Chase Briscoe said "it's been tough" not competing for a championship

Briscoe, 23, competed full-time in the ARCA series in 2016 and won the championship. Last season, he competed full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship, won one race and finished sixth in the series standings.

But 2018 arrived without a full-time NASCAR opportunity for Briscoe after Brad Keselowski elected to shutter his Truck Series program.

With help from Ford Performance, Briscoe was able to secure 12 races in the Xfinity Series this season with Roush Fenway Racing and some sports car racing. Recently, he added five more Xfinity races with Stewart-Haas Racing, in conjunction with Biagi-DenBeste Racing.

Still, Briscoe admits “it’s been tough.”

“The whole reason you race is to win championships. Going from winning the ARCA championship and then last year in the truck feeling like we had a chance to win the championship to now being part time. It is hard to deal with,” Briscoe said Friday at Texas Motor Speedway.

“For me, trying to learn the Xfinity deal it is hard when you race once and then don’t race again for a month and a half. It is tough. I got to go do Sebring a couple weeks ago and then it is a three or four week break.

“It has been hard to jump in and out of different cars but I think it will make me better down the road.”

Briscoe has competed just once in the Xfinity Series so far this season, starting 18^th and finishing 15^th at Atlanta for Roush.

“I have only gotten to run one race and going into Atlanta we didn’t test so just showing up and racing was a big learning curve for me and honestly pretty humbling,” he said. “The Xfinity stuff drives so much different from the trucks just from a downforce standpoint and how you get into the corner.”

“It took me a while to get used to. It felt like it would drive like the ARCA car but it didn’t at all. Competition wise, it is tougher at every level you go to. It always gets tougher.”

Briscoe said he continues to look for new ways to expand his on-track schedule.

“I am always trying to add more races, whether it is Trucks, ARCA, Xfinity, whatever. It is up to Ford. Whatever they do,” he said.

Briscoe said his previous relationship with Cunningham Motorsports may produce at least one ARCA start this season for the former series champion.

“I think there is a possibility. Honestly it is up to Ford. If it is going to be beneficial to me in the Xfinity stuff then I would do it. If it is a track where it won’t benefit me for the Xfinity car then I don’t think there is a reason to do it.

“That said, I am all about doing what will benefit me in the Xfinity stuff.”