June 25, 2022 | By Lee Spencer

Chase Briscoe ponders approach to first potential Playoff berth

Lebanon, Tenn.—Chase Briscoe didn’t mince words after his qualifying run on Saturday.

He’s suffering from performance anxiety.

And even a week in the Bahamas couldn’t assuage the pressure that’s building with just 10 weeks to determine the 16 drivers who will qualify for the Playoffs.

“I'm just kind of stressed out with the situation in the playoffs, truthfully,” said Briscoe, who will start 28th in the Ally 400. “We have 10 weeks till the playoffs start, then the playoffs are 10 weeks in themselves. (Sighs) We just needed to really focus on making the playoffs.

“Just because we have a win doesn't mean we're guaranteed at all with how many winners we've had right now. So for me, we just need to try to take these next 10 races and use them as a practice to the playoffs and try to execute. And I've done a terrible job. I feel like this year as far as executing on days when we have a good car, so just trying to do a better job of that.”

Briscoe won his first Cup race at Phoenix Raceway—the fourth race of the season. He’s currently 13th in the standings. But missed opportunities weigh heavy on the third-generation racer. He collided with race leader Tyler Reddick at Bristol Motor Speedway and ruined any chance the driver of the No. 8 Richard Childress Chevrolet had at winning. But Briscoe did more damage to himself. Instead of a podium finish, Briscoe was relegated to 22nd.

At Charlotte last month, Briscoe had the lead with four laps remaining but got sideways battling with Kyle Larson. At least he was able to salvage a fourth-place result.

“There have been multiple races we could've won and I kind of threw him away,” Briscoe said. “If you have one bad race in the Playoffs, you’re kind of done. You’re in a must-win situation.

So for me, I just need to do a better job as a race car driver of understanding that and trying to capitalize on our cars when it’s our day and just not shoot ourselves in the foot, essentially, because come playoff time, you're going to be able to do that.”

Briscoe has 10 weeks to secure his position in the post-season. The good news is his confidence in sponsor Mahindra—both in NASCAR and with his dirt program. Still, being just two seasons into his Cup career there are still lessons to learn. While Briscoe has experienced the Playoff formats in both the Camping World Truck Series and Xfinity Series, the size and calibers of the competition cannot compare to Cup.

“Obviously, the Cup level is way more intense—way more cutthroat,” Briscoe said. “I feel like I've not done a great job in the past in the lower series of doing the playoff run. I just need to do a better job at the end of the day.

“I feel like if we do a good job and my team puts a car underneath me, we're capable of running up front and winning races.”