Chase Briscoe, a 22-year old NASCAR Camping World Truck Series racer from Mitchell, Indiana, joined Brad Keselowski Racing this last offseason to pilot the No. 29 Cooper Standard Ford F-150. The season marks the first time ever for Briscoe in the series after scoring the ARCA Racing Series championship in 2016 with Cunningham Motorsports.
The racing expands to at least three generations across the Briscoe family. His grandpa got into racing Sprint Cars on dirt in 1976 and his father followed suit. Eventually, Briscoe’s father gave up racing and that’s when the racing career for Chase Briscoe accelerated.
Before joining Brad Keselowski Racing, Briscoe raced in the ARCA Racing Series. If you’re not familiar with ARCA Racing, it’s sort of a mix between the NASCAR K&N Pro and XFINITY Series, and allows drivers to gain experience at tracks like Daytona and other major facilities around the country.
In 2016, driving for Cunningham Motorsports in the ARCA Racing series, Briscoe showed strong runs by scoring top 10 finishes in all but one of the first nine races. He also started on the pole in four of those events.
In race 10 of the season at Winchester Speedway, Briscoe finally broke through and went to victory lane. He started on the pole for that race and dominated it by leading 142 of the 200 scheduled circuits. In the next three events at Iowa, Lucas Oil Raceway Park, and Pocono, Briscoe took his No. 77 Ford to three straight victories – scoring four wins in a row.
The next four events resulted in finishes inside the top 10. In race 18 at Chicagoland Speedway, Briscoe parked his No. 77 Ford for Cunningham Motorsports back into victory lane for the fifth time of the year. In race 19 at Kentucky, with one more race remaining in the season, the Indiana native finished 22nd after being involved in a four-car crash on lap 76. The 22nd-place finish was Briscoe’s worst finish of the year.
At Kansas Speedway, marking the end of the season for the series, Briscoe started on the pole as a light, but steady rain, washed out the morning practice session for the Kansas 150. ARCA officials had no choice but to cancel qualifying and use that scheduled time for a final practice session.
Briscoe knew that he just needed a smooth and steady race when the event got underway. He would do just that by scoring his sixth win of the year and securing the championship for the team.
He finished the season with 14 top five and 18 top 10 finishes. During the 20 race schedule, Briscoe had an average start of 4.0 and an average finish of 5.2 and completed 98.9 percent of the laps ran.
With the success shown last year in ARCA, Briscoe doesn’t have plans for any ARCA races in 2017.
“As of right now, I don’t have any plans to run the ARCA stuff,” Briscoe told SpeedwayDigest.com in an interview. “I might race one or two dirt races when the truck series season is over. But no ARCA stuff as of now.”
With all the success shown in ARCA, Briscoe had an opportunity of a lifetime come his way.
The opportunity was a full-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series ride under the Brad Keselowski Racing banner and Ford Performance. Keselowski, a driver known to give chances to talented aspiring drivers like Briscoe, as Dale Earnhardt Jr. gave Keselowski in the NASCAR XFINITY Series long ago, is a former XFINITY and premier series champion.
“It was a huge deal. To be associated with Brad’s team and everybody at Ford Performance is definitely huge,” Briscoe told SpeedwayDigest.com. “It’s a step in my career that was definitely one that I was needing to take if I was wanting to progress. It’s kinda the natural progression after ARCA to move on into the truck series. So, to be able to do that with such a great team was definitely a big deal.”
Since starting his own Camping World Truck Series team, Keselowski has fielded trucks for Parker Kligerman, Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick, Austin Theriault, and Daniel Hemric. A total of 16 drivers have raced a truck for Keselowski over the last 10 years.
What was it like for Briscoe to be reached out by such a standout driver and team owner?
“It was definitely super awesome to be reached out from Brad, just because as a driver that’s somebody I look up to,” he said. “To be with the team and to the caliber of his team is definitely a big deal, as I got some of the best equipment there is. It was definitely humbling for sure, but a blessing at the same time. So, I can’t thank everybody enough for the opportunity.”
