpatrik Kealey, the rear tire changer for Shane van Gisbergen, was knocked down but was able to finish the pit stop.
Brake Issues: Several drivers, including Bubba Wallace, Michael McDowell, and Riley Herbst, saw their races impacted by brake failures. Herbst described it as a “scary feeling,” with a brake rotor exploding in Turn 1.
Rounding out the top five behind winner Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin were Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, and Chase Elliott.
Ahead of the race, Briscoe playfully asked on social media if anyone was traveling from Pocono to Oklahoma City, referencing Game 7 of the NBA Finals he was missing. Ultimately, a trip to Pocono victory lane proved a more than worthy substitute.
Up Next:
The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend with the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Christopher Bell secured the victory in the first race at the track earlier this season in March.
