As the tip of Stewart-Haas Racing approached, nobody expected the four-car team to have a automotive within the playoff race. Then Chase Briscoe pulled off a formidable upset within the regular-season finale, winning the coveted Southern 500. It completely modified the outlook for the organization and its 320-plus employees, who now face an uncertain future.
“One of my guys said recently, ‘If we don’t win this race, everybody’s counting down the days until the end of the season.’ They’re so excited now, and we’re just counting down the days until the next race. It’s changed the whole atmosphere in the shop, the morale, people are excited again, and that’s something we haven’t had as a company in a few years, so it’s cool to be the guy who can bring that to the shop,” Briscoe said in his weekly team review.
Race Winner Chase Briscoe, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford Mustang
Photo: Danny Hansen / NKP / Motorsport Images
The SHR driver wasn’t the favourite entering the playoffs, but he “knew we could win” — even before Darlington. His title possibilities gave the impression to be quickly dashed after crashing in the primary playoff race and ending last, scoring only one point in Atlanta. But once more, Briscoe and the No. 14 Ford proved they shouldn’t be underestimated. He got here back stronger than ever at Watkins Glen, scoring 12 stage points and ending higher than some other playoff driver, ending sixth. In fact, he managed to avoid all the difficulty that got here his way on the track last Sunday, crossing the finish line because the only playoff driver in the highest 10.
He entered Watkins Glen at the underside of the standings, 21 points behind, and facing a tricky climb. But in a single race he passed five drivers, including the likes of Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin. That performance put him back over the cutoff line, six points ahead of Bristol. Now the Darlington winner takes that confidence to Bristol as he tries to advance to Round 12.
“The confidence that comes with it, knowing that if we can win the Southern 500, why can't we win this week at Bristol? I definitely feel like our team as a whole has a lot more confidence. We're walking around with more confidence. We just feel better about it. And to do it the way we did, beating Kyle Larson, beating Kyle Busch, it's not like we were lucky to win. We were literally running in the top three from mile one to mile 500. It just all comes together to having a lot of confidence and I definitely feel like we have it now.”
“There’s something different in the air” in Bristol
They march forward with confidence and self-assurance, seeking to overcome adversity and provides SHR a fairytale ending. Four drivers can be eliminated from the title race this weekend at the long-lasting short track, and as was the case at Watkins Glen, avoiding chaos can be key.
“Going into Bristol, it’s an elimination race — and really, any elimination race, whether it’s Bristol or the next round or for us, like Darlington — you just know you have to do everything perfectly,” Briscoe said. “You can’t have any big mistakes, you possibly can’t have a foul night on pit road and you possibly can’t make an enormous mistake on the race track.
“At the end of the day, you probably won't win every single heat, even if you do everything perfectly. But if you do everything perfectly that night, you can go to bed and hang your hat on the fact that you did everything you could and the points just weren't enough. I think that's the most important thing in a heat — not eliminating yourself and just putting together the best night you can from start to finish.”
Corey LaJoie, Spire Motorsports, NEGU Chevrolet Camaro, Harrison Burton, Wood Brothers Racing, Motorcraft / Quick Lane Ford Mustang, Joey Logano, Team Penske, Shell Pennzoil Ford Mustang, Ty Dillon, Spire Motorsports, Gainbridge Chevrolet Camaro, Ryan Newman, Rick Ware Racing, Biohaven/Jacob Co. Ford Mustang, Justin Haley, Kaulig Racing, Mountain Dew Chevrolet Camaro, JJ Yeley, Rick Ware Racing, Steakhouse Elite Burgers Ford Mustang, Chase Briscoe, Stewart-Haas Racing, Rush Truck Centers / Cummins Ford Mustang, Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing , GEARWRENCH Ford Mustang
Photo: Lesley Ann Miller / Motorsport Images
There's never a shortage of pleasure at Bristol Motor Speedway, but the stress mounts even higher on Saturday night when the floodlights flare up within the early morning hours.
“…There’s a different feeling in the air, a different intensity, and that makes the Bristol Night Race even more fun,” Briscoe added. He’s never won a Cup race at BMS, but he’s finished every race he’s entered, which is an accomplishment in itself. Briscoe finished 1,991 of a possible 2,000 laps on the action-packed half-mile within the Cup Series. He’s no stranger to Victory Lane at Bristol either, having won there within the Xfinity Series in 2020. Still, he’s not one to take the volatile short track calmly.
“I feel like Bristol is one of those places where you never feel like you’ve got it covered, not by any means,” he cautioned. “I’ve been able to get the speed there in the past. An Xfinity car and a Cup car definitely race very differently at Bristol. But I feel like I’ve always had the speed at Bristol, I just haven’t been able to put the whole race together, especially on the Cup side. I’ve definitely struggled to get a good result, even when we had the speed. Physically, it’s probably the most demanding race of the year. But I feel like it’s one of my favorite race tracks that we go to. I always look forward to going there and having a great time when I’m there. I just have to find that little bit more. I feel like I’ve got 90 percent of it, I just have to find that other 10 percent.”
Watch: Briscoe celebrates winning the crown after clinching the Southern 500 and a playoff spot
Nothing to lose and the whole lot to realize
Briscoe has the X-factor which means it's over for the team. Furniture Row Racing nearly won the Cup title last 12 months, and GMS Racing got here very near claiming the 2023 Truck Series title before closing its doors. It's not unusual for a race team to perform at its best because the clock ticks toward midnight.
“No other team can match what we’re going through, and no other team has the same excitement that we have, so I think that’s what makes us so scary,” Briscoe said. “We have a lot on our shoulders and there’s a lot of pride in that. We’re just a special racing team right now. And every other team in the playoffs is trying to figure out how to make four cars fast in the playoffs. Hendrick has four cars in the playoffs, JGR has four cars in the playoffs, our place has four cars, but only one of them is in the playoffs, so all the focus is on the 14th car, and I think that makes it a little easier for us.”
“The remaining four-car teams have to focus on all four cars and give it their all on the race track every week,” Briscoe explained.
“And even on the racetrack, everyone will be fighting each other, not giving each other a break. I have three teammates who will do everything they can to help me on the racetrack, and they can race each other a little harder than they would race me. And even with the race cars, we can take the best of the best from each race car, staff, whatever it is, and apply it to our car. So I definitely think there's an advantage to being in the situation we're in compared to them.”
This 12 months can be Briscoe’s second playoff appearance. He entered the identical elimination race nine points below the cutoff in 2022. Yet he advanced, reaching the Round of 8 this 12 months. Back then, and particularly now, many considered him an outsider, however the 29-year-old doesn’t see it that way.
“I don’t consider myself an outsider,” he said. “Some people might write us off, but I and our whole race team feel like we can win it all. It’s probably crazy for a guy who didn’t look like he was going to be in it, but the way we look at it is, if we win the Southern 500, we probably win every race of the season. It’s probably the hardest race to win on the schedule, and the biggest thing for us was that we all thought we could win, but we didn’t know we could win. And now we know we can win, and to do it the way we did, there’s a confidence and a momentum that comes with it that’s unique and I don’t think any other race team can match right now.”
