Chase Briscoe’s day started rough. NASCAR.com captured the moment his tire came off after the first round of pit stops, forcing him deep into the hole with four laps down, a nightmare for any driver. His crew chief, James Small, admitted it was a grind, explaining how they caught a break with perfectly timed caution flags and a wave-around that gave them a fighting chance. They clawed their way up, even hitting fourth in the running order on their strategy before a late brush with the wall dinged the car and dropped them back.
It wasn’t a win, and Briscoe’s still chasing that after a tough 2024 with Stewart-Haas Racing, but it could’ve been so much worse. Then came the wild JGR save. Christopher Bell, riding a three-race win streak into Vegas, hit trouble when his left-front wheel loosened up. It was a sight to watch how both teams took advantage of something that NASCAR has never mentioned in their rulebooks.
Christopher Bell owes it big to James Small’s crew
Bell’s crew chief, Adam Stevens, made a split-second call, directing Bell into Briscoe’s pit box instead of risking a lap with a wobbly tire. NASCAR.com showed Bell pointing at the problem as he screeched in, and Small’s crew jumped into action—jacking the #20 Toyota up and tightening the lug nuts fast. Small said it was instinct; he saw the #20 struggling, got on the radio (confusing Briscoe mid-race), and his team executed like it was their own car. It was a clutch move. Pit blunders like Bobby Hamilton’s 1995 fuel spill have tanked races, and this could’ve been Bell’s version. Instead, JGR owed Briscoe’s guys big time, as they followed the unwritten rule of always helping anyone in need at your pit box.
James Small reacted, ” No, we just know if a car arrives in our pit box what we need to do. So as soon as I saw them trying to get it. You know, I got on our car radio, Chase didn’t know what the hell I was talking about, but it was helpful because Christopher was pointing at the left front, so you know, I jacked the car up, tightened it up, and yeah, team effort, so thankfully we saved him from the same fate we had, so yeah.” Bell’s move might’ve bent pit road rules, and NASCAR hit him with a penalty to go to the back of the grid, unlike the two-lap hold-up that Briscoe received. However, JGR wasn’t the only team with loose tires, as Vegas saw a bunch of similar unfortunate incidents.
.@chasebriscoe‘s crew chief James Small discussed battling back from four laps down and a tire penalty to finish 17th and servicing @CBellRacing‘s loose wheel.
: @m_massie22 https://t.co/e2blt2IU0a
— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) March 16, 2025
What’s with all the loose wheels? We couldn’t believe how many loose wheels drivers, including Briscoe, Bell, and even Kyle Busch, dealt with. Small pinned it on the sport’s razor-thin margins: teams are running lighter lug nut torque to shave pit stop seconds, pushing everything to the edge. We’re awed by the hustle, but it’s a worrying trend that’ll bite more teams. Bell is leading Toyota with 178 points, second overall, while Briscoe’s 94 lands him 20th, only ahead of Ty Gibbs amongst JGR drivers.
“I didn’t know if whenever I got to any of the teammate’s box, I didn’t know one, where they were, and then if two, if there was going to be a car in it or not,” Bell said, per Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. “I saw the 19 (Chase Briscoe) out the corner of my eye. I was pointing like, ‘I’m getting left. I’m getting left.’ Obviously, guys are coming out of their box. Fortunately, he wasn’t in there. I guess he was a couple of laps down at that point. Everyone gave way for me to get left and get into his box. I don’t know how much it helped, though, because I still had to go to the back. At least we didn’t lose a wheel.”
This day was personal. Bell’s streak ended, but that pit save kept JGR in the fight. JGR dodged a bullet, but it would be interesting to see who will become the next victim of flying wheels.
Chase Briscoe battled a wrist injury ahead of the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas
Chase Briscoe’s 2025 NASCAR season took a rough turn last week at Phoenix, and now he’s racing against more than just the clock. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver crashed hard in the Shriners Children’s 500, slamming into Carson Hocevar after contact with Justin Haley sent his #19 Toyota airborne.
“That’s about the biggest you can crash at Phoenix,” Chase Briscoe said after the wreck that ended his day early. He walked away, but not unscathed. His wrist got “smoked pretty good,” leaving him with a sprain as he went into the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 16. The injury’s no small thing for Briscoe, who’s already had a rollercoaster start to the season.
He snagged pole at Daytona and finished fourth, only to see NASCAR strip 100 points and 10 playoff points for a spoiler violation, which was later overturned on appeal. Phoenix was a chance to rebound, but the crash dropped him to seventh in points with 110. He’s taped up his wrist for Vegas after testing a splint didn’t pan out. “Messed with a splint at times this week but is running without one today,” he told reporters on Saturday, adding he’d tape it Sunday if the pain flared up during practice.
Chase Briscoe is no stranger to Vegas. He won the Xfinity Boyd Gaming 300 there in 2020, leading 89 laps. But this Cup race was different. The #19 team was fighting to stay in the top 10, and a sprained wrist could have messed with his grip on the wheel. Racing 400 miles with a banged-up wrist isn’t easy. Still, Briscoe had the grit and salvaged the race with a 17th-place finish. Not ideal, but it’s a significant improvement after numerous setbacks.
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