Mitchell's Chase Briscoe hopes to put cycle on repeat this weekend in Atlanta

ATLANTA, Ga. — For the first time in his NASCAR Cup Series career — be it still oh-so-brief — Mitchell's Chase Briscoe is going to the next race as the previous week's winner.

Briscoe broke through for his maiden win last Sunday in the Ruoff Mortgagte 500K at Phoenix Raceway. It may have been his first, but it will not be the last, with victory lane coming just four races into his second season.

It's a routine the 27-year old Lawrence County driver could get accustomed to, and he'll try for a repeat Sunday starting at 3 p.m. in the Folds of Honor 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The race will be 325 laps (105/105/115) for 500 miles across the 1.54-mile layout. Fox Sports has the television coverage, while PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio have the audio broadcasts.

Emotional victory for Briscoe

Briscoe conceded that some tears were shed as completed the final lap with no pressure after pulling away from Tyler Reddick and Ross Chastain, all of whom were seeking their first Cup Series win.

One of the factors feeding into his emotions was the fact that he was taking the No.14 car — the number that honors his team co-owner, Tony Stewart — to victory lane. It was the first time the 14 car had won since 2018 with Clint Bowyer at Michigan.

“This car is obviously his, and he has a lot of passion and drive for that car," Briscoe said. "He took a chance on another guy who is kind of like himself, a dirt Sprint car racer. We grew up in towns that are 45 minutes apart and my dad (Kevin) raced against Tony in Sprint cars.

"I was a diehard Tony fan growing up and diehard 14 fan, so for me to add my name to the list of guys that have driven the No. 14 car to victory lane is definitely special for me. Looking back, when I was 6 or 7 years old and wearing the Tony Stewart helmet and uniform, I never in a million years thought I would get to take his car to victory lane in the Cup Series, and it was really cool for him to call, and to get to hear how excited he was for that to happen.

"And, I was thinking about a lot of other things as I took the white flag and came off turn 2, so it was very emotional for me for a lot of reasons."

Briscoe is 200th Cup Series winner

Not only was Sunday's victory Briscoe's first, but it also made him the 200th different driver to win a race at NASCAR's highest level. He started sixth, remained in the top 10 all day, led a total of 101 laps, and masterfully fended off Reddick, Chastain and SHR teammate Kevin Harvick in a green-white-checkered finish.

It was just the 40th career NASCAR Cup start for Briscoe, and just the fourth race with the new NextGen car. In four races this season, Briscoe has earned a win, two top-three finishes and his career-best staring position on an oval – third at Las Vegas Motor Speedway the previous weekend. He is tied with Kyle Larson for fourth in the driver standings and currently holds a spot in the 16-driver playoff field.

Briscoe's confidence is justifiably soaring.

“I think from a confidence standpoint I feel like I belong this year," he said. "Last year, it was very ‘eyes wide open.’ I was racing against guys I had watched on TV for years and that I’ve looked up to. Now I don’t look at the 18 car and go, ‘That’s Kyle Busch.’ It’s just the 18 car, another guy out there.

"I think that confidence has come a long way. Obviously with the results, the confidence builds. I feel like I belong. Especially, now, winning, I’ve proven I belong in the Cup Series. When you come in in your rookie year, you think you’re ready, but you’re never ready. To run up front and lead laps is special, for sure.”

Different colors for 14 car in Atlanta

The blue-and-white colors of HighPoint.com return to the No. 14 Mustang for the first time in 2022 after first appearing on Briscoe’s car in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2020. Briscoe earned four of his nine wins in the Xfinity Series that year sporting HighPoint colors and earned all three of his top-10s in his rookie Cup Series season with the company headquartered in Sparta, New Jersey.

The leading IT infrastructure and solutions company introduces a more tech-inspired livery just in time for the Cup Series’ first visit to the transformed Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The track in Hampton, Georgia, underwent a reconfiguration in the offseason to create tighter, superspeedway-type racing on its 1.54-mile oval. The racing surface was narrowed from 55 feet to 40 feet and the banking was increased to 28 degrees — the most of any intermediate track on the schedule.

In two starts at Atlanta, Briscoe has a best finish of 15th earned last July. He also has three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Atlanta with a best finish of ninth in 2020, and a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start there in 2017.

Briscoe feels the alterations to the track could wreak some havoc.

“It’s going to be wild," he predicted. "It’s great to win on Sunday, but this coming week there are going to be 39 guys that are going to try the same thing. A couple of guys in the shop asked me how it feels to get that first win and it feels good, but it doesn’t mean anything if we go run 40th this week. You’ve got to be able to go do it again.

"So I think, this week, there are a lot of unknowns for a lot of reasons. The NextGen car still is a big variable that we don’t really know a lot about, but then the track is totally different than anything we’ve ever had. It’s supposedly going to be like a mini-Daytona or Talladega with pack racing and drafting, but what really happens when we get there?

"It’s going to be intense, it’s going to be wild, it’s going to be a narrow track with a lot of speed and a lot of excitement. It’ll be interesting to see where we stack up when we get there. I don’t know what to expect. I’ve been on the simulator quite a bit trying to figure it out, but we won’t really know what it’s going to be like until we get there.”

Contact Times-Mail Sports Writer Jeff Bartlett at jeffb@tmnews.com, or on Twitter @jeffbtmnews.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Mail: Briscoe makes a run at two NASCAR Cup wins in a row Sunday at Atlanta