Chase Briscoe of Joe Gibbs Racing earned the pole position for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway on Saturday, marking his sixth pole of the 2025 season—more than any other driver. Briscoe’s achievement places him at the front for Sunday’s Iowa Corn 350, highlighting his continued speed and qualifying dominance this year.
The No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE driver expressed mixed feelings about his qualifying success, valuing the advantage of starting at the front yet frustrated by the difficulty of converting poles into race victories.
Briscoe Reflects on the Challenge of Turning Poles into Wins
While winning the pole spot remains a significant accomplishment, Briscoe revealed there’s a persistent challenge to translate that speed into race wins. He stated,
“No. It’s definitely better than starting mid-pack. It’s getting old not converting them to race wins though, that’s for sure. Anytime you can lead the field to green it gives you the opportunity to get stage points and all those things like stage points and a good pit stall. Maybe they can change it where you win five poles you can trade it in for a race win or something (laughing). It’s been frustrating from that standpoint to be able to convert them. Qualifying on the pole means a lot to our entire race team.”
—Chase Briscoe, NASCAR driver
This illustrates the tension between qualifying performance and race day results, underlining how critical stage points and track position remain in the overall points chase.
Source of Speed and Performance Improvements This Season
Briscoe credited his speed to a combination of his own qualifying skills and improved racecar performance. Reflecting on his career, he noted that his qualifying ability has often surpassed expectations, even during his time with Stewart-Haas Racing. He elaborated,
“The racecars are really, really good. My entire career, even at SHR (Stewart-Haas Racing) we always seemed to exceed where we should probably qualify. It’s been probably my strongest thing. And now I’ve been getting in racecars that have helped me run really good lap times. Now my cars are faster and I’ve been running really fast lap times. It’s been fun to be able to do it today. I did not think it was going to be good enough. I got out and told my guys that it was going to be sixth or seventh and I was pleasantly surprised I was able to hang on. It was definitely encouraging for tomorrow.”
—Chase Briscoe, NASCAR driver
This confidence boost ahead of the race demonstrates how Briscoe is capitalizing on both skill and vehicle upgrades to stay competitive.
Changing Track Conditions at Iowa Impact Performance
Briscoe compared his experience during a tire test in June to the current conditions after practice and qualifying, noting a dramatic difference in track speed and grip levels. He explained,
“It’s way different than what we had at the test. It’s kind of like a whole new racetrack. We are running eight-tenths faster than what we ran in the test. In the test we didn’t even think about leaving the bottom white line and now we are way up the track. I feel like the test really didn’t do anything, if anything it hurt me in the first few laps of practice. It’s really gripped up. It’s kind of surprising how fast the top lane is this time around. Last year this was really slick whereas this time it’s been really fast from the get-go. It’s tough because you are limited, you can’t really go any higher because it’s the old surface. I would like to see them pave it all the way to the wall, it would be unbelievable. We would be back on the fence here. Going to be interesting tomorrow to just kind of see what it will do from a racing standpoint, but it was really fast today.”
—Chase Briscoe, NASCAR driver
This change reflects how evolving track conditions require teams and drivers to quickly adapt strategies ahead of race day.
Expectations for Tire Wear and Strategy in Sunday’s Race
Regarding tire degradation, Briscoe did not anticipate significant falloff affecting race strategy. He remarked,
“From what we saw today, there’s no real tire fall off. It seems like your car just keeps getting faster and faster and better from a driving standpoint. Who knows what it will do after 100 laps. I think tomorrow you’ll see different strategies because I don’t think tires are going to be that big of a deal. Track position or whatever you will do to get up there, two tires or fuel only, who knows. It’s definitely going to be crew chief race for sure I feel like.”
—Chase Briscoe, NASCAR driver
This emphasizes the importance of crew chief decisions and pit strategy in securing a strong finish as tire wear appears minimal.
Comparison to Fellow Indiana Native and Pole-Sitting Success
Briscoe reflected on the inspiration drawn from Ryan Newman, another Indiana driver known for qualifying prowess. He said,
“I have not talked to Ryan. There must be something in the water there in Indiana. It’s cool though, I remember as a kid watching the rocket man dominate and winning pole after pole after pole. It’s neat to kind of be that guy now. There’s definitely a lot of confidence that goes along with that being in the racecar. Even the team guys, there’s a ton of pride when you could lay your head down at night and know you are the fastest car that day. There’s just a tone that comes along with that. It’s been really neat to do that. I have no idea how many Ryan ended up getting in a year, but it would be cool just to be on the same level as him in anything because he was really good at it.”
—Chase Briscoe, NASCAR driver
This comparison highlights how generational talent influences Briscoe’s mindset and fuels his determination.
