The JGR driver is ready to fire up his motivation even harder with a win.
People following NASCAR during the Chase saw Kyle Larson take away a dominant victory at Kansas. They saw the implications of running a perfect weekend in the standings. But there is also a certain Toyota trying its best to keep up with Larson and stop his advances. Chase Briscoe was trying to end Larson's perfect weekend run by snatching away the victory. He might've failed at doing so in Kansas, but he ensured his success a week later at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Right after Kyle Larson showed the grid true dominance, Briscoe went ahead and slammed his foot on the gas pedal to show an even better way of dominating the race. Not only did Briscoe secure the maximum points without the fastest lap, but he ended the race almost 1.3 seconds ahead of the competition. Leaving Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick in his dust, Briscoe secured the perfect redemption. Looking back at it, he believes Las Vegas completely changed his mindset.
Chase Has Given Up, but Las Vegas Became His Savior
For Briscoe, the Chase was becoming a true ordeal after Kansas. The high stakes involved in the postseason make the standings fluctuate very easily. After seeding in sixth place from the Regular Season, Briscoe had dropped down to P8 in the standings.
Naturally, he felt like the gap between him and the top drivers was too bad. With only six races remaining, Briscoe had little to no hope left for the championship.
"It was definitely a big weekend, just to get us a chance to still be in the championship hunt. Truthfully, when we weren't able to win Kansas there at the end, I thought that our chance at the championship was over," Briscoe confessed in an interview with SiriusXM.
"It was just such a far way back, and it just put it to where I thought it was. Honestly, it's just out of the question for me. Yeah, going into Vegas and having a 75-point day, look, it's still going to be an uphill battle, but at least we still have an iron in the fire."
After his victory at Las Vegas, Briscoe jumped the driver standings to settle in P6 once again. He is still 84 points behind Larson for now, but at least he has covered a major gap with one victory. Another one or two of those, and who knows, Briscoe might just be leading the Chase altogether.
