CUP: Chase Briscoe plummets from 3rd after first NASCAR last-place finish caused by transaxle
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: Joe Gibbs Racing, @JoeGibbsRacing
Chase Briscoe picked up the 4th last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday’s DuraMax Grand Prix Powered by RelaDyne when his #19 Columbia Bank Toyota fell out with a broken transaxle after 62 of 95 laps.
The finish, which came in Briscoe’s 183rd start, was his first of the season and first in a Cup Series race since Martinsville, four races ago. In the Cup Series’ last-place rankings, it was the first for a transaxle issue, the 51st for the #19, and the 201st for Toyota. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the first for a broken transaxle, the 91st for the #19, and the 434th for Toyota.
Briscoe’s most recent last-place finish preceded his first-ever appearance in the Championship Four, where a flat right-rear tire punctuated a disappointing 18th-place finish and third-place rank in the standings. This season, Briscoe began the year with a 6th-place finish in the Clash at Bowman Gray, one year after he became the inaugural last-place finisher in the same event. He won the outside-pole for the Daytona 500, where crash damage midway through left him 36th, then gave Tyler Reddick the winning push in Atlanta en route to a runner-up finish.
Briscoe was one of the 37 entrants for Sunday’s race, which saw him debut a new blue-and-white paint scheme for sponsor Columbia Bank. As the new Official Banking Partner of Joe Gibbs Racing, Columbia Bank would kick off a three-race deal for 2025, to be followed by the Sonoma Raceway and the fall race in Phoenix. He ranked 26th in practice with a best lap of 100.019 seconds (86.384mph), then ran 3rd-fastest in qualifying Group 1B with a lap of 97.913 seconds (88.242mph) and retained 3rd on the starting grid.
Securing the 37th and final starting spot was Cody Ware in the #51 Parts Plus / Costa Oil Chevrolet, who’d be joined by 36th-place starter Erik Jones for unapproved adjustments on his #43 Dollar Tree Toyota. When the race started, Ware remained the last car on the inside line with Jones to his right trailing the other. Jones stayed ahead of Ware on the frontstretch, crossing the stripe 5.365 seconds back of the lead to Ware’s 5.583. Ware stayed to Jones’ left through the tight left-hander at Turn 1 and began to close on the #4 Rush Truck Centers Ford of Noah Gragson, but Jones pulled back in front of Ware, keeping him in last place through The Esses.
Ware remained within a half-second of Jones through Lap 3, when the #51 was now 13.892 seconds behind the leader. On Lap 5, Jones pulled away from Ware, but was now stuck behind a logjam of cars trying to find their way around each other. Among them was Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., whose #47 Ram Self Storage Chevrolet was soon passed by Jones. Coming off Turn 20 on Lap 6, Ware got under Stenhouse and completed the pass before the starting line, putting Stenhouse 20.001 seconds back of the lead to 36th-place Ware’s 19.922. Stenhouse responded in the same corner on Lap 9, but Ware held him off until Turn 1, when Stenhouse dropped Ware back to last. By then, both cars lost touch with the cars ahead of them as the final few cars separated from each other. On Lap 10, 36th-place Stenhouse was a full 2.5 seconds behind 35th-place runner Austin Dillon in the #3 Breztri Chevrolet. That time by, Ware reported his car was tight through the stadium section and had issues getting a good drive off the corner. By Lap 12, Ware had fallen just over three seconds back of Stenhouse, and was now 30.436 seconds back of the lead. Still, Ware’s team bucked him up, saying he was running comparable lap times to the cars up front, who were having the same issues, and to “just focus forward.” Adjustments would be coming once the Stage 1 caution fell on Lap 21.
On Lap 15, Stenhouse climbed past Austin Dillon into 35th, and Ware closed to within four seconds of Dillon’s #3. The next time by, Dillon made his first stop under green, dropping him to last a full 59.294 seconds back of the lead. As Dillon left pit road, his crew told him to adjust his brake bias and run between 80 to 85% to save his tires. Then the crew changed their mind and told Dillon to get all he could for a couple laps before settling into a steadier pace. Dillon remained last until Lap 18, when more cars pitted, including Gragson’s #4, which crossed the stripe just behind Dillon at 65.314 seconds. Gragson remained in the last spot through the Lap 21 caution to end Stage 1. Since several other drivers stayed out, including those like Stenhouse that Gragson had raced earlier, his crew estimated he’d restart somewhere around 16th. Those cars pitted by Lap 23, including Brad Keselowski, who set his sights on running all 95 laps in the #6 Graza Ford despite a still healing broken leg. Keselowski took the spot due to a lengthy stop. Even though he had relief driver Joey Hand on standby, Keselowski remained behind the wheel as the crew completed extensive adjustments.
