Toyota GAZOO Racing – Chase Briscoe
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
INDIANAPOLIS (July 26, 2025) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe was made available to the media on Saturday after winning the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
This is Briscoe’s series-leading fifth pole of the season. It is his first at his home track – Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
This is the first time in Toyota’s history that the manufacturer has swept the top-five starting positions. The previous best was a top-four sweep at Bristol-2 (2015), Kansas-2 (2016), Dover-1 (2017), Homestead (2017) and Charlotte-1 (2022).
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Can you talk about your team’s speed in qualifying and how much this one means to you?
“Yeah. For sure. Our team just does an incredible job of making adjustments – even after practice, we were a little bit off. Today was a great example of that. We just put in so effort and work. All of this week – we were practicing, whether it be race runs or qualifying runs in the simulator and just spending extra hours doing it – it make a difference. Super, super special today – just to qualify on the pole here. The Daytona 500 one was cool, going three in a row was cool, but being able to set on the pole here is just so special. I got out of the car, and hearing the crowd screaming – I don’t have that happen anywhere else, so it is just so cool to experience that. I was on the other side of the fence when Tony (Stewart) and (Ryan) Newman, and those other guys were doing it – being one of those Indiana kids, cheering for their Indiana driver, so now to be on the other side of the fence is special for sure.”
What has this been like for you to experience this with your team?
“It’s been really, really just fun. Any time you are driving fast race cars, it is just fun. I feel like my entire career; qualifying has been a strong suit of mine. At SHR (Stewart-Haas Racing), I felt like a lot of the time, we overachieved, truthfully, and now to be able to be at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) and be in these extremely fast race cars, it allows me to contend for poles, instead of just contending for a top-10 starting spot. To be able to lead the field to green on all of these Crown Jewels and just to be able to take it in – every time coming to the initial green, every time looking into the grandstands, each one is different. It is just really, really special. Anytime you can lead the field to green – it is significant, but to do it at a Crown Jewel event, it is even more special.”
What is it like to go home and see people before this race?
“Totally is just a fun week for me, because outside of Christmas, is the only week that I get to go home. My entire family still lives in Mitchell, so for me to go back and be able to see my grandparents and everything – I think it honestly helps me recharge my batteries. I was able to come up on Tuesday night and have some time, and my sister got married last night, so that was fun too. It has just been a really fun week to be able to come up here and do all of the things we have done, and even Brooks (Briscoe’s son) is old enough to know what is going on. He’s an Indianapolis Colts fan, and a Pacers fan – he understands what Indiana is and the significance is to it, for myself and our families, so that makes it fun for sure.”
Do you have more pressure this weekend?
“It honestly is not pressure. For me, you just find this extra 5, 10 percent. I’ve talked Tony (Stewart) about it. When you are from Indiana, and you come here – you’ve seen it with Tony and (Ryan) Newman. Jeff Gordon was kind of a transplant to Indiana, but certainly with Tony – you just find that, like I said, extra five, 10 percent that you didn’t know you had and you really put that pressure on yourself when you come here. I think a lot of it is because of the Hoosier fan base gets behind you unlike anywhere else. There is no other race track that we go to, when I hear a driver from that state does the crowd go nuts. It is different in the state of Indiana, and for me to be that guy for the fans here, it is just really, really cool.”
Would you like to sweep the Crown Jewel poles this weekend?
“I mean, yeah, for sure. I try every week to go qualify on the pole. I don’t know if anyone has ever done all four. It would be cool if not to do it, but it doesn’t matter if we are going to St. Louis or the Southern 500, I want to be on the pole. It would be really, really special to do it. The Southern 500 is on a track I feel really, really good about. I will say this year, that has by far been the worst race for the 19 team, but I know when we go back later in the year, we will be really, really good. It would be really special to start on the pole there too, but I would trade them all in for race wins.”
How do you keep so focused with all the other distractions you’ve had this week?
“Honestly, I enjoy it. I don’t really go to any other race track throughout the year where people are screaming my name, so it is kind of cool just to get to experience that for a weekend, every single year, but honestly, I think having all of those people around me is kind of what helps you find that five, 10 percent. I can’t speak for Tony (Stewart) obviously, but Tony would come here, he would have a ton of family and friends as well. You don’t get to race in front of them very often, so when you do, you want to put on a good show for them, and give them a good result and give them something to cheer for. I think it just definitely helps put things into perspective. Without that support, you probably don’t get where you are at, a lot of times, so for me, it is always enjoyable when I can have them around. My life is full of distractions, you are seeing one here right now as I’m doing interviews, and the twins and stuff. I feel like I’m pretty good at managing all of that, but it is nice to have all of those people here and have that support when you go to get in the car.”
How much more confident are you after practice and qualifying?
“Yeah, I didn’t even realize that until we were coming up here that Toyota is one through five. That is an incredible testament to the attention to detail that Toyota brings. They do such a good job of preparing myself as a driver, but even the race teams – to give them all of the tools that they need, so for us to be one through five is really special. I think our cars as a whole, as a manufacturer, are going to be really good tomorrow. Hopefully, I can win it, but if not, hopefully another TRD car can.”
About Toyota
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