DARLINGTON, S.C. -- The driver may have been different on Sunday night, but the No. 19 team's dominant win at Darlington Raceway had a familiar feel to it. This was an old school beatdown by Joe Gibbs Racing.
Fitting timing considering the request crew chief James Small made before kicking off the Round of 16.
"Woke up this morning and sent the guys a message," Small said after Sunday's win. "I had this feeling. It's about time we give 'em a good old... 'We just need to lay an old school beatdown to them.'"
Dominant wins aren't anything out of the ordinary for the No. 19 team. They just featured a different driver in past seasons.
Martin Truex Jr. had multiple races where he just decimated the field, both during his time with Furniture Row Racing and after he joined Joe Gibbs Racing.
The recent examples include Truex Jr. leading 464 of 500 laps at Martinsville in 2019, leading 248 of 293 laps at Darlington in 2021, and leading 254 of 301 laps at Loudon in 2023.
Chase Briscoe delivered his own dominant performance on Sunday night. He swept the stages and led 309 laps at Darlington in the Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry.
Meanwhile, the pit crew performed flawlessly while Small and his engineers came up with the race-winning strategies.
"That's exactly what we did tonight," Small added. "Chase did a remarkable job lap after lap. The pit crew, unsung tonight, they did an incredible job.
"They've been getting better and better all year. Really hit their stride the last eight weeks or so. Just really proud of everyone."
So proud of these guys! An awesome team effort and @chasebriscoe wheeled the @BassProShops piece all night long. Thanks to everyone at @JoeGibbsRacing & @ToyotaRacing 🏁 pic.twitter.com/KETjqB8Ijv
— James Small (@james_small) September 1, 2025
The playoffs are a time when two things happen to championship-hopeful teams. Some make mistakes under pressure and miss out on crucial points. Others rise to the occasion and do exactly what they need to keep in contention.
The No. 19 team has made mistakes at times this season, which has contributed to missed opportunities to get stage points and contend for wins. The No. 19 lost a wheel at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Briscoe had multiple commitment line violations on pit road, and the team had a tire violation at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
This was part of the growth process.
This has not been the case in recent weeks. Briscoe and the No. 19 team have scored stage points in 12 of the last 15 races. They have won four stages, including the sweep at Darlington.
Meanwhile, the pit crew has since largely avoided issues with loose wheels and equipment during races. This has helped Briscoe better maintain track position and contend for multiple wins and top-five finishes throughout the summer stretch.
"Those guys work hard at the shop," Small said about his crew. "They put themselves under pressure every practice. Realistically they've been doing a very good job. They had a couple of hiccups at Richmond.
"Just got a good, solid group. Primarily veterans, a lot of 'em. One kind of younger guy. Most of 'em have been on our team for a while now. Been through some times when they weren't so great and had issues, as well.
"Those guys just never let up. Just proud of the effort they put in every day when they come to the shop and work really hard at it. You can see it, in all the metrics we look at all the time, performances like tonight."
Sunday night, all of the behind-the-scenes work came together. The No. 19 team brought a fast car, the pit crew delivered under immense pressure, and Briscoe performed at what has become one of his best tracks.
What was the result? The old school beatdown that Small wanted to see.