Chase Briscoe 1-on-1: On being the Stewart-Haas veteran, his uncertain future

Chase Briscoe sits 12th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings thanks to consistency — he hasn’t finished outside the top 20 in the last seven races.

That might not sound great, but with four top-10s this year, he already has half of his total from all of last season. His average finish of 14.3 is six spots better than a year ago.

The 29-year-old Stewart-Haas Racing driver talked to FOX Sports about the difference this year, especially at SHR where veterans Kevin Harvick (retired) and Aric Almirola (part-time Joe Gibbs Racing Xfinity program) are no longer there, and Briscoe has more experience (118 Cup starts) than new SHR teammates Noah Gragson and Josh Berry. He also talked about it being an option year (SHR holds the option) for him in a season where SHR’s future as far as whether it will still be a four-car team in 2025 is uncertain.

Last year you had a decent start — you were above the cutline after 10 races. You have six top-20s in a row. And qualifying, you’ve made the top 10 all but a few times. What is going well?

We’ve been way better. Last year, leaving Talladega, we were above the [playoff] outline, barely. But, truthfully, we ran really bad even at the beginning of last year — I don’t really know how we were in even the cutoff position anyway. We ran three weeks in a row in the top 5 and gained a lot of points. But this year, we’ve been really consistent. From just an overall speed standpoint, we’re in a way better spot. This year, we probably don’t finish as good we run a lot of days where last year, at the beginning of the year, we probably finished way better than we ran. We’ve had really good speed, in qualifying all but three weeks, we’ve made the top 10. That says a lot about the race team and where we’re at from a speed standpoint. We’ve just been not the cleanest on execution on Sundays. I haven’t done a great job probably putting the whole race together. Strategy stuff, we’ve been burned by a couple of cautions here and there. And then on pit road, we’ve kind of just struggled the last couple of weeks. I felt like Martinsville was a place where we had a race-winning car and we gave up seven, eight spots on pit road; Texas was kind of the same way. And to win in the Cup Series, you have to be perfect from every angle. And that’s where right now, we’ve had the speed, I feel like, to contend or wins. We just haven’t been able to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. If we can keep this speed going and continue that, I feel like we’re going to be in a really good spot. It’s just a matter of rebuilding that foundation. With how bad we were last year, we were never really in a position where we had to be perfect on pit road and do all these things, trying to figure out all those pieces. But I feel like we’re just in a way better spot from a communication standpoint between [crew chief Richard] Boswell and I and just the whole team, the whole chemistry and even just Stewart-Haas in general. I feel way better about it this year than I’ve truthfully probably felt my whole career at Stewart-Haas.

Are you just rolling off the truck faster? And is that a product of either simulation or something that you’re doing that is allowing for that?

I’m probably one of the only people that feel this way, but I feel like the [new Ford body] Dark Horse has been a huge improvement for us. I know Penske and [others], they probably don’t feel the same. But for us, I feel it’s just opened up our window and given us more performance. We’re in a way better spot from a body standpoint. Our engines, I feel are relatively good. We can always be better in every area, but we’re definitely better than what we were last year. Our simulation, I feel it’s kind of hit or miss. There’s some weeks, I feel it does a really good job. And there’s other weeks where I feel we kind of struggle. We just have been doing a better job of understanding what we need to do going to the race track. Last year, a lot of the time, we were always like, “Man this is the next latest and greatest thing and we’re going to try this this week.” We would never really build on anything. We were always just constantly changing. This year, we’ve tried to be really consistent and just make tiny little tweaks here and there and really run a more consistent setup. It’s given me a lot better feel in the race car, just knowing what I’m going to have every week. I feel I’ve done a lot better job studying this year. And, honestly, a lot of that goes to just having new teammates and being able to work with them a lot more. It’s been a lot better. We’ve been way more structured and just more together when we go to the race track.

Do you have more input in the setups now that maybe you’re the longest-tenured SHR driver? I would imagine that if Kevin Harvick wanted something, he’d get it and that’s the way you guys would come to the track because of his track record? Maybe now it’s more catered to what you and some of the other younger guys want?

Kevin and Aric both could steer the ship a little bit more. But, truthfully, I don’t know what I’m talking about when it comes to setup stuff so I tried to stay out of that completely and just drive the race car and tell them what I think it needs to do better. That’s where I feel like as a company, we’ve probably done a better job of all four teams working together instead of all four of us doing our own individual thing. That’s a lot of the reason just as a whole, we’ve all had more speed. We’ve all been able to help each other and find stuff. We’re still not all four super similar, but there’s two or three of us every week that are a lot alike, so if one of us finds something, we can kind of bounce it off of each other and try it. That’s a lot of the reason why we’ve been better is all four of us are working together more, especially in today’s current landscape of how Cup racing is with the Next Gen. Where in the past, you could all four do your own thing and I felt like it was OK, but with the Next Gen, you’ve got to be as together as you can. And that’s where I feel like we’ve done a really good job this year,

The Dover track is this weekend. You have an Xfinity win there. What about it maybe fits your style, if at all? 

