Chase Briscoe left Talladega Superspeedway in a tie with Austin Cindric for the final transfer spot. He is now 12 points below the cutline after the Appeals Panel rescinded William Byron’s points penalty, something that caused frustration for him.
The Stewart-Haas Racing driver met with media members at the Charlotte Roval on October 8. He explained that he doesn’t have an issue with the appeal process or the outcome. His frustration stems from the fact that he raced very differently at Talladega Superspeedway than he would have if he had known the outcome of Byron’s appeal.
“It’s extremely frustrating,” Briscoe said during his media availability at the Charlotte Roval. “I respect the appeal process, I think it’s something that we need, but there is — I think — zero reason why we should ever run a race in the playoffs with an appeal.
“I think the appeal, was it filed on Tuesday or Wednesday? I don’t know, but we ran a race before the decision was made. I don’t… if there is an appeal, we need to have a decision before the playoff race. What if that was the cut race? We’re not going to go back. They would have had to make a decision.”
Briscoe Left Points on the Table
GettyBriscoe missed out on some crucial points at Talladega Superspeedway.
As Briscoe noted during his availability at Charlotte Motor Speedway, he left points on the table at Talladega Superspeedway. This left him in a hole heading toward the pivotal cutoff race at NASCAR’s home track.
Briscoe didn’t have a bad day at the superspeedway. He finished 10th overall in what was his sixth top-10 of the year. He just didn’t add many bonus points to his total. He missed out on stage points during the opening segment before only securing one in Stage 2.
If Briscoe had known the outcome of the appeal before going to Talladega Superspeedway, he could have been more aggressive in the opening stages while fighting for points. This likely wouldn’t have put him ahead of Byron or Daniel Suarez, but it would have helped him inch closer to the cutline with one race remaining in the Round of 12.
The Appeal Process Took Considerable Time
GettyWilliam Byron (front) finished seventh at Texas Motor Speedway.
Briscoe’s point about the appeal process is that it took a considerable amount of time. Hendrick Motorsports could have potentially stated its case prior to the trip to Talladega Superspeedway instead of waiting over a week.
Let’s revisit the timeline. NASCAR originally announced on Tuesday, September 27, that Byron had received points penalties and a fine for wrecking Denny Hamlin under caution at Texas Motor Speedway. A short time later, Hendrick Motorsports announced that it would appeal the penalties.
There were questions about when this appeal would happen throughout the week leading up to the Talladega race, but there were no answers. It wasn’t until Monday, October 3, that NASCAR revealed the date. The appeal was set for Thursday, October 6, just three days prior to the Round of 12 Cutoff Race at the Charlotte Roval.
Could the appeal have taken place with a faster turnaround time? It’s certainly possible. The availability of the panel members potentially played a role. However, Briscoe would have liked to see this appeal happen much earlier than it did.
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