Chase Briscoe makes 'sickening' admission over NASCAR title hopes
Chase Briscoe makes 'sickening' admission over NASCAR title hopes
Joshua Mbu Tue, October 20, 2026 at 2:19 PM UTC
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Chase Briscoe is well in the hunt to win the NASCAR Cup Series Championship (Image: Getty)
Chase Briscoe has opened up on the "sickening" feeling of competing for the NASCAR Cup Series crown, with the Joe Gibbs Racing star within touching distance of Championship leader Kyle Larson with three races to go. Briscoe, 31, sits third in the Cup Series standings following three consecutive strong finishes, including back-to-back wins in Las Vegas and Charlotte.
The No. 19 crossed the line in eighth in Phoenix last Sunday, netting a 41-point gain on Larson to move up to third. He's now 24 points off the defending NASCAR champion, and 19 behind second-place Christopher Bell.
However, in a time that should bring great excitement, Briscoe has admitted that the title-or-bust scenario has also yielded a "sickening" feeling. Despite a positive points gain, Briscoe felt Phoenix could've seen him walk away with more than just the 41 points. His admission came following Larson's furious, X-rated radio outburst.
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"It's sickening knowing the points that we gave away, because we'd be leading. But at the same time, everybody's probably got some points they felt like they gave away," Briscoe told Motorsports Today.
"I just needed that last run to play all the way to the end," he continued. "I feel like we were going to be in contention to potentially win if that happened, but it's not how it worked out."
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Chase Briscoe sits third in the Cup Series standings with three races left (Image: Getty)
In the end, it was 23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick who took the checkered flag for his sixth win in 2026. Despite the critical assessment of the result in Phoenix, Briscoe is holding onto the positives.
Eighth wasn't a sign of his Championship hopes slipping, but that the No. 19 team has a legitimate shot of being crowned come the season's end at Homestead-Miami.
"Definitely in contention, can definitely win the championship," he said. Briscoe also gave valuable insight into how he intends to attack the next three races. He will be going all-out.
He finished third in the Cup standings last season as Larson pipped his JGR teammate Denny Hamlin to the title in the Phoenix finale. He's hoping for a better outcome this year. "No, we just have to keep attacking," he said. "If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out."
NASCAR heads to Talladega next for the YellaWood 500. Earlier on in the season, it was Carson Hocevar who took the victory - his first Cup Series win.
Next week, it will be Martinsville's turn to host. Then, the championship contenders will know what they must do at Homestead-Miami on Nov. 8.
Source: “AOL Sports”
