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Stewart-Haas Racing will be shutting down at the end of the year, and the entire four-car team is rallying around Chase Briscoe as he tries to do the impossible. No one expected the No. 14 Ford to make the playoffs, but a dramatic win in the final race of the regular season made it a reality. Few said he would advance beyond the first round, but again, he did while champions such as Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski were eliminated.
Oh, and his wife Marissa Briscoe just gave birth to twins.
Briscoe now enters the cut-off race last in the playoff standings, 32 points back. His goal is simple: all or nothing.
“I think for us, it’s honestly better that we’re kind of in the position that we are being 32 out or whatever it is versus 15 just because if you’re 15 to even 20, that is doable,” explained Briscoe. “Where we’re 30 (down), at least for us, we’re just looking at it as a must win. You could maybe point your way in, but a lot of things would have to go your way. I think it honestly opens up a lot for us from a strategy standpoint of just going in with the approach of flipping the track position and everything else.
“So yeah, to be below the cut line is obviously unfortunate, but honestly, I would much rather it be 30-something points than 15 just because I think it makes it a little clearer of what you need to do from a strategy standpoint. And out of all the tracks in this round, this is the one where I feel the most confident to come and battle for the win, so hopefully we can do that.”
Race winner Chase Briscoe, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford Mustang
Photo by: Danny Hansen / NKP / Motorsport Images
SHR has 323 employees and many still have uncertain futures. Briscoe is not one of them, as he has already signed with Joe Gibbs Racing to pilot the No. 19 Toyota next year. Even still, he was at the shop all week and noted that, “I don’t feel worried at all.” It’s actually a very similar predicament to the one he faced entering the regular season finale at Darlington.
“I honestly feel a lot like I did going into the Darlington week, where I know that we can win here. We’ve done it before in the Xfinity level, but this is a track I feel really good about. Our road course stuff has been really good. If you look at Watkins Glen and things like that. So I’m not really nervous. There’s not a whole lot that I feel like isn’t capable by our team when we do everything right.
“It’s just going to take a good weekend, and with where we’re at in the points I feel like it makes it easier to win the race just because you don’t have to put yourself where you get the points then you restart 20th every single time. You can just flip the track position and you’re gonna start up front every time, so I feel really good about it truthfully.”
Birth of twins and complications for wife Marissa
However, he has been a bit distracted when it comes to preparing for the battle ahead. Chase and his wife Marissa welcomed twins this week (Cooper Banks Briscoe & Collins Ivy Briscoe), but it was not without complications as his wife went to the ER twice.
“She’s had a lot of issues after,” explained Briscoe. “So hopefully I can get done quick here and get back home. The babies are good. They’re super small. I did not expect them to be as small as they are. But yeah, I’m definitely not getting a lot of sleep. Trying to be the best dad and play mom at the same time just with how bad Marissa has been struggling. It’s been a busy week. I probably haven’t focused a whole lot on racing, truthfully, but I’m excited to get the car today just from that standpoint of trying to zone everything that I’ve had going on all week. I feel feel good about it. Being a father of three has been really cool. It has been cool to see Brooks (oldest child) transition into the big brother role already and just hoping that Marissa will be okay and get back to her.”
Briscoe admitted he’s only been getting about four or five hours of sleep every night leading into this pivotal race, detailing just how ‘chaotic’ the week has been off the track and how he’s been able to deal with it all.
Chase Briscoe and wife Marissa Briscoe
Photo by: NASCAR Media
“I think for me, my faith is a big one and then just having a really good support system, between Marissa’s parents and my parents doing everything they can to just make it easier for both of us,” said Briscoe. “It’s chaos, I’m not gonna lie. Just, you know, with Marissa being at the ER right now, not wanting to bring four-day-old twins into the ER, so they’re out in the parking lot with my mom and she’s pumping and running milk out there, so, you know, then I’m going back and forth.
“So, I mean, it’s chaotic, but without that support system and without that family support, it would be way harder. That being said, as chaotic of a week as it’s been, it could be a lot worse, right? There’s a lot worse things that we could be going through, and it could be a lot harder for us. We’ve got it pretty good still. I think just my faith and then having that support system definitely makes it a little bit easier to just not get lost in the chaos.”
Briscoe starts further back than any of the 12 playoff drivers after qualifying 25th at the Roval. However, as he won’t have to go after stage points, he can perhaps gain some easy track position over those around the bubble who are forced to points race. He’ll also have to contend with blistering fast ringers such as Shane van Gisbergen and A.J. Allmendinger, who both start at the very front of the field.