NASCAR Talledage Notebook: Ty Gibbs Shoves Chase Brisoe to the Win

Ten years ago, Chase Briscoe was sleeping on a friend’s couch, trying to prove he belonged in NASCAR Cup racing. Today, the Indiana native possesses a berth in the Championship 4 thanks to a push from Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs.

The hard shove that Gibbs gave Briscoe as they charged to the checkered flag allowed the Toyota driver to edge Todd Gilliland by 0.145-second for his first superspeedway victory. The win gave JGR its second team in the Championship 4 as Denny Hamlin earned a berth in the title race with his victory at Las Vegas a week earlier.

“I honestly would not have won that race without Ty,” an overjoyed Briscoe said after recording his third victory this season and the fifth of his career in the race that ended in overtime. “An amazing team effort. I can’t believe I won a superspeedway race. I haven’t done it at any level.

“The race was extremely stressful. I think I told MRN, I don’t have very much hair in the first place, but what I had left was going to be gray.”

Entering next weekend’s Martinsville race, JGR is in position to have all three of its drivers who qualified for the playoffs make the Championship 4. JGR driver Christopher Bell is 37 points above the cutline. Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson is the only Chevrolet driver above the cutline. Larson appeared headed for his first superspeedway victory when on the last lap on the backstretch he quickly dropped to the inside out of fuel. He finished 26th but remained 36 points above the cutline.

Drivers below the cutline, who must win at Martinsville to make it into the Championship 4 are William Byron at -36, Joey Logano -38, Ryan Blaney -47, and Chase Elliott -62.

Byron appeared to have a shot at victory on the final lap as they raced through the 2.66-mile track’s trioval, but a shove from Carson Hocevar sent Byron spinning to the inside.

“We just lost control of the race,” Byron said after finishing 25th. “We just couldn’t get the pushes going the way we needed to on the bottom lane. We got the outside lane clear down in front of us, and then the No. 5 (Larson) ran out of fuel there on the backstretch, and that kind of broke up the energy a little bit more. We just couldn’t get it linked back together. It was just wrong place, wrong time.”

Briscoe admitted that he hoped a Team Penske Ford didn’t win at Martinsville. If neither Blaney nor Logano win at Martinsville, Ford will be locked out of the championship race. Team Penske has won the Cup championship for the last three years.

“I’m only driving one car, so I couldn’t really control the race,” Logano said after finishing 16th. “The car behind me was saving gas, that didn’t help us and killed the whole bottom lane. Cars were pulling in front of us, and we were just getting demoted from the first two cars in line to the back of the line.

“We just can’t be saving gas at the end of the race. Ryan (Blaney) was not, but I was frustrated. You just get demoted in the lane as cars move to the front. You’re helpless. You’re sitting there just driving in circles knowing the right thing to do and just can’t do it.”

Elliott’s Title Hopes Take a Hit

A nine-car crash on lap 52 that involved playoff contender Chase Elliott, put the Georgia native in a must-win situation at Martinsville Speedway in order to make the Championship 4.

Elliott’s last-place finish in the 40-car field leaves him 62 points below the cutline.

“I saw someone get turned sideways,” Elliott said. “I was trying to get slowed up like normal. I ended up getting turned sideways into some other cars, and then they slid back into me.

We ride with the No. 9. pic.twitter.com/LByJbR0KH1

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 19, 2025

“I felt like we had ourselves in a good spot before the pit cycle. I didn’t feel like we executed the cycle very well and that put us back in the back again. I’m not sure if that would have helped us miss the wreck or not.”

The accident was triggered when Erik Jones bumped Noah Gragson, who was leading the inside lane.

“The No. 43 (Jones) was pushing really hard,” Gragson said. “You usually get those pushes late in the race in the third Stage, but he was just pushing hard. The back straightaway here is really rough, and I was pushed in the wrong area and started wheelbarrowing down the backstretch before he caught me.”

After getting hit by Jones, Gragson’s Ford shot up the 2.66-mile track and into traffic, collecting Justin Haley, A.J. Allmendinger, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Austin Cindric collected Elliott. Also involved were Austin Dillon and Chris Buescher.

Allmendinger’s Chevrolet caught fire after stopping on the apron. After walking from the infield care center, Allmendinger said he felt OK, but noted he would probably be sore because it was a “hard hit for my old body.”

“I feel alright. It just knocked the air out of me,” Allmendinger said. “As I stopped, it felt like the car was catching on fire, so I got out and tried to get my breath back.

“Joey (Logano) was doing a really good job pushing me in the right areas. I felt like we could kind of direct both lines. Obviously, Noah (Gragson) was next to me, and it looked like Noah got turned getting into the corner and it turned me straight into the fence.

“I hate this place. You always expect the worst here and hope for the best, but today we got the worst.”

Sawalich Released From Hospital

NASCAR Xfinity Series driver William Sawalich has been released from UAB Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama, where he was taken for further examination after being involved in a six-car crash Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway during the United Rentals 250.

In Sunday’s social media posting on X, Sawalich said:

“Appreciate all the messages and calls last night. Finally made it back home from Talladega—a little sore, but feeling better and thankful for all the support. Grateful for my team, the racing community, the NASCAR medical staff, nurses, and doctors at UAB Hospital, friends and family.”