Imagine being on a highway, cruising along, only to have a speeding car zoom past you, leaving you in the dust. That’s exactly how Chase Briscoe felt when Denny Hamlin blew by him for the win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. But here’s where it gets controversial—was it a fair fight, or did Hamlin’s fresh tires give him an unbeatable edge? Let’s dive in.
In the opening race of the Round of 8, Briscoe found himself in a tough spot. While he opted for a two-tire strategy during the final pit stop under the lap 236 caution, Hamlin went for four fresh tires. This decision set the stage for a dramatic finish. Briscoe, who had taken the lead off pit road, was now at a disadvantage as Hamlin charged around him with just four laps to go.
‘It’s like when you’re pulling off the exit ramp at 15 miles per hour, and someone’s flying by at 80,’ Briscoe explained after finishing fourth. ‘I genuinely don’t think there was anything more I could’ve done.’ And this is the part most people miss—Briscoe’s strategy wasn’t flawed; it was simply outmatched by Hamlin’s tire advantage.
The race restarted with 23 laps remaining, but a quick caution for a crash in Turns 1 and 2 gave Briscoe a brief reprieve. On the final restart with 14 laps to go, he initially gapped the field, looking strong as Larson and Hamlin battled for second. But as the laps ticked down, Briscoe’s car became increasingly loose, and he admitted, ‘I had nothing left.’
Despite the loss, Briscoe found a silver lining: ‘At least Denny won. It’s a JGR car, and any of us could’ve taken it. I’m just glad he pulled it off.’ Here’s a thought-provoking question for you—would Briscoe have stood a chance if the race had been shorter? Or was Hamlin’s victory inevitable from the moment he got those fresh tires?
Briscoe’s day was a rollercoaster. Starting alongside Hamlin on the front row, he led the first 35 laps before a botched pit stop dropped him to fifth. He regained the lead late in the final stage with the two-tire call, but by then, his car had lost its early magic. ‘The first run, I thought we were unstoppable,’ Briscoe recalled. ‘But after that bad pit stop, we could never get the balance back.’
Even with the challenges, Briscoe’s fourth-place finish was a solid outcome. It boosted him 15 points above the playoff cutoff, a significant swing from his previous position. Looking ahead to Talladega, Briscoe joked about a ‘handshake agreement’ to coast if he won at Las Vegas, but he knows the reality: ‘We have to race as hard as we can and let the points fall where they may.’
One last controversial point—did Briscoe’s early dominance mask deeper issues with his car, or was Hamlin’s win simply a testament to superior strategy? Let us know your thoughts in the comments—was this a fair fight, or did the tire strategy steal the show?
