Chase Briscoe held off late charges from Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick on Sunday to take the checkered flag at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The win was a meaningful one for Briscoe, as he had let a similar opportunity slip through his fingers last week at Kansas. In that race, Briscoe made a pass on Larson to take the lead with 30 laps left after the No. 5 had been dominating all day, only for Larson to take the lead spot back from him with seven laps remaining. Afterwards, Briscoe described going into “desperation mode” in his attempt to get back to Larson.
But this week, it was Briscoe who won the day, and the win clearly went a long way in improving his mood after falling short last week—he went as far as to apologize to his crew for “not going back-to-back” in the moments after the win.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Briscoe initially said when asked if this week’s win made up for last week’s finish, before quickly correcting himself. “I mean, not really. We could have had another win. I don’t think I would’ve been able to get on the plane, they would’ve all kicked my butt if I—[crew chief] James [Small] definitely. I was scared to see him if I didn’t pull that one off. What an amazing day.”
While there were moments when Larson closed the gap and looked on pace to repeat his comeback from Kansas, Briscoe’s deft driving through the final laps of the race were enough to hold off the Chase leader.
“In one and two, I felt like if I could just somewhat cover where he was at, it’s a huge guessing game,” Briscoe said. “But I knew in three and four, if I just hit the bottom properly and slowed down, which I’m normally not very good at, that he was going to have a hard time getting by me.
“Just glad I was able to hold on. Last week was not a very fun mental place to be after throwing one away.”
With the win, Briscoe jumped up three spots in the Chase, leaving him 84 points off the lead with five races left. Additionally, his successful defense of Larson kept the No. 5 team from dramatically widening the gap they have against the rest of the field at the halfway point of the postseason.
The Chase heads to Charlotte next week, where Briscoe, Larson, and the rest of the Chase drivers will be back at it hoping to move one step closer to a championship.
Watch: Briscoe wins Las Vegas nail-biter as Larson, Reddick tangle late
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