Ford Notes and Quotes
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Media Availability (Texas Motor Speedway)
Friday, April 6, 2018
Page 1
Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 60 Nutri Chomps Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, met with media members Friday morning at Texas Motor Speedway to discuss his sponsor for the weekend and his season to date.
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 60 Nutri Chomps Ford – YOU HAVE NUTRI CHOMPS ON THE CAR FOR SIX RACES, STARTING THIS WEEKEND HERE AT TEXAS: “Yeah, it is really cool for me. Scott Pet has been with me for kinda my whole stock car career, going back to running for Cunningham in ARCA. We didn’t have a sponsor and the Cunningham family was kind enough to let me run for them. The car was blank and we had a website posted, ChaseBriscoe.com and the Scott Pet owners were watching Talladega and looked me up and saw that we didn’t have a sponsor. They were from Indiana, I am from Indiana and their uncle actually lived 10 minutes from me. They got ahold of me on my website and asked what they could do to sponsor me. That is where the relationship started and it carried over to midget and sprint car stuff and now we are on with Nutri Chomps.”
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH STEWART-HAAS RACING AND HOW THAT WILL WORK WITH ROUSH FENWAY AND HOW LONG IT TOOK TO COME TOGETHER? “We have been trying to figure out how to get me in more races, Ford has. That is why I am doing the sports car stuff and 12 races with Roush. The goal is to get me as many races as I can and the opportunity arose where the Stewart-Haas car was part time. They don’t want to run a full schedule by any means but there was enough time for me to run four or five races. We have been trying for a while. It started out with Joe Custer calling me last November or December and offering me the Talladega race, so I knew I would race at least once and it progressed to four more. I am excited. Their stuff is really fast right now. I don’t know how much SHR and Roush will work together but I know for me to get to drive for two of the best teams is certainly beneficial.”
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE TRANSITION OF GOING FROM TRUCKS TO XFINITY? DIFFERENCES YOU HAVE NOTICED, ELEVATION OF TALENT, HOW COME YOU AREN’T RACING ACROSS THE PARKING LOT LATER ON TODAY: “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. The Xfinity stuff drives so much different from the trucks just from a downforce standpoint and how you get into the corner so much harder with the truck. 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. In the truck series there were eight or nine guys that could realistically win a race and here in Xfinity there are 15 guys that can win a race. It is tougher to run up front. The pit stops is one thing too. In the truck series, pit road is pretty spread out and you can normally get in and out pretty easy but in Xfinity it is so tight. There has been a lot of learning and I look forward to learning here this weekend. As far as the Sprint Car deal, I couldn’t find a ride. It is a 360 and we don’t have a 360.”
HAS IT BEEN DIFFICULT THIS SEASON NOT RACING FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP AND HAVING TO DO VARIOUS THINGS? ARE YOU LOOKING TO ADD MORE RACES TO YOUR XFINITY SCHEDULE IF YOU CAN? “Yeah, it has 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. 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 is just tough with how the weather has been in the midwest. I couldn’t go race Sprint Cars because it keeps raining. It has been hard to jump in and out of different cars but I think it will make me better down the road. I am always trying to add more races, whether it is trucks, ARCA, Xfinity, whatever. It is up to Ford. Whatever they do.”
DO YOU THINK WE COULD SO YOU BACK IN ARCA AGAIN BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR? “I think there is a possibility. Maybe just one race. Honestly it is up to Ford. My relationship with the Cunningham’s is really good and I know they would like me to run one race at least for them but it is honestly Ford’s decision. 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 and I am pushing for it but it is up to them at the end of the day.”
HOW DO YOU APPROACH THIS WEEKEND WITH THE XFINITY CAR KNOWING YOU’VE HAD GOOD RUNS HERE IN THE PAST? “I don’t know what to expect. The Xfinity car drives so different than the truck. This place really surprised all of us last year when we came back for the fall with how different it was from the spring. I don’t know how different it will be after the full winter. I think it will be eye-opening in practice. I know the 60 guys have been working had and have made a lot of gains since the last time I was in the car at Atlanta.”
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.
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