CONCORD, N.C. — Chase Briscoe arrived at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL frustrated.
Instead of comfortably holding a position in the top eight of the NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings, Briscoe was one spot below the cutline — but the reason for his predicament was completely out of his hands.
Along with the greater NASCAR community, Briscoe was informed on Thursday that he had lost 12 points and one position to William Byron, who had successfully appealed a 25-point penalty dealt for his actions at Texas Motor Speedway.
“I respect the appeal process, I think it’s a thing that we need, but I think there’s zero reason why we should ever run a race in the playoffs … before a decision has been reached,” said a visibly frustrated Briscoe.
The penalty had been issued for Byron’s intentional contact with Denny Hamlin during the Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. It also included a $50,000 fine.
However, it wasn’t until after (Oct. 5) the subsequent race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway that NASCAR officials announced Byron’s penalty would be overturned. The decision moved Byron above the playoff cutline, while Briscoe was relegated to ninth going into the ROVAL.
“It wouldn’t have bothered me if I would’ve known he got those 25 points before we got to Talladega. It was the fact that I raced Talladega totally different, thinking I was in a totally different points situation than I am now,” Briscoe said.
In the first stage of the race at Talladega, Briscoe “bailed” instead of staying out to pick up additional playoff points – at that point, believing that he was on the good side of the cutline. The No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing driver eventually came across the finish line in 10th, which would have placed him eighth in the championship when he arrived in Charlotte, had nothing changed during the week.
“We’re going to need a little bit of luck on our side,” Briscoe said on Saturday afternoon. “We just have to be 100 percent tomorrow. If we’re at 95 percent, it’s not going to get the job done.”
Engines roared at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the early afternoon on Sunday as the Bank of America ROVAL 400 commenced. Briscoe struggled to break the top 10 during the first stage, but slid into eighth by the end of a caution-free stage two.
During the final stage, Trackhouse Racing driver Daniel Suarez experienced misfortune when he lost his power steering assist and fell below 30th. Kyle Larson broke the rear toe link on his Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 and Austin Cindric spun out in his Team Penske No. 2 entry.
Last-lap chaos combined to hand the eighth and final spot in the playoffs to an emotional Briscoe, who finished ninth.
“That’s how these road courses always are. I mean, at the end, anything can happen,” Briscoe said.
Before the final restart, the driver of the No. 14 Ford found himself outside the top 20 — and without a spot in the Round of 8.
“I was frustrated for sure, but I knew that there was a chance. I didn’t think there was a really big chance, but there was a chance,” Briscoe said. “Right before the last restart, they told me I was pretty much racing the No. 2 [Cindric].”
When the No. 2 of Cindric spun out, hope returned, but with playoff contender Christopher Bell poised for the win, Briscoe didn’t know if a spot was even available.
“I had no idea, I figured we were going to be way out,” Briscoe said. “Everything kind of fell right for us at the end of that race, and we just got lucky. An emotional day, from the rollercoaster of thinking you’re in to thinking you’re out, to being back in.”
Briscoe will advance to the Round of 8 along with ROVAL race winner Bell, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, William Byron and Denny Hamlin.
“An emotional day, from the rollercoaster of thinking you’re in to thinking you’re out, to being back in,” Briscoe said.