HAMPTON, Ga. -- A massive, L2-level penalty dropped Chase Briscoe to last in the Cup Series standings with -67 points. This is a massive hurdle to overcome, but it doesn't change anything for the Indiana native.
"From my standpoint, all I can do is prepare the best I can and try to win the race this week, next week, whatever week we're going," Briscoe said Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
"That's my goal and job is to try to win the race. So it doesn't really change on my side."
Briscoe, now in his first season with Joe Gibbs Racing, delivered a strong performance at Daytona. He won the pole -- the first time Toyota had won the pole for the Daytona 500 -- and he kept the car clean en route to a fourth-place finish.
Mere days later, NASCAR issued a penalty to the No. 19 team for modifying a single-source part (spoiler). Briscoe and his team lost 100 points, 10 playoff points, and crew chief James Small for four races. NASCAR also fined the team $100,000.
However, Small can remain with the team pending the outcome of the appeal.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't down in the dumps that night," Briscoe added. "But after that, I kind of forgot about it just trying to move on to this week."
The penalty doesn't change anything for Briscoe at the moment. All he can do is move forward and try to win his third career race -- his first with Joe Gibbs Racing -- while the team works on its appeal.
This is nothing new for Briscoe. His back has been against the wall before, and he has responded with big performances. His NASCAR future was in limbo in 2018 before he delivered an Xfinity Series win at the Charlotte Roval. One year later, he made the playoffs for the first time.
Two years later, he solidified his Cup future by winning nine Xfinity races for Stewart-Haas Racing. He achieved this feat after overcoming sponsorship troubles.
Last season, Briscoe was on the outside of the playoff picture looking in as he entered the regular-season finale at Darlington Raceway. He went out and beat Kyle Busch at NASCAR's toughest track to lock up the final spot in the playoffs.
Briscoe has battled through adversity before. He may have to do so again if Joe Gibbs Racing loses its appeal of the penalty. He will have no room for error as he tries to put the No. 19 Toyota into the playoffs.
"If we don't win the appeal, you've kind of used up your mulligan," Briscoe said. "I've had three or four times where you can have a DNF throughout the season, still make the playoffs.
"If we don't win the appeal, I've already used those up. I don't have any weekends that I can have go bad."