NASCAR considered removing Chase Briscoe from playoffs but chose not to

After Cole Custer was penalized for his intentional actions on the last lap at Charlotte Roval, NASCAR considered removing Chase Briscoe from the 2022 playoffs. The motorsport association, however, could not find any proof to penalize the #14 Ford driver. Replays show that Custer's intentional move allowed his teammate Briscoe to advance into the semi-final round.

NASCAR vice president Scott Miller recently said that Chase Briscoe was in a position to advance into the next round of the playoffs on the final lap before Custer’s #41 car slowed down, obstructing the path of other drivers. Another factor that kept Briscoe in the playoffs is that the governing body didn’t find any incriminating evidence against Briscoe and his #14 Stewart-Haas Racing team’s radio to suggest that he was aware of the #41 driver’s action.

Speaking about what allowed Briscoe to remain in the Round of 8, Miller said:

“Once we looked at all the points and the final consequences and realized … that it wasn’t going to change who advanced to the Round of 8. We definitely spent a lot of time listening to all of (Briscoe’s team radio) audio and there was not a word during the race about teammates or anything from the 14 car radio throughout the race.”

He continued:

“They were concerned (about the points) and keeping the driver up to speed, how the points were shaking out at different times during the race. … They were in some of the races, and they were out some of the race.”

Miller also mentioned that the only chatter officials found about Briscoe’s team on radio was discussing points with the current running order, but it wasn’t exactly scandalous talk on the radio.

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NASCAR hands out massive penalties to Chase Briscoe’s teammate Cole Custer

No damning evidence was found against Chase Briscoe and his #14 team. Officials, however, discovered that Cole Custer’s move was intentional and manipulated the finishing order of last Sunday’s Charlotte race.

For manipulating the race’s result, NASCAR docked 50-points to Custer and has been fined $100,000 and 50-points to his team in the owner's points table. His crew chief Mike Shiplett was also fined $100,000 and indefinitely suspended from the pit road. Stewart-Haas Racing, however, has already filed an appeal against the NASCAR penalty.

Catch Stewart-Haas Racing drivers Chase Briscoe and Cole Custer at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday.