Briscoe gets new pit crew and continues countdown to fatherhood as Playoff pressure mounts

KANSAS CITY, KANSAS - SEPTEMBER 28: Chase Briscoe, driver of the #14 Mahindra Tractors Ford, waits on the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by ESPN BET at Kansas Speedway on September 28, 2024 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
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The pit crew servicing Chase Biscoe’s car this weekend won’t be the same group that helped propel him into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs with an 11th-hour win at Darlington and subsequently into the Round of 12.

Briscoe learned Monday of a swap that will bring the crew of the No. 4 Ford of Josh Berry to his No. 14 Mustang. Briscoe is the only Stewart-Haas Racing driver to have qualified for the Playoffs this season.

“The pit crew thing is tough, because the guys that I’ve had have been on it for the last year and a half… they got changed whenever (Kevin) Harvick was in the Playoffs, so I’m back kind of with my original guys,” Briscoe said.

From Berry’s car, Briscoe gets front tire changer Daniel Coffey, rear tire changer Daniel Smith, tire carrier Mason Flynt, fueler Evan Marchal and jackman Brandon Banks.

Berry will be working with front tire changer Shayne Pipala, rear tire changer Dakota Ratcliff, tire carrier Jon Bernal, fueler Corey Coppola, and jackman Kap Fletcher.

“Last week was a struggle, right?” Briscoe said of his pit crew’s performance in last Saturday’s Round of 16 elimination race at Bristol. “We had a couple of bad pit stops, but there’s tons of races that I have bad mistakes, too, and it’s just a tough situation all the way around.

“You don’t want guys to be on the 14 and get kicked off, but that’s the decision that was made and you’ve got to just try to move on from it. I told Josh on the way over here today that your pit crew has got to be on it this weekend. They’ve got a lot to prove.”

Complicating Briscoe’s weekend is his status on baby watch. He and wife Marissa are expecting twins.

“If I get a call, I told her the earliest I’ll probably be home is 7 o’clock by the time I would get on a plane,” Briscoe said. “Coach Joe Gibbs (whom Briscoe will drive for next year) has been super awesome about telling me I can use his plane if something happens. I have to practice. I have to qualify, and I have to race.

“So, yeah, I mean, I’m here. We’re in the Playoffs. Obviously, if I wasn’t in the Playoffs, I would be home if something happened. The contingency plan is I’m here to race for championship. Marissa understands that.

“It obviously would get tricky if it comes at certain times, but I even told (crew chief) Richard (Boswell) if it happens during the race, don’t tell me. Just tell me as soon as we take the checkered flag, “Hey look, Marissa went into labor,’ so I can get out of the car and just go as fast as I can.”