Toyota’s Advantage Heading Into the Race at Iowa
The speed of Toyota vehicles in recent events has been a key factor in Briscoe’s confidence going forward. He remarked,
“It’s definitely important. For us it’s trying to maximize playoff points, so starting up front puts you in a really good position to win that first stage. It’s going to be something we are going to need to try and do. The Toyota’s are fast everywhere we go, it doesn’t matter what kind of racetrack. It feels like we’ve hit our stride here as a manufacturer the last month or two and hopefully we can continue that.”
—Chase Briscoe, NASCAR driver
This momentum as a manufacturer sets the stage for Toyota drivers to contend strongly throughout the season.
The Significance of Iowa’s Track for Briscoe’s Performance
Iowa Speedway has historically been a favorable track for Briscoe, even after repaving and track changes. He shared,
“This has been a place that’s been really good to me. It does drive totally different, but there are still some things you can do here that we used to do here before they repaved it. Just especially on how you can get into turn 1 with the bumps. It’s nice, even with the racetrack change I’ve still been able to be decent here because it has been a great track for me. I was glad I was able to carry some of that over to be able to win the pole here and have a chance to win in a Cup car here tomorrow.”
—Chase Briscoe, NASCAR driver
His familiarity with Iowa’s nuances helps maintain his competitiveness despite the track’s evolving characteristics.
Positive Impact of Starting Up Front for Race Strategy
Starting from the pole is particularly important on a track where passing is challenging, a sentiment Briscoe confirmed. He explained,
“Everywhere we go it’s important to start up front for track position, but especially after practice just seeing how tight the times were and no tire fall off really. It’s going to be hard to pass, I know Christopher (Bell) pulled out in front of me in practice and I was stuck behind him, I had nothing else I could do. That kind of just flipped the switch and start focusing on what I needed to do in qualifying. Practicing behind him just technique wise was there something I could do to make up a little bit of time and obviously I was able to make it work.”
—Chase Briscoe, NASCAR driver
This insight highlights how tight competition on the track demands precision during qualifying to avoid losing ground during the race.
Unique Pit Road Challenges at Iowa Speedway
Briscoe described the pit road layout at Iowa as particularly tricky, especially when occupying the first pit stall. He said,
“This is a very unique pit road. We do have some that have a corner to it with the turn at the end of pit road where you are bumping up your RPM. This is one of the more extreme corners. I don’t know if I’ve been in the first stall here, but I know it’s really blind and such a tight turn around the corner and you can’t really see where your turn-in is if you are in the first stall. When you are in stalls four through nine, it’s really easy to get lost. It will definitely be a challenge tomorrow. It will be tough for the pit crew guys too because the angle of the car coming in. All those things you get as an advantage of pit stall 1 you have to take it, but it changes things when you pit in a corner from your typical routine because everything is different. It will be a challenge for us tomorrow.”
—Chase Briscoe, NASCAR driver
The distinctive pit road design calls for heightened focus from both driver and crew during pit stops, impacting overall race strategy.
Playoff Points and Championship Aspirations Drive Team Efforts
Briscoe and crew chief James Small are strongly focused on gathering playoff points to improve their position in the championship. Briscoe shared,
“It’s something James (Small, crew chief) and I have talked a lot about. As a race team we feel like we are a championship four contender with the speed we have right now. But with the playoff grid it’s really top heavy, but the rest of the field only has five or seven points. Even if we can get just a couple of playoff points with a stage win, but especially a race win where you can get five extra points is a huge deal right now. It’s something that’s definitely on our mind. We are 17 points behind (Ryan) Blaney for seventh in points, so that’s another thing we are focused on right now. The biggest thing for right now is to get as many playoff points as we can so you can get through the Round of 16, you can get through the Round of 12 with that deficit we are at. But when you get to the Round of 8, if you have a 20 or 30 point deficit it’s so hard to do anything. It’s extremely important for us right now.”
—Chase Briscoe, NASCAR driver
Securing playoff points early is critical to advancing through the elimination rounds and staying in championship contention.
Improved Team Chemistry Enhances Briscoe’s Qualifying Edge
Briscoe acknowledged the crucial role of crew chief James Small and the engineering team in understanding his needs, contributing to better car performance. He said,
“Yeah, more so than on the 1.5-mile track where aero and mechanical grip doesn’t play as big of a role. I feel like James and the engineers on the No. 19 crew have done just a really good job, especially these last two months, of understanding what I want and what I need out of my racecar. I’ve noticed a switch with James over the last two or three weeks where it’s gone from you need to be doing this different to we got to get the car better for you now. They’ve started to understand me more and the performance has been better. I think James has done such a good job of understanding what I need when it comes to Saturday in qualifying. He worked harder than anyone in the field and it shows.”
—Chase Briscoe, NASCAR driver
This strengthening relationship between driver and team underpins the ongoing progress in Briscoe’s qualifying results and overall competitiveness.