Chase Briscoe Declares He “Feel So American” After Maiden Win of 2026 at Chicagoland

The NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday at Chicagoland saw a dominant performance from Joe Gibbs Racing, as they swept all the podium positions. No:19 Camry racer Chase Briscoe took advantage of a solid strategy to take the lead and held off the charge from teammate Christopher Bell on the last laps to win, while Denny Hamlin finished P3.

It marked the former O’Riley Series champions maiden win of the season and sixth over triumph in his Cup career. Talking about his win on July 5^th, the veteran admitted that he felt so American about it, owing to the fact that he was racing with the white and blue paint scheme in the week that honors the 220^th anniversary of USA.

I feel so American winning in the Bass Pro Shops red, white and blue car, Fourth of July weekend, 250 years. Man, just what an unbelievable race car.

Chase Briscoe said post-race.

He had a solid racecar and the decision making from crew chief James Small deserved a lot of credit. Later Chase Briscoe admitted that he didn’t see that win coming, as they performed below expectations in the practice as well as in the qualifying. The win was a special moment for everyone involved with the team.

(Crew chief) James (Small) did a great job. Team did a (great) job. Honestly did not see this coming. I kind of felt like I was struggling in practice, in qualifying, but James and the group did a great job. Man, just so cool to get this paint scheme back in Victory Lane.

Chase Briscoe added via nascar.com.

Chase Briscoe admits he got lucky on the way to Chicagoland win

Talking about his win in the same conversation, the veteran admitted that he was lucky to have lapped cars changing the momentum towards the end of the race. Christopher Bell had the pace advantage towards end of the race, but the dirty air due to the back markers ruined his momentum enough to give Briscoe a 0.2s win.

I kind of got lucky having lapped cars. I was struggling pretty bad. Christopher was certainly coming. Out of all the people to race against, I knew Christopher was going to be clean with me.

Chase Briscoe said.

Further talking about the point, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver asserted that it was an entertaining race for everyone involved, as it featured a cat-mouse game towards the end that kept fans in the hook. The racer also shared his hopes that the race would get enough ratings and positive reactions, forcing NASCAR to return for 2027.

I thought that was about as good a race as you could get. The cat-and-mouse game, and we were slipping and sliding around. Hopefully, you could see it on TV. So excited to be back in Chicagoland. Hopefully we can be back.

Chase Briscoe added.

The comments from the TRD driver shows he is beyond excited about the win and is hopeful that the momentum would serve him in the long run with seven more left before the chase starts. It would be interesting to see how the rest of the Cup Series season is going to playout for the star driver in the upcoming race weeks.

Also Read: Denny Hamlin is ‘Racing Himself’ for the 2026 Cup Championship