Chase Briscoe Looks to Defeat His Son's Favorite Driver in Tournament

Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Chase Briscoe expressed that while he felt temporary relief after he scored the first victory of his tenure at Joe Gibbs Racing a week ago in The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway, that there's no rest for the wicked. Briscoe knows that he's expected to win more than just one race with his new race team.

“There is definitely a sigh of relief – just a weight off your shoulders, but honestly, I’m expected to win multiple races, not just win one and be done," Briscoe explained in a press conference at EchoPark Speedway on Friday afternoon. "I think the pressure just continues to ratchet up, but it is definitely nice to just get a win and just try to know that I can do it. It is a weird sense of feelings, because there is a sense of relief, but there is also a sense of more pressure because now, they know you can win, just a unique situation for myself.”

And just like that, the pressure is immediately back on for Briscoe. But for more reason than simply wanting to attain the goals that are laid out in front of him at Joe Gibbs Racing.

For Briscoe and 31 drivers, this weekend marks the first of five races in NASCAR's inaugural $1 million In-Season Challenge. 16 pairings of drivers will go head-to-head this weekend at EchoPark Speedway, and the highest finisher will move on in the bracket-style tournament.

Briscoe, the No. 2 seed, will face off this weekend against No. 31 seed Noah Gragson, who just so happens to be the favorite driver of his three-year-old son Brooks, in Saturday night's Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta.

"It will be fun going against Noah. He’s probably my best buddy on my entire circuit," said Briscoe, who served as a teammate to Gragson last season at Stewart-Haas Racing. "We play golf a lot, and he’s actually my son’s favorite driver (laughter), so the pressure is on this weekend.”

Why does Briscoe's son like Gragson so much? Easy, snacks.

"Noah is like that uncle that you take your kid to that has Pop-Tarts, ice cream, everything else when he’s with him. Every candy that you try not to give to your kid. So, yeah, Brooks definitely loves Noah for that reason," Briscoe quipped. "Every time he’s around him, he’s getting sugared up like nobody’s business."

Briscoe comes into this weekend's race as the second seed in the tournament, while Gragson is the 31st seed. Usually, this would be a no-brainer matchup, but EchoPark Speedway, much like Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, is a superspeedway-style drafting track, where the draft can serve as the great equalizer.

"Noah and I trash talked each other for a little bit this week, so it will be fun to kind of have that competition, and certainly, out of all of the tracks, I would say, in this matchup deal, I’m by far the most nervous about this one – especially going up against Noah. This is a place where you can come and run really, really well, so it will be a tough challenge for sure,” Briscoe stated.

The stellar performance by the Ford teams at Superspeedway races in recent seasons gives Briscoe, who drives a Toyota, even more anxiety heading into his matchup against Gragson, who drives the No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford.

“Honestly, I feel like here at a superspeedway, we’ve seen how good the Fords are, and going against a Ford here is certainly a hard challenge," Briscoe explained. "This is one of those race tracks that no matter what team you are with, you kind of have a shot to go and win. It’s no secret, right? Noah (Gragson) is not at one of the powerhouse teams, but when he comes here, he can be right here in the mix. Front Row cars qualified on the front row here last year, so it will be a challenge.

The 30-year-old racer feels the In-Season Tournament bring a unique wrinkle to Saturday's race, as well as each of the next five races as drivers, who are typically in a one vs 35-to-39 mindset, will not be thinking about head-to-head matchups.

“It definitely is going to be a unique complexion to the race," Briscoe admitted. "I’ve never really been where it is head-to-head with one other guy. In the Playoffs, you are racing only really against 15 or 11 or 7 or 3 other guys, but never head-to-head. It will kind of be unique if you are running 14th and they are running 16th, like that battle is going to be really intense in the mix of the battle of the race itself.

While the In-Race Tournament will add a compelling element to the viewing experience of the next five races, Briscoe feels there is a chance that it could even increase the level of chaos that ensues in the closing laps of the events.

"Maybe it could cause chaos at the end," Briscoe said. "I don’t know how desperate people will be in the first round, but if you get knocked out in the first round, you can’t move on. I think it will add a very unique element to the race, and I’m looking forward to it. It should be a lot of fun.”

Also, there is always the fear of 'The Big One', an inevitable big crash that can, and usually does, occur at any moment in these kinds of events.