Three drivers went for their first NASCAR Cup victory at Phoenix, and Chase Briscoe prevailed

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Ross Chastain and Tyler Reddick have been impressive this season so far.

In his first year at Trackhouse Racing, Chastain, and Reddick, in his third year with Richard Childress Racing, were dominant at Las Vegas and Auto Club Speedway, respectively. Both drivers look poised to win their first career NASCAR Cup Series races sooner than later.

But it was Chase Briscoe of Stewart-Haas Racing that broke through to capture his first checkered flag at NASCAR’s top level. He held off the hungry youngsters as well as the seasoned champions of Kevin Harvick and Chase Elliott in the race’s final stints.

It didn’t come easy as several cautions reset the field. Surely, there would be ensuing aggression by Chastain and Reddick, or maybe the wiser veterans would pull a trick or two out of their sleeves to take the lead, right?

Well, Briscoe stayed calm and collected. Before Sunday’s Ruoff Mortgage 500 at Phoenix Raceway, his best chance at a Cup win was at his home track of Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2021, when the series raced on the Grand Prix course for the first time.

Ultimately, he was parked and scored with a 26th-place result at Indy after hitting Denny Hamlin when he was penalized. Briscoe cut the Turn 2 corner and spun the No. 11 Toyota, which led to a black flag, and the win went to A.J. Allmendinger.

Briscoe has been successful up the stock car racing ladder. He won the 2016 ARCA Menards Series championship, won two Truck Series races, finished sixth in the 2017 standings, and scorched the Xfinity Series field for most of the 2020 season with nine victories.

The transition to Cup is a massive step for any driver. Briscoe started his Cup career completely green and debuted in the 2021 Daytona 500. He ran his 40th Cup race at the desert oval Sunday and gave SHR its first win of the year after leading nearly a third of the race.

“Chase was able to drive it off in there, clear, high, take the lead,” Reddick said. “It was a lot of fun.”

He and Chastain shared a conversation with a few laughs after the race. Both felt satisfaction as they were competitive throughout the day.

“That was so much fun to get to race like that at this level,” Chastain said. “Trackhouse Racing believes in me. … They believed in me early in the season whenever stuff wasn’t going great. If we can keep putting these together, that’s so cool to race with Tyler and Chase.

“That’s everything I’ve ever wanted. My crew chief (Phil Surgen), people don’t know how good he is. His adjustments this year have been so incredible. He gave me exactly what I needed. We came up one spot short. But I’m so happy.”

Briscoe and his crew chief Johnny Klausmeier are starting to gel. They’ve been together since the start of last season. Klausmeier had two wins under his belt entering the weekend — one was a fuel milage victory in a substitute role with Kurt Busch at Pocono Raceway in 2016 — and the other came with Aric Almirola at Talladega Superspeedway where he led only the final lap.

Was there any additional validation added to this victory for Klausmeier to win a race straight-up, as it were?

“Yeah … I think the coolest thing is with our guys; last year was a tough year. We didn’t make the Playoffs. It was a struggle as a company and everything. We knew this was a reset for our side, too,” he said. “Having Chase, his confidence up and everything, being able to win with him is super special. … I think we’ve had speed. I think it can happen again. Just have to put it all together and execute.

“Checking the box, the first one, certifying a place in the Playoff, that’s a huge step. It’s nice to win early. Then you can learn the rest of the year.”

Briscoe felt validation as well after being so successful on his way up to the Cup Series, especially after a tough rookie season.

“Last year, you come in, winning nine races in the Xfinity Series, you think you’re ready, but you’re never ready,” Briscoe said. “You get humbled really, really quickly in the Cup Series and learn how good everybody is.

“Even though we’re running 30th, these guys are some of the best race car drivers in the world. You have to go to work and figure it out.”

Unlike other drivers in NASCAR’s national levels, Briscoe doesn’t come from a wealthy family. That is normality for a sport as expensive as auto racing, but Briscoe achieved everything based on merit.

“For me, I don’t come from backing. I have to go have results; otherwise, nobody wants me to drive the race car,” he said. “It’s definitely a relief to win a race. You can run second, third, but people want to win at the end of the day. You have to win races to stay here.”

“This isn’t a guarantee. This could be my only win. I hope not. It shows I was capable of being at this level. But you still have to keep working. There are 39 other guys that are going to try to do their best next week. We can just continue to do what we need to do. … We’ve proven now to ourselves that we can do it. Hopefully, that confidence carries through.”

NASCAR visits Atlanta Motor Speedway this upcoming weekend. The 1.5-mile track has been reconfigured, and some drivers expect it to be similar to Daytona International Speedway or Talladega. There could be pack racing, and a double-yellow line rule will be implemented like at the venues as mentioned above. No one can say for sure, though, until Cup cars hit the track later this week.