Ty Gibbs finally broke through for his first NASCAR Cup Series win in Sunday's race at Bristol Motor Speedway after going winless through his first 130 races. Even more impressive was the fact that he was able to hold off race dominators Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson in the overtime finish, after Blaney once again dealt with pit road issues.
While Gibbs put his No. 54 Toyota in victory lane, Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe put together his most complete performance of the season with a fifth place finish. Prior to that finish, it had been a tough start out of the gate for Briscoe in season two at JGR.
He only recorded a pair of top 10 finishes through the first seven races and had a disastrous start overall, with three finishes of 36th or worse in the first four races. He was collected in an early wreck in the season-opening Daytona 500, suffered a transaxle issue while running inside the top three at Circuit of the Americas (COTA), and suffered a flat tire in the second stage at Phoenix Raceway.
That type of start was certainly not expected from a driver who qualified for the Championship 4 with three wins in 2025. However, a top five finish at Bristol and a season-high 45 points could give Briscoe the spark he needs to get his season turned around.
Chase Briscoe has most complete weekend of season at Bristol
Mistakes and some misfortune have plagued Briscoe for much of the season's first eight races, but Sunday's race at Bristol should provide some optimism. A third place qualifying effort gave him good track position to start the race, and he finished inside the top five in each stage.
Keep in mind, he won three races in 2025 and led the series with seven pole positions. He was just short of the top starting spot at Bristol, but a top three qualifying effort and mistake-free race are exactly what he needed to avoid panic mode in the season's early going. As a result, he moved up to 17th in the standings, just one point behind Shane van Gisbergen for the 16th and final playoff spot.
For the first time this season, Briscoe finally showed glimpses of what he was able to accomplish a year ago, with a fast lap in qualifying and contending speed throughout the race. Without the mistakes that have plagued him so many times this season, he could finally leave a race weekend with something to be pleased about regarding his on-track performance.
Looking ahead, the next two weeks should set up favorably for Briscoe as well. While his overall numbers at Kansas Speedway were not good prior to his arrival at JGR, with only one finish inside the top 15, he posted a pair of fourth place finishes there in 2025 and won the pole for the fall race. He also won at Talladega Superspeedway in the fall, so there is a lot to look forward to after a rare drama-free weekend at Bristol.
His top five finish in Thunder Valley alone is not an immediate guarantee that everything will start to turn around, but when you consider how strong Toyota has been so far this year and the speed with which Briscoe continues to arrive at each track, the results should start to take care of themselves if he can continue to put clean races together.
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