'Transformation' in Chase Briscoe leads to promotion to Cup
Chase Briscoe’s NASCAR journey has been anything but easy but despite the struggles it continues to be highly rewarding.
On Tuesday, Stewart-Haas Racing confirmed that the 25-year-old Briscoe would be promoted in 2021 to drive the organization’s No. 14 Ford car in the Cup Series, replacing veteran Clint Bowyer, who is moving to the Fox Sports broadcast booth next season.
Briscoe’s move was first reported Monday by Motorsport.com.
HighPoint.com, a customer service and technology solutions company that first began sponsoring Briscoe late last year, will serve as the anchor primary sponsor of his No. 14 car in Cup.
“In the final three races last season, we saw a confidence in Chase that we hadn’t seen before,” SHR co-owner Tony Stewart said. “There was a transformation, and I think those three races last year were a preview of what we were going to see this year.
“He’s delivered time and time again this season and he’s definitely ready for the NASCAR Cup Series.”
Briscoe's phenomenal NXS season
Briscoe has won a series-best nine races so far this season in the Xfinity Series and currently leads the playoff standings heading into Saturday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway. He is already guaranteed to be one of the four drivers competing for the series title in two weeks at Phoenix.
Briscoe is a third-generation racer whose career began on dirt tracks in and around his home state of Indiana. He began racing in sprint cars and at the age of 13 and became the youngest driver to win a 410 sprint car race, breaking the record set by NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon by one year.
He continues to race occasionally on dirt, entering his own midget car at this season’s Chili Bowl Nationals in January.
“I raced with Chase’s dad in USAC sprint cars and in non-wing cars, so to see Chase come up through the ranks like I did brings back memories,” Stewart said. “When it comes to the No. 14 car, I obviously have a passion for having dirt drivers behind the wheel.
“Having had Clint Bowyer in the car and now Chase, it’s special, but also practical. With the lower horsepower package they have in the Cup Series, you have to run these cars a lot freer, and I think that suits a driver with a dirt background. Chase is a guy who would much rather have a loose racecar versus a very tight racecar that won’t turn.
“I always felt better in a Cup car than I did in an Xfinity Series car, and I think he’ll be in the same position.”
Working with Tony Stewart
In his relatively brief stock car racing career, Briscoe won six races and the ARCA Menards Series championship in 2016; he’s won a pair of races in the Truck Series and finished sixth in the series standings in 2017; and he has 11 Xfinity wins in 80 starts dating back to 2018.
“Growing up in Indiana and racing sprint cars, the guy I always looked up to was Tony Stewart. To be able to drive for him is a dream come true,” Briscoe said. “Tony and Gene (Hass) have built something really special in Stewart-Haas Racing. Being a part of it in the Xfinity Series and now, the NASCAR Cup Series, has always been my goal.
“HighPoint and Ford created this opportunity, and my parents, my wife, and Briggs and Beth Cunningham, helped position me for this opportunity. Their support means everything, and it’s all the fuel I need to compete at the Cup level.”
NASCAR lifts suspension of Kyle Larson effective on Jan. 1
Joey Logano "has lived this story once" and it turned out well
Five things we learned from Vasseur’s first Ferrari F1 press call
Ferrari has undergone a winter of upheaval ever since it was announced that boss Mattia Binotto was stepping away from the Formula 1 squad.
Live: Watch the first round of WSK Champions Cup
Grand opening of the WSK season for the first round of the WSK Champions Cup from 25 to 29 January at South Garda Karting.
Rolex 24, Hour 12: MSR Acura leads AXR Cadillac at half-distance
Meyer Shank Racing’s Simon Pagenaud led the field as the clock ticked past the halfway mark in the 61st Rolex 24 Hours, with the AXR Cadillac of Alexander Sims, the WTR Acura and the #6 Porsche in hot pursuit.
Rolex 24, Hour 9: Cadillac back in charge, scare for MSR Acura
Chip Ganassi Racing's #01 Cadillac V-LMDh led the Rolex 24 at Daytona at the nine-hour mark, as the Meyer Shank Racing Acura dropped back following a spin for Helio Castroneves.
The ex-F1 driver taking on NASCAR with a new team
Saddled with uncompetitive Minardi machinery, Tarso Marques didn't manage to score points in his three partial seasons of Formula 1. But now the Brazilian has the chance to show what he can do in NASCAR, and explains the story of his comeback with new Cup Series entrant Team Stange
The early benefits and challenges of NASCAR's Next Gen car
NASCAR’s new stock car generation is encouraging an influx of fresh blood into its top tier. But there are concerns that parts are in short supply as the entire paddock tries to build up stocks at the same time
How Penske's rookie sensation opened NASCAR's new era in style
After holding his nerve and hip-checking his teammate on the run to the line, Austin Cindric made a perfect start to life as a full-timer in the NASCAR Cup Series by winning the Daytona 500. Here's how the Penske Ford man emerged first across the line in the first points-scoring race for the much-anticipated Next Generation cars
Six key themes to follow in the 2022 NASCAR Cup season
There are plenty of uncertainties ahead of the 2022 NASCAR Cup season as an all-new fleet of cars take to the track for the first time. Ahead of this weekend's Daytona 500, our experts explain what you need to know
How NASCAR had to learn a harsh lesson ahead of Next Gen arrival
The NASCAR Cup kicks off with the Daytona 500 this weekend, but a major engine overhaul and a subsequent mountain of work has been required to be ready for the arrival of the Next Gen cars.
How Larson took the long way round to NASCAR Cup glory
From villain to hero, Kyle Larson had to reach his lifelong goal the hard way and go through a very public shaming after a ban for using a racial slur, but his talents shone long before his name grabbed the headlines...
How NASCAR is gearing up for its "biggest change" in 2022
It’s not just Formula 1 that’s set for upheaval in 2022, as the NASCAR Cup series adopts its Next Gen cars that will cast any in-built advantages aside and require teams to adopt a totally new way of operating. Far more than just a change of machinery, the new cars amount to a shift in NASCAR's core philosophy
Why Bubba Wallace’s Talladega win is such a big moment for NASCAR
Bubba Wallace claimed his maiden NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega on Monday to become the first Black victor in the category since Wendell Scott in 1963. Both Wallace and Scott had faced obstacles and racism in their paths to their breakthrough wins, and NASCAR is trying to put it right with its range of diversity programmes
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.