Former NFL coach Joe Gibbs went for it on fourth down by hiring Chase Briscoe to drive his famous No. 19 Toyota last June.
The Mitchell, Ind., driver converted in a giant way on Sunday.
Briscoe had enough gas to get to the end and hold off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, winning the NASCAR Cup Series’ The Great American Getaway 400 in Long Pond, Pa.
Driving in his first season for JGR, the 30-year-old Briscoe, who led 72 laps, held the point most of the final stage but appeared to be short on fuel after leaving his pit box early on Lap 119.
However, the fifth-year driver held a consistent half-second lead over Hamlin’s No. 11, beating him by 0.682 seconds for his third career win in 161 starts and earning a postseason playoff berth.
“It was hard having a guy chase you, especially the guy who’s probably the greatest all-time here,” said Briscoe of Hamlin, who holds the Pocono record with seven wins. “An amazing day for our race team. It’s really the first race where we’ve, truthfully, executed all year long.”
Briscoe had just two victories over his first four seasons and knew that Gibbs hiring him to pilot the car that Martin Truex Jr. drove to 15 wins from 2019 to 2024 would come with pressure.
“They took a big chance on me, right?” Briscoe said. “Like, I wasn’t everybody’s first choice, I think. But for me to get here and finally deliver is just an awesome feeling.”
Briscoe became the sixth driver in the past eight races to record his first win of 2025 and put himself in the playoffs.
Following Hamlin in the seven-caution race were Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher and Chase Elliott.
Returning to his No. 11 Toyota after missing the Mexico City race due to his child’s birth, polesitter Hamlin had to wait out inclement weather and took the green flag at 4:30 for the 160-lap competition, the 17th race on the Cup series schedule.
With a week’s rest behind him, Hamlin was tough right away on the 2.5-mile tricky tri-oval. Fellow Row 1 starter Buescher kept within striking distance early in his No. 17 Ford, but Hamlin outdistanced Buescher easily to lead all 30 laps of Stage 1.
With some drivers short-pitting a few laps before the end, Buescher held on to second for valuable stage points. Tyler Reddick finished third, followed by Briscoe and Erik Jones.
On Lap 83, four-time Pocono winner Kyle Busch was squeezed in the tunnel turn and spun to spark the fifth caution just past the Turn 2 area. Last week’s winner Shane van Gisbergen, Ty Dillon and Christopher Bell all spun but received almost no noticeable damage.
However, winless Reddick took his No. 45 Toyota to the garage with brake problems, which also failed teammate Bubba Wallace earlier.
Briscoe’s Camry XSE came alive in the second stage and won the 65-lap segment, his first stage victory since 2022. Josh Berry, Elliott, William Byron and Buescher secured top-five bonus points.
With 36 laps to go, the seventh caution for van Gisbergen spinning off Turn 1 was a bad break for leader Brad Keselowski, who had earlier been penalized for entering a closed pit and had yet to pit in the late cycle of stops.
–Field Level Media