Dover is a weird place because up until the Cup Series, I’ve had really good success there. In the trucks, I was always fast. Xfinity, I was able to win and it’s a place that reminds me of dirt racing — it’s very high commitment, high speed. You can kind of hustle your car around there. The Next Gen, I feel like it’s taken honestly a little bit of that sideways factor out of it. You just can’t run the car sideways anymore like you could, and I’ve struggled there a little bit more in the Next Gen. I don’t really know what to expect going to Dover. That’s probably the one track, when I look at the first half of the season, that’s the one that worries me the most for our team just because as a company, we’ve kind of struggled there, at least on [my No.] 14 car. But I am confident this year we’re in a way better spot, so I’m anxious to go there, I guess. I don’t know. I don’t know what to expect going into there just because it is a place where we’ve kind of struggled in the past and I’ve struggled in the Cup Series for whatever reason.

You’ve mentioned that SHR has an option on you for next year and you’ve also said that maybe this is the pivotal year. Do you feel like you thrive under these conditions? You can’t will a car to go faster.

I definitely feel like my entire career, I’ve just done better when I’m in these heavy–pressure situations for whatever reason. Like you said, you can’t make a slow car go fast. It all kind of comes together where it just so happens those years where it’s seems like it’s high pressure, I’ve always been in better equipment for whatever reason. I definitely feel like this is a pivotal year for me. Even if it not being an option year, your fourth year in the Cup Series, you’ve got to start putting up results. I was able to win my sophomore season [in 2022] and make a deep playoff run, but last year was embarrassing, truthfully, just from how I ran statistically. I felt like I don’t have the excuse anymore of “Hey, you’re still trying to figure this out.” I have over 100 Cup starts now. I need to know what I’m doing and not be making mistakes — even just dumb mistakes. I feel like that’s one thing that I put a lot of pressure on myself, just putting races together now and really maximizing the day. There’s a lot of pressure — even if it wasn’t an option year, I would still feel like there’s a ton of pressure just to go out and prove my worth, especially just with how Stewart-Haas is right now with no veteran guy, I need to prove that I want to be the best guy there. I definitely put a lot of pressure on myself going into this year. And I don’t think that’s really the reason why we ran any better. I think our cars are just better. But it definitely, for whatever reason, when I have a lot of pressure, I seem to run better.

You can’t be the leader and running the worst of the four, right?

Yeah. I remember when we sat down in the offseason, I think you asked me, “Are you the leader now at Stewart-Haas?” And I gave you the same answer I’ll give you now. The reason Kevin Harvick was the leader is he ran the best week in and week out and people listen when you’re the guy running up front every week. That is my goal. Just because I’m there the longest doesn’t make me the leader. The leader is going to be the guy that is running up front the most, and that’s the guy they’re going to listen to. If you’re running 20th on back in the worst car every week, just because you’re the longest guy there doesn’t make you the leader. That’s what I’ve been really trying to focus on, even with Boswell — if we want to change the direction and just how the place is ran, not that it’s ran bad, but if we’re going to be the leaders, we have to lead by example. The only way we’re going to be able to lead by example is by being the best car week in and week out. So far this year, we’ve been able to do that for the most part. I feel really good about where we’re at right now. And if we can just clean up all those little things, I feel like there’s a long way to go. 

I assume you feel if you take care of business, the future will take care of itself?

Yeah for sure. I’ve even told the guys that. Obviously, there’s a ton of rumors going around. And I texted all of our team guys and just said, “Look, if we can just focus on what we can focus on week in and week out, I can assure you if we’re winning races, no matter what shakes out, we’re going to be totally fine.” If you’re winning races and running up front every week, no matter what situation is thrown your way, you’re going to be able to find something. That’s what we’re trying to do. We feel good about where we’re at right now.

You’ve been running your sprint car some? 

I feel like it’s been a huge help. At Texas, that’s a place where every time I’ve went there, I felt like it’s the fastest place we go in the Cup car. And I ran the sprint car that weekend, too and it was the slowest I’ve ever felt Texas was. I know that going to a lot of these [sprint-car] races, I’m probably not going to win the race, but literally the only reason I’m going there is it made me better on Sunday. Every time I go run a sprint car, it just slows everything down so much for me on the Cup side. … When I’ve ran sprint cars the last few years, I’ve ran for other people. This is finally my team and my dad’s running it and it’s been a lot of fun. Going to the racetrack with my dad again is something that I haven’t gotten to do for eight or so years. It’s been fun. It’s just him. He has been working his tail off, but it’s been a lot of fun to go over there and experience that with him. 

Who is a tougher owner — your dad or Tony Stewart?

I can assure you my dad chews me out way more than Tony does. I’ve only got one butt-chewing from Tony. But my dad? He’s literally chewed me out in victory lane before. So my dad is definitely a harder owner, I would say.

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.

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