In their final season, Chase Briscoe driving the #14 that his boss, Tony Stewart made so famous, will race for one last championship for Stewart Haas. Briscoe led the final 29 laps of Sunday evening’s Southern 500, holding off Kyle Busch, giving flashbacks of Briscoe’s Xfinity win in 2020. Briscoe was 18th in points coming into Darlington, a must-win like Busch and others. But SHR built a fast Ford Mustang, with Briscoe inside the top five for both stages. That fast Mustang will get to contribute to the lasting legacy of Stewart-Haas, one final time.
For @TonyStewart, for all the SHR employees, for the fans. @ChaseBriscoe_14 and the No. 14 keep on fighting. pic.twitter.com/GHTwWbha6n
— Stewart-Haas Racing (@StewartHaasRcng) September 2, 2024
Chase Briscoe, Darlington, and Stewart-Haas Racing:
Darlington Raceway holds many memories for Stewart-Haas and Chase Briscoe.
It was the first race back for the Xfinity Series after the Covid-19 shutdown. Chase Briscoe was in his second full-time season with Stewart-Haas Racing. With two laps remaining at Darlington, Briscoe led with Kyle Busch following close behind. Coming to the white flag, Briscoe hits the wall near the start-finish line, giving Kyle the lead. In what can be described as a ‘power move’. Briscoe passes Busch on the inside, squeezing the #98 Mustang between the M&M’s Toyota and the wall. He clears the #54 and beats Kyle by a car length at the finish line.
It had been an emotional week for Briscoe; he and his wife announced they had suffered a miscarriage that week. Briscoe was only 25 years old and quite emotional in the victory interview.
This victory would change everything for Chase Briscoe. Darlington was his second of nine wins in 2020. He would win at his home track, Indianapolis Motor Speedway. All would change when in October, Tony Stewart visited Briscoe and his family to tell him personally, that would drive the #14 in the Cup Series in 2021. Stewart was and still is Briscoe’s hero, and Tony said he saw a lot of himself in Chase. Both are incredibly passionate about dirt racing and both are native Hoosiers.
That takes us back to Sunday’s victory. In the last full-time season for his heroes Cup Series team. Briscoe wins one of the toughest races in NASCAR, 500 miles at Darlington. Once again, this was more than just a win, but something incredible emotional for Chase Briscoe.
Briscoe’s Playoff Picture:
It is no secret that Briscoe and the rest of the SHR Cup Series teams have been running poorly. Each team has shown glimpses of speed occasionally. Both Briscoe and his teammate Josh Berry finished top three at New Hampshire. SHR seems to lack consistency, but now is the time to find that. But this win also comes with added positivity.
The 350 employees at Stewart-Haas Racing now have the chance to go out swinging. With Atlanta coming this weekend, don’t be surprised to see a motivated SHR. A car with good qualifying speed like they had in 2022 could help them walk away from the wild card that is Atlanta with solid points.
Can Briscoe make the round of 12, definitely. Can they afford to make a mistake, absolutely not. Now is the time for all of Stewart-Haas racing to rally around the #14 Car, and help it advance as far as possible. To create one last Hall of fame moment for a Hall of Fame worthy team.
