Chase Briscoe has already made his mark with Joe Gibbs Racing, wrapping up his rookie marketing campaign third within the Championship 4 with three wins, and he now heads into his second 12 months with the outfit carrying the identical motivation. The distinction this time round lies within the format awaiting him, one he has by no means competed below earlier than.
Briscoe grew up watching it on tv, however competing in NASCAR automobiles inside that construction will current a completely totally different problem. He believes the format strikes a steadiness by leveling the enjoying discipline and rewarding consistency alongside wins in almost equal measure, one thing drivers and followers have clamored for over time.
“I’m excited… I believe all of the drivers for positive needed it to be an actual instance of the physique of labor that you simply’ve finished all season lengthy,” he stated on Beating and Banging.
“And I believe that this format form of hits all these issues, and it’s form of an ideal combination of you get that 10 race playoff the place a man can form of get sizzling on the proper time.”
Briscoe defined how the system balances playoff depth with season-long accountability. “You continue to have the playoff really feel, and then you definitely nonetheless have form of the season-long factors as a result of it will matter all season lengthy the place you’re operating due to how the seedings work when the chase begins,” he continued.
That stated, the #19 Joe Gibbs Racing driver doubts the racing itself will endure substantial transformation in his view. Drivers might not seem as determined, however drop everybody at a rental go-kart monitor, and the aggressive hearth would be the similar. From that angle, the brand new format received’t revolutionize the on-track product. DNFs, nevertheless, will carry far better penalties than ever earlier than. Beforehand, a driver may safe a win after which crash out of a subsequent race with out critical repercussions.
These incidents barely registered from a playoff perspective. Now each DNF accumulates actual injury to championship aspirations. Briscoe believes consistency would be the paramount think about racing shifting ahead. Followers will witness drivers operating up entrance week after week, really separating themselves from the pack.
The previous playoff construction made pulling away from the sector troublesome. Even when a driver stockpiled playoff factors and captured quite a few wins within the common season, everybody primarily reset to the same footing as soon as the postseason began. Underneath the brand new framework, that equilibrium vanishes as NASCAR will grant further factors to the common season champion.
However for a driver like Briscoe, who has proven his driving expertise at brief tracks, significantly relishing Martinsville, whereas additionally shining at sure intermediate circuits like Texas and Kansas regardless of blended outcomes throughout 1.5-milers usually, being among the many most constant performers within the coming season appears fully affordable.
