NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Briscoe has an “intense” relationship with crew chief James Small.
The dominant winner of Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Briscoe earned the playoff-opening event by leading for 309 laps. In his first season piloting the No. 19 Toyota, the crown jewel title marked the second trip to Victory Lane for Briscoe and Small.
It was their most dominant, though.
Evolving into a championship contender during the second half of the season, Briscoe posted five top-five finishes during his past eight outings.
Small worked with Briscoe’s predecessor, Martin Truex Jr., for five seasons before the 2017 circuit champ retired. Briscoe credits Small for his recent rise in the drivers’ standings.
“James is just a super-to-the-point guy, just very short and blunt, truthfully,” Briscoe said on “Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour” podcast. “And it’s definitely something, I mean, you know me, I do need somebody that kind of pushes me. I’m a very laid-back and just nonchalant kind of about everything in my life.
“When it comes to the competition side, I think it’s helped both of us, truthfully, like I’m so laid back and easy going, I think it helps James kind of come down off some of that high emotion sometimes. And that’s something that I think is important, at least for me, like those are just buttons that have always been what I needed.”
Entering Sunday’s event at World Wide Technology Raceway, Briscoe paces the playoff standings. Denny Hamlin (plus-43), Kyle Larson (plus-38), Tyler Reddick (plus-35) and Bubba Wallace (plus-25) round out the top five.
NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 Entry List
NASCAR Cup Series officials released the entry list for Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway:
Entry, Driver, Car No.
- 1, Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet
- 2, Austin Cindric No. 2 Ford
- 3, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet
- 4, Noah Gragson, No. 4 Ford
- 5, Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet
- 6, Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford
- 7, Justin Haley, No. 7 Chevrolet
- 8, Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevrolet
- 9, Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet
- 10, Ty Dillon, No. 10 Chevrolet
- 11, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota
- 12, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford
- 13, AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet
- 14, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford
- 15, Chase Briscoe, No. 19, Toyota
- 16, Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota
- 17, Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford
- 18, Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford
- 19, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota
- 20, William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet
- 21, Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford
- 22, Riley Herbst, No. 35 Toyota
- 23, Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford
- 24, Cole Custer, No. 41 Ford
- 25, John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota
- 26, Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota
- 27, Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota
- 28, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Ford
- 29, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet
- 30, Cody Ware, No. 51 Ford
- 31, Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota
- 32, Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford
- 33, Michael McDowell, No. 71 Chevrolet
- 34, Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet
- 35, Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Chevrolet
- 36, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet
NASCAR National Series Schedule
Here is the weekend schedule for the NASCAR National Series events at World Wide Technology Raceway. All times are ET:
Friday
- Xfinity Series practice, 5:05 p.m.
Saturday
- Xfinity Series qualifying, 3 p.m.
- Cup Series practice, 4:30 p.m.
- Cup Series qualifying, 5:40 p.m.
- Xfinity Series Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog race, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday
- Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 race, 3 p.m.
NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 Entry List, Events At World Wide Technology Raceway