Before the Lap 25 restart, NASCAR handed pit road speeding penalties for both Riley Herbst in the #35 Monster Energy Toyota and Ryan Preece in the #60 Castrol Ford, one of which recorded in “too many sections to count.” This should have moved both Herbst and Preece behind Keselowski and new 36th-place runner Chase Elliott, who had a lengthy stop of his own in the #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet. But Keselowski and Elliott remained in the final two spots as the leaders charged up the hill. There, contact from Daniel Suarez’ #7 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet sent Connor Zilisch spinning in his #88 Red Bull Chevrolet. Zilisch dropped to last place as he got going again. He had a vibration, but said the car was driving okay, so he elected not to pit. By Lap 26, Zilich was within a second of catching 36th-place Keselowski, and on Lap 27 passed to his inside at Turn 6A. Zilisch ended up gaining two spots as Gragson had spun into the inside wall after Joey Logano checked-up in front of him. Gragson also continued on without serious damage and crossed the stripe 24,383 seconds back of the lead to the now 36th-place Keselowski’s 19.414, Zilisch now already up to 33rd.
On Lap 31, Keselowski dropped Ware to 36th, and Gragson was running fast enough lap times to catch the #51. Two laps later, Ware ran wide at Turn 20, allowing Gragson to pull to his inside and complete the pass, putting Ware in last once more, 30.851 seconds back of the lead. By Lap 37, Gragson had opened up a nearly four-second advantage over Ware, a gap that grew to over six seconds by Lap 40. The next time by, Ware reported his car was “building tighter and tighter on entry,” but first Keselowski, then the #38 Aaron’s Rent To Own Ford of Zane Smith came down pit road, trading last place between them. Ware retook the spot on Lap 43 with a stop of his own, only to struggle with the front tire chattering. By Lap 46, Ware was a full 12 seconds behind Smith, who was battling Gragson for position. They stayed in this order when the caution fell to end Stage 2 that time by, showing Ware 100.969 seconds back of the lead.
Under yellow on Lap 48, Austin Dillon came down pit road with the shifter handle loose on his car, requiring a crew member climb through the passenger window to reattach it. Dillon returned to the track still on the lead lap, but a full 125.881 seconds back of the lead. The next time by, Josh Berry took last in his #21 Dex Imaging Ford, which spun earlier and now had its hood up due to nose damage from a pit road collision with Bubba Wallace. These repairs also took long enough to drop Berry to last while Dillon incurred a penalty for pitting too soon. Berry sped around the track to catch the tail end of the field, cutting down a 72.587 second gap back from the lead.
Berry caught the tail end of the field in time for the Lap 51 restart, where Berry pulled to the left of Ware as they charged into Turn 1. Berry got to Ware’s rear bumper in The Esses, then found his way past entering Turn 6A, putting Ware back to last once again. The next time by, Jones’ #43 spun from 22nd at the exit of Turn 1 when he crossed the nose of Carson Hocevar’s black #77 Chili’s Ride the ‘Dente Chevrolet. At the line, Jones was 21.170 seconds back of the lead in last pace, just under six seconds behind the 36th-place Ware. On Lap 62, Ware dropped Alex Bowman to 36th in the #48 Ally Chevrolet. After dropping to the rear due to a loose wheel penalty on pit road, Bowman was struggling with heat exhaustion. Another was struggling with mechanical issues.
On Lap 64, Briscoe was running a strong 3rd, having led eight laps to go with his 27 in Atlanta and 23 in Daytona to remain perfect on the season. But coming off Turn 20, his engine note sounded rough as the car failed to shift into gear. While Jones’ team thought he was having engine issues, Briscoe radioed he had trouble with the transaxle. He managed to make it the rest of the way around the track and only dropped to 16th by the time he made the hard left turn onto pit road. But crew chief James Small directed him to the garage area through the first opening at his left. There, Briscoe was impatiently told by Small to pull behind a gate that was opened near an infield parking lot. Already in last place as everyone was still running on the lead lap, Briscoe was soon met by his crew. On Lap 69, Briscoe’s crew said, “All right, we’re done – it’s killed the upright as well.” Two laps later, NASCAR reported Briscoe was the first driver out of the race, citing the transaxle as the cause.
On Lap 72, Bowman pulled behind the wall and alongside the team’s hauler for what NASCAR reported was a mechanical issue. This turned out to be a driver change. Instead of bringing on Keselowski’s relief driver Joey Hand, or the recently retired Briscoe, the team brought on Myatt Snider, who brought his helmet as he was working alongside Jaimie Little for FOX. Snider returned to the track on Lap 77 and, despite coming down pit road as the leaders took the white flag, finished under power in 36th. Taking 35th was Ross Chastain, who incurred a two-lap penalty for a loose wheel on his #1 Busch Light Chevrolet. Jones and Smith completed the Bottom Five.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the first time in the history of NASCAR’s three national series that the last-place finisher was classified out due to a transaxle issue.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
37) #19-Chase Briscoe / 62 laps / transaxle
36) #48-Alex Bowman* / 89 laps / running
35) #1-Ross Chastain / 93 laps / running
34) #43-Erik Jones / 93 laps / running
33) #38-Zane Smith / 95 laps / running
*Relieved by Myatt Snider
2026 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Joe Gibbs Racing, Live Fast Motorsports, Wood Brothers Racing (1)
2026 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet, Ford, Toyota (1)
2026 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
