Chase Briscoe left Nashville Superspeedway with one of his best results of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, but the Joe Gibbs Racing driver was far from satisfied. Despite finishing third in the Cracker Barrel 400 on May 31, Briscoe said he was frustrated after missing what he believed was a strong chance to win.
The NASCAR Cup Series race ended with a Joe Gibbs Racing sweep of the top three spots. Denny Hamlin took the victory ahead of Christopher Bell, while Briscoe brought the No. 19 Toyota home in third after a late battle among the teammates.
Chase Briscoe Frustrated After Missing NASCAR Cup Series Win
Briscoe made it clear after the NASCAR Cup Series race that a third-place finish did not match the speed his team showed throughout the night.
“It’s crazy to say it’s unfortunate to run third. I thought our car was pretty unbelievable, especially at certain points in the race. Yeah, definitely had a car I thought capable of winning. I mean, all three JGR cars obviously were capable of winning. We just, I guess, were the worst finish out of the three.”
The final restart with four laps remaining created the deciding moment of the race. Briscoe watched Hamlin and Bell battle side by side while looking for an opening to make his own move.
“Christopher drove in there really deep and just kind of made Denny have to hit the bottom. Fortunately for my case, at that point, it was four to go. Denny didn’t clear. He was so close to the point. If he cleared, then I had no shot to win.”
As the leaders fought for position, Briscoe tried to build momentum on corner exits and down the straightaways. However, he felt his car was not handling as well as it had earlier in the event.
“They were running side by side, so I just kept trying to back my entries up and try to get big runs so that I could try to do something down the straightaway. For whatever reason, at the restart, I just didn’t have the turn that I had earlier. I could get runs, but never to the extent that I needed.”
Nashville Race Leaves Chase Briscoe Wondering What Could Have Been
Briscoe believed his best chance came on the final lap when he expected an opening on the bottom lane.
“I knew I needed to be on the bottom. I was going to go to the bottom down the front straightaway and thought I was going to win, and then Denny covered it. So really my only option was to go to the middle.”
The move briefly put him in contention.
“I got to Christopher’s right rear, surprisingly, and then we just all obviously were going in there so deep that I ended up kind of in no man’s land.”
Even though all three drivers were teammates, Briscoe said the situation crossed his mind only briefly during the closing laps.
“I mean, yeah, I guess a little bit,” Briscoe said when asked if the teammate factor entered his thinking. “I knew they obviously wanted to win. They needed to win. I was trying to get three wide to the bottom, and then Denny kind of blocked it. Honestly, I was surprised that I was able to get three wide on the top.”
NASCAR Cup Series Speed Makes Third Place Hard to Accept
The race featured 12 cautions and several interruptions, making it difficult for drivers to establish rhythm.
“It was extremely difficult to just get into any type of rhythm. I feel like the cautions take so long. It just felt like we were wasting a lot of time at times.”
Despite the strong finish, Briscoe said the result was difficult to swallow because he believed he had a race-winning car. In fact, he felt the No. 19 Toyota was among the best Cup Series cars he has ever driven, particularly during the early part of Stage 2.
“I’ve never been so frustrated not to win in my career, I feel like, just because I know the speed’s been there. There at the beginning of Stage 2, I feel like that was the most unbelievable Cup car I’ve ever had. I felt like I had half a second on the field.”
Still, Briscoe acknowledged the value of securing a strong finish after several races where speed did not translate into results.
“At least we got a finish tonight. We’ve had cars at that speed this year and haven’t even had a finish to go with it. So at least we got a finish.”
The third-place finish keeps Briscoe in a strong position in the NASCAR Cup Series standings. However, Nashville left the Joe Gibbs Racing driver focused on what might have been after one of the fastest performances of his season.
NASCAR Cup Series Driver Left Furious After Nashville Race as Painful Miss Highlights Ongoing Struggle