NASCAR Cup Talladega
'Comfortable' in NASCAR, Briscoe returns to dirt racing roots
Feeling far more established as a NASCAR Cup Series driver, Chase Briscoe is ready to get back to his roots – which means more racing.
Jim Utter
Published: Apr 22, 2022, 3:38 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Taking a page out of the Kyle Larson playbook – the reigning Cup Series champion who also races numerous dirt events each year – Briscoe is set to vastly expand his own non-NASCAR racing schedule.
While the 27-year-old native of Mitchell, Ind., has run a couple dirt races at most the past few years in addition to his NASCAR schedule, his primary focus has been on his fulltime rides, first in the Xfinity and then the Cup series beginning last year.
Now with support from his Stewart-Hass Racing team, a growing confidence from success on the track and now some important financial backing, Briscoe is embarking on a daunting schedule of 25 or so dirt events this year, racing both in familiar classes and some new ones.
The new adventure even has a cool nickname: “The Chase’N Dirt Tour.”
“In 2018, that part-time year I did in NASCAR, I ran like 25 to 30 dirt races but from then on, 2019, 2020, I didn’t run anything other than the Chili Bowl. In 2021, I think I ran two sprint car races and that was it,” Briscoe told Motorsport.com.
“I just wanted to focus on the pavement side. I didn’t feel like I was really established as a NASCAR driver. I feel a lot more comfortable now than I was at that point of my career. Now I feel like I have my feet on the ground a little bit more.
“The (outside) racing was definitely something I still wanted to do but I didn’t want it to be my main focus, I wanted it to be the NASCAR stuff first.”
Mahindra Ag North America signed on with SHR last December to become the primary sponsor of Briscoe’s No. 14 Ford this season.
While Mahindra did announce at the time it would also sponsor Briscoe’s entry in the 2022 Chili Bowl, this week the Houston-based company agreed it to serve as the primary sponsor of Chase Briscoe Racing for a round of summer dirt racing.
Beginning with this weekend’s 360 sprints at the Talladega (Ala.) Short Track, Briscoe will compete in a series of more than 25 races in five different classes of dirt racing that includes midgets, sprint and late models.
Briscoe now has the NASCAR career of which he dreamed and the opportunity to continue to compete in the racing that originally drew him to the sport.
“Mahindra has been an amazing partner for myself and Stewart-Haas Racing and now doing the grassroots stuff with them, it’s going to be a lot of fun and I’m really looking forward to it,” he said.
“I probably would have run about five races on my own this year but the dirt late model, the micro (sprints) and stuff like that, there’s no way without Mahindra I’d be doing all that. They have definitely made a lot of things possible that I wouldn’t have been able to do on my own.
“I can’t express how excited I am to try all these things.”
Read Also:
Back to his roots
Dirt racing isn’t just a hobby for Briscoe, it’s how he grew up – literally.
Briscoe is a third-generation racer whose career began on dirt tracks in and around Indiana. SHR co-owner Tony Stewart raced with Briscoe’s dad, Kevin, in USAC sprint cars and in non-wing cars. Chase’s grandfather, Richard, worked as a car owner for drivers like Rich Vogler and Dave Blaney.
Stewart witnessed Chase come up through the open-wheel ranks of sprint cars and midgets on his way to NASCAR, just as Stewart did in the mid-1990s on his way to IndyCar and then NASCAR.
Dirt racing is how Briscoe learned to drive and what propelled him into his stock car career, where he’s found success in every series in which he’s competed.
Briscoe won six races and the ARCA Menards Series championship in 2016; 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 85 starts dating back to 2018.
After claiming rookie of the year honors in Cup in 2021, Briscoe won his first series race earlier this year at Phoenix and is currently 10th in the points standings and virtually assured a berth in the playoffs.
While Briscoe was hesitant for a while to venture outside NASCAR competition while still proving himself, he now believes the additional racing can do nothing but make him an even better driver.
“NASCAR is my primary focus but I do think going and running other things does make you a better race car driver. With the landscape we find ourselves in now where you get 15 minutes of
practice when you show up, I think getting to race as much as you can helps make you better on Sundays,” he said.
