The dreams of Chase Briscoe—and indeed, the dreams of an entire organization—came crashing down at Charlotte’s ROVAL Sunday.
Briscoe made the Playoffs in dramatic fashion with a win at Darlington and was able to advance forward thanks to a steady performance. And with Stewart-Haas Racing destined to vanish into the shadows at season’s end, they threw the kitchen sink, the bathroom tub, and probably the dining table at his effort to stay alive.
But in the end, it simply wasn’t enough.
Briscoe came into the cutoff race for the Round of 8 at the bottom of the standings, and after a poor qualifying effort on Saturday took the green flag 25th, the lowest among the Playoff drivers —looking like a desperate man in desperate times. A flat tire on his Ford on lap 37 began his downfall. He was saved, somewhat, by a caution for debris, which ironically was his tire carcass. Things went from bad to worse when he got a flat tire on lap 37, kicking off what could best be described as a downward spiral. A caution for debris—yes, his own tire carcass—gave him a lifeline, but he came out 27th after pitting. And then, just as hope began to flicker, he clattered into a spinning Austin Dillon, forcing a pit stop for damage inspection.
That damage proved too much, and from there, it was a grim, sad sight, as the crew made their slow march to push the wounded Ford back to the garage. Out of the race, out of the Playoffs.
“It is tough to have all the momentum that we had and to have it come to an end like it did is unfortunate,” he said. “I wish we could have kept going for it. I am sure all the guys that get eliminated wish they could keep going for it, right?
“We knew, I think as a team even, going into it that if we could get through this round, we could get to the final four, but we weren’t able to get through this round.”
The issue for the Ford was a broken steering rack, exacerbated by the contact with Dillon. It’s bad enough when things go sideways, but even worse when you can’t turn the steering wheel. The realization that he needed a miracle to move on seemed to be setting in.
“Realistically we probably weren’t going to move on anyway,” he said. “But on those restarts in Turn 7 we all kind of get stacked up and they all kind of stopped in front of me and it ripped the wheel out of my hand. I could turn to the left but as soon as I got to the right-hander, my car just went straight. I about hit the wall on the backstretch chicane, and then on the front stretch chicane, I hit the 3 car just because I literally couldn’t turn.
“It is an unfortunate way for it to all come to an end. It is part of it, part of racing.”
It ended a somewhat up and down week for Briscoe. His wife Marissa gave birth to their twins earlier in the week. The babies are fine, but Marissa is still suffering from some health problems. It’s safe to say the rollercoaster of emotions hit harder than a Turn 7 pileup.
“Yeah, it has definitely been a tough week with the highest of highs but then everything that Marissa was going through and the playoffs too,” he said. “The racing is one thing but I am more worried about my family at the end of the day and making sure Marissa is okay.
His thoughts turned to the future. Not for him, Briscoe has signed to take over the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for the retiring Martin Truex Jr. next season. But his thoughts were with the team he’s leaving behind, Stewart-Haas Racing, as they edge closer to the abyss.
“It stings,” he said. “Not even really for myself, just all the employees at Stewart-Haas. They were all kind of living through the 14 car, and the environment we have had these last few weeks has been really exciting to be a part of. I hate that it is coming to an end. I know what that means for Stewart-Haas not to be racing for a championship anymore. That was keeping a lot of people, honestly, in the building. Hopefully, the repercussions aren’t too bad, but we have four races left, and we are going to give it everything we’ve got.”
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.