Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe put on a fuel-saving epic at Pocono Raceway, winning the 160-lap contest in the #19 Toyota Camry.
There were doubts Briscoe would get to the chequered flag after he left his pit box too early during his final stop and compromised his strategy.
Teammate Denny Hamlin was in the catbird seat, sat second and just a few car lengths back in the closing stages.
Yet, Briscoe was able to eke out his advantage and take victory by a little more than half a second.
Speaking after the win, Small said winning with Briscoe was extra rewarding given the grind they went through.
“This is my best win, 100 percent,” said Small.
“This is my proudest moment, for sure. It’s been honestly the hardest win.”
Before Briscoe, Small was partnered with championship-winning driver Martin Truex Jr., who retired at the end of 2024.
Briscoe’s win broke a drought for Small dating back to Truex’s last win in 2023 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
“It’s different,” said Small.
“I inherited a position with a championship-winning driver, won a lot of races. This has been a lot of work, a lot of work by a lot of people, a lot of frustration.
“There’s also been a lot of good times and a lot of letdowns.
“I’m just so proud of Chase. He’s done an amazing job just trying to absorb it all. He’s never complained once. He’s probably scared to complain to me, to be honest.
“He has done a great job. Today, he showed that. Yeah, just proud of him and everybody on the team.”
On the final stint, Small explained the circumstances that led to Briscoe leaving his pit box too early.
If not for the caution that came almost immediately after Briscoe pitted – caused by Shane van Gisbergen springing the #88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro – Small said the #19 would have been well short.
“He just left the box early,” Small explained. “Our play is we drop the car and wait on fuel. He told me he had a lot of RPM and he couldn’t hear. We made the call, ‘Ready’. As soon as he heard anything, he just went.
“When we rolled out there, if it went green, we were nine laps short. It was going to be a mountain climb. We’ve lost many races by things not going the right way for us. Thankfully that caution saved us and put us in position that we could manage our fuel till the end.
“You’ve seen this happen before. It was the same thing with Denny in 2022 here when he won — later taken away. He did the same thing. Worked out for them that day, as well. Just so thankful and proud of everybody in the team.”
Small said he was “shocked” that Briscoe was even able to do “a couple of burnouts” given the fuel situation before it rolled into victory lane and coughed.
Small said the lean patch for the #19 car had taken its toll. At the same time, he has enjoyed the process with Briscoe.
“It’s been tough. I’m my harshest critic. If something goes wrong and I thought I could have done something better, I let it eat me. I try to make sure I learn from all those mistakes,” he explained.
“I’m just thankful to be surrounded by really, really good people. We know when we roll up to the track, if we can put a race together, it was the same with Martin, if we could put a race together, we’re capable of winning every race.
“There’s been a little bit of a learning curve with Chase, just trying to understand all of that. But I feel like last five, six weeks we’ve been in that position. Speed has been incredible. It’s just finally today we had a little bit of a luck on our side.
“We had that speed. We put ourselves in great track position. We showed what we are really capable of as a race team. I know, and everybody else knows at JGR, this is what we can do every week. We’re going to keep fighting all the way till the end, no matter what happens.”
NASCAR continues on June 29 (AEST) at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
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