“Obviously, with the success that Larson has had and a couple of the other guys, I think it’s opened the owners’ eyes – and even the drivers’ eyes – a little bit more to go run other things.”
Briscoe said SHR, and especially Stewart, has always encouraged him to race so long as it didn’t detract from his Cup Series schedule.
“I’ve tried to be smart about my schedule and where I’m running. Sprint-car wise I stayed away from the big tracks, focused more on the little bullrings and made my schedule where I’m not racing much after Fridays,” he said.
“Tony has been a huge advocate for racing as much as you can because he thinks it makes you better.”
Fitting in
For Briscoe, the start to the 2022 Cup season – including his first career win – has been the motivating factor in seeking a return to the racing that launched his career.
“Anytime you run up front consistently, you feel more secure and you feel like you’re needed or wanted. To keep running up front this season is the one thing that has really helped me from a confidence standpoint,” he said.
“It’s not been just one week we’ve been up front. Outside of one or two weeks, we’ve been in the top-five most of the races. We don’t always finish up there. We might have something crazy happen at the end.
“But I feel my team believes in me a lot. I don’t feel like I have to sell myself to my team guys anymore. They believe in me and the whole company believes in me, which is a really good feeling to have.”
Even today, it’s hard for Briscoe to believe he was still searching for his first NASCAR ride less than seven years ago.
There was even a time during the 2018 season when he felt he was going to lose the part-time Xfinity Series opportunity that had been provided him by Ford and Roush Racing.
But after several sub-par races, Briscoe won on the Charlotte Roval that fall and was signed to a fulltime ride co-owned by SHR and Fred Biagi for the 2019 season.
Briscoe won again in 2019 and finished fifth in the series standings. In 2020, he led the series with nine victories and finished fourth in the standings. SHR signed him to drive for its No. 14 Cup team – a ride that once belonged to Stewart – beginning in 2021.
“It’s humbling. It was just about 6 ½ years ago I was volunteering and trying to do whatever I could to race,” he said. “Now to be in the Cup Series, but not just in the Cup Series but driving for the team and the car you always wanted to drive for.
“Getting to do all these different things – things I would never in a million years thought I’d be able to do. It’s a little overwhelming at times but also a lot of fun.
“In just these last three to five months and not just at the race track, all those things – having a family, having fans recognize you more, all of it – it’s just crazy.”
Chase’N Dirt Tour
(confirmed dates)
April 22 Talladega dirt (360 sprint)
April 23 Talladega dirt (360 sprint)
April 27 Brownstown (late model)
May 11 Charlotte (late model)
May 12 Charlotte (late model)
May 23 Millbridge (midget)
May 24 Millbridge (midget)
June 1 Tri City (late model)
June 3 Tri City late model & 410 sprint)
July 1 Plymouth (410 sprint)
July 2 TBA (410 sprint)
July 27 Indianapolis (midget)
July 28 Indianapolis (midget)
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Daytona 500 champ Cindric sees Talladega as "a desperate race"
Next article NASCAR Cup Talladega schedule, entry list and how to watch
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jim Utter
Erik Jones agrees to multi-year contract extension with Legacy Motor Club
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Erik Jones agrees to multi-year contract extension with Legacy Motor Club
Goodyear's option tires at Richmond "were like Mario Kart with a star"
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Richmond II
Goodyear's option tires at Richmond "were like Mario Kart with a star"
NASCAR: Austin Dillon move was "really close to crossing the line"
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Richmond II
NASCAR: Austin Dillon move was "really close to crossing the line"
Latest news
Pedro Acosta proposes new idea for monitoring tyre pressure in MotoGP
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP 34 min
Pedro Acosta proposes new idea for monitoring tyre pressure in MotoGP
“Just a disaster” – How Isack Hadjar’s nightmare Singapore F1 weekend unfolded
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
1 h
“Just a disaster” – How Isack Hadjar’s nightmare Singapore F1 weekend unfolded
Tom Cruise interested in racing ARCA car, per NASCAR CEO Steve O'Donnell
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
7 h
Tom Cruise interested in racing ARCA car, per NASCAR CEO Steve O'Donnell
Gibbs, Spire and Gabehart argue over contempt and injunction
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
10 h
Gibbs, Spire and Gabehart argue over contempt and injunction
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.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe