Chase Briscoe considers ISM Raceway in Phoenix one of his most challenging race tracks.
He considers Homestead-Miami Speedway one of his best.
Here’s the problem: Briscoe must overcome an 18-point deficit to Justin Allgaier in Saturday’s Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 (3:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) to earn a chance to race for the championship a week later at Homestead.
Allgaier is fourth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff standings. Briscoe is fifth, with the Playoff field set to be cut from eight drivers to four on Saturday. At this point, Briscoe doesn’t feel he’s in a must-win scenario.
His approach to the competition depends on how the race develops from the first stage onward.
“I think it depends on the stages and how the stage points go,” Briscoe said on Friday at ISM Raceway. “If you’re looking good stage-points-wise, 18 points isn’t a lot to make up if he has an issue. If you’re still 18 points back after the second stage, you’ve got to win the race.
“If you’re three, four or five points back, you don’t have to win the race. You’ve just got to race the 7 (Allgaier) and hopefully beat him by those spots. I think the stage points is what determines everything, and you kind of see that in all three series.”
If Briscoe can survive Phoenix, he likes his title chances at Miami. After all, he ran exceedingly well there during a test in August.
“Typically there, (tire) falloff is at a particular time over a 40-lap run, and we were two tenths (of a second) better than that,” Briscoe said. “If we can get to Homestead, we have a legitimate shot at winning the championship.”
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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