How Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick prepare for pivotal Round of 12

LOUDON, N.H. -- It wasn't too long ago, as the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs began at Darlington, that Chase Briscoe and Tyler Reddick were celebrating hard-fought first and second-place finishes, respectively. Since that time, Briscoe has tallied two top-10 finishes (including a runner-up finish at World Wide Technology Raceway). At the same time, Reddick scooted by with a 15th- and 16th-place finish to wind down the opening round of the Cup Series postseason. RELATED: New Hampshire starting lineup | Best photos from Loudon New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the one-mile facility nestled in the New England hills, sets the stage for the Round of 12 opener -- its first playoff race since 2017 (2 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). Both Toyota drivers have found recent success at the "Magic Mile" and see it as a key launching point toward the Round of 8. Reddick will roll off from the fourth position in his No. 45 Toyota, looking to continue his streak of top-10 finishes since beginning his tenure at 23XI Racing. "I feel like, if you look at my career, you know, growing up, this was not one of my better tracks," Reddick said. "But I feel like over the last couple of years in the Cup Series, for me, whether it was the old car or this Next Gen car, it seems like we've been able to make things work good. It's not like a track I've gotten super comfortable at yet, but the speed's been on our side. "We find a way to finish good. So it was nice to see qualifying go that way. I thought I may have been able to do a little bit more to beat (Josh) Berry, but, yeah, I don't think I could have beaten Logano today. So fourth is a good disparity. Stage points will be important tomorrow and that's what we need to do." Briscoe, who managed a second-place finish with help from rain in last year's trip to New Hampshire, will have a bit more work than his Toyota counterpart to do to start Sunday's 301-lapper as the No. 19 starts in the 18th position. "Last year, you know, I had to have it rain. I was going to run 30th if it didn't rain," Briscoe said. "So hopefully it'll rain tomorrow. I don't think that's quite in the forecast, but I mean, definitely this place, if it rained, I feel really good about it. For whatever reason, this place has always just been a huge struggle for me, whether it's Trucks or Xfinity or, you know, in my Cup career, too. I mean, the 19 car certainly feels better, but I'm still the weak link, I feel like this weekend. Just got to really try to figure out tonight what I need to do and go look at data and video, and just really try to be as best prepared as I can for tomorrow, to try to be the best we can be." Fortunately for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, his team has extensive notes for the New England flat track courtesy of the No. 19's former pilot, Martin Truex Jr., who finished inside the top 10 in five of his six appearances at JGR with a win in 2023. "I mean, everywhere else, I definitely feel like, you know, the tracks that have been good for the 19 have kind of been good regardless for us this year, but this one's definitely been a struggle," Briscoe said. "So yeah, just try to do my end tonight and tomorrow, just trying to be as best prepared as I can. I know that they're going to get the car better for me as well. But yeah, certainly this has been a track that's been really good for just JGR in general. "I think today was kind of surprising for all of us. From a speed standpoint, I haven't talked to any of my teammates yet, but it definitely seemed like we weren't as strong as what we've been, you know, as a company in the past. So that'd be interesting." Interesting is the operative word as the two drivers will look to have their stories straight heading into the Round of 12 opener Sunday afternoon.