Chase Briscoe earned his first win since joining Joe Gibbs Racing ahead of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season in a rain-delayed Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA on Sunday afternoon at Pocono Raceway.
Briscoe held off teammate Denny Hamlin to win the 160-lap race around the three-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Tricky Triangle in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, and in doing so, he became the 2025 season's 11th different winner.
With nine races remaining on the 26-race regular season, six new winners having emerged in the eight most recent events, and eight active full-time drivers who won last year having not yet won in 2025, there is a very real possibility that the regular season concludes with more than 16 different winners.
Chase Briscoe not locked into NASCAR playoffs
The playoff field is locked in at 16 drivers regardless, so this would mean that at least one winner fails to qualify for the postseason. So while the format is considered a "win and in" format, Briscoe hasn't yet mathematically secured his second consecutive playoff spot.
The 16 playoff spots are awarded to the regular season champion and all drivers who win multiple races. There can be no more than 13 multi-race winners, so the remaining spots go to the single-race winners.
If there are more winners than available spots remaining, the tiebreaker to determine who gets in and who doesn't (among single-race winners) becomes points. Likewise, if there aren't enough winners to fill the playoff field, the remaining spots are awarded to non-winners, in order of the point standings.
Of course, Briscoe is in a pretty good spot points-wise. He is ninth in the standings, which places him fourth of the eight single-race winners.
The driver of the No. 19 Toyota trails Hendrick Motorsports' William Byron (first place), Team Penske's Ryan Blaney (sixth), and Trackhouse Racing's Ross Chastain (eighth). He is ahead of Team Penske teammates Joey Logano (10th) and Austin Cindric (15th), Wood Brothers Racing's Josh Berry (16th), and Trackhouse Racing's Shane van Gisbergen (31st).
Just three drivers have mathematically locked themselves into the playoffs with multiple wins, and all three have won three races. Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson leads those drivers in second place in the point standings. Hamlin and teammate Christopher Bell sit third and fourth, respectively.
The Quaker State 400, the opening race of the first-ever in-season tournament, is set to be shown live on TNT Sports from Atlanta Motor Speedway beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET this Saturday, June 28.