In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, it's been the Big 3 of Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell and Cole Custer garnering most of the headlines. The trio has combined for eight wins, and as the Xfinity season nears its halfway point these drivers are popular picks to return to Homestead-Miami Speedway in November as three-fourths of the Championship 4.
But what about that fourth spot? Is there a driver emerging to grab hold of that? Enter Chase Briscoe, the driver of the No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford.
RELATED: Updated series standings | Custer wins at Pocono "We've had really good finishes and we're up there in points," Briscoe said after finishing third at Pocono. "We still need a little bit more speed. I feel like the top three has made themselves known and the fourth spot is open. I feel like we're close to getting there. We just need a little bit more speed. I feel like once we get there, we can be right there with them." Briscoe sits sixth in points behind Reddick, Bell, Custer, Austin Cindric and Justin Allgaier, but the SHR driver has been surging. He has notched six top-five finishes in his past eight races and his six top fives are fourth-best among series regulars. The Pocono result was a season-best for the Indiana native. The 23-year-old already has an Xfinity win to his name from last year's race at the Charlotte Roval. The race at Pocono Raceway had the potential to bring another trophy to his case as he started on the front row of the final restart on Lap 102 with his teammate, Custer, before settling into third as he battled a tight race car. Briscoe’s results haven’t gone unnoticed by the competition. "We have had fast cars all year," Custer said of the SHR Xfinity program. "The 98 (of Briscoe) is getting better and better. Hopefully we just keep going in the same direction." Briscoe has yet to make an Xfinity Series start at Michigan as he ran a partial schedule between two cars in 2018. The series rookie is just looking for a little more to make the difference. "We’ve obviously had speed — we’ve been running top fives and top threes a lot," Briscoe said. "We just haven't quite figured out that last couple tenths that we need to pick up the win. Hopefully, we can find that here soon as we go to Michigan, Ford's backyard and get a win."