Naturally, when switching series to series, there are required adjustments a driver must make. Those include a completely new race vehicle, tire combination, pit crew and team members, formats, and other things. Briscoe spoke about the transition from ARCA to the truck series.
“They definitely drive totally different. The trucks are so much bigger moving through the air than an ARCA car,” when asked about the difference. “So, it certainly drives totally different. Still trying to learn how they drive differently. They drive totally different around other trucks. Obviously, Daytona you cannot learn a ton as far as aero goes. But Atlanta was certainly a big change. We’ll continue to improve throughout the season.”
Another is the competition across both series.
“I think the biggest jump is the competition,” said Briscoe. “ARCA only has around eight or 10 guys that can go out and win each and every race, where the Camping World Truck Series has around 20 guys that can go out and win each and every race. So just a lot tighter competition.”
With two Camping World Truck Series races in the books in 2017, Briscoe wants to continue growing the relationship between he and the crew members. He believes that having a strong bond with them will generate success at the track and in the race shop. This is one thing that he hopes to improve on as the series goes along from track-to-track.
“I think the main thing is me being with a new team is to keep growing our relationship and build onto our relationship. I think it’s one of the biggest things that determines your success. Your relationship with your guys,” he said. “Having this month off, you know we get to go to Martinsville to race, and then we have another month off. So, it’ll be good having a lot of team building time between there to just get to know these guys more and more and build that trust with them. I think that is the main thing we gotta work on over the next couple of months.”
The series is into its first of two month-long breaks and will not race until Saturday, April 1 at Martinsville Speedway. The series will then go into another month-long break and not return until Kansas Speedway on Friday, May 12th. Briscoe hopes that he and the team will have a good run at Martinsville to make the second month-long break easier.
“You always wanna get back into a race-car each and every week, but that is the schedule you’re dealt with in the truck series. Hopefully we’ll have a good run going into that month off. It’s certainly disappointing when you have a bad run and you have to sit there for a month off to really think about it and what you could’ve done different. Hopefully we’ll go into Martinsville and have a good run and continue to build that momentum.”
Brad Keselowski Racing did not just welcome Briscoe to a full-time ride in 2017. The team also signed Austin Cindric to pilot the No. 19 Ford F-150. That means both rides at the organization are piloted by rookie drivers. Briscoe said having Cindric as a teammate is nice because the two were teammates a little bit last year in the ARCA Racing Series.
“Austin (Cindric) and I were teammates last year a little bit in the ARCA Series. So, it’s nice going into the season with him and know how he works. Me and Austin are around the same age and it’s just fun. On the race weekend’s it’s kinda hard because of how difficult it is but we try to help each other as much as possible, and bounce ideas off of each other. It’s been really good working with Austin so far. I know that there are some places where I’ll struggle and really need his help. He’s gonna be a great teammate to have this year.”
When it comes to team owner Brad Keselowski, Briscoe is still in the process of getting to know him.
“Brad is really good about always being there for you if you have a question or just need something,” he said. “Brad also really likes giving you your space and learning the hard way. But if you have a question he’s always the first guy there to give you an answer. It’s been fun getting to know him. I just met him a couple of months ago for the first time so I’m still getting to know him the best that I can.”
This season, NASCAR introduced a new points format for the top-three NASCAR National Series. The system awards drivers based on their running position across three stages throughout the event.
The top 10 drivers each receives points, ranging from 10 for being first and one for running 10th, after the first two stages. The winner of each stage will also receive one playoff point. When the race is over, drivers are awarded points like a normal race.
Many drivers like Briscoe love the new format because it awards a driver based on running position throughout the race. It also creates competition whenever the stages come down to the wire for that last spot. The young driver also noted where some drivers finished consistently in the stages sit in the points despite having problems in the final stage of the race.
“You saw a lot of guys really good in the first two stages and getting crashed at the end of the races are still good in points. I think it pays to be running upfront and feel like if you have confidence in the team it’s the kind of format you want. It certainly pays off if you if you run bad at the end of the race as long as you’ve been running good upfront. I personally like it. I’m excited to see it in action more and more and I’m a big fan of it so far.”
However, with the new format, it does not change how Briscoe approaches the upcoming race. He noted that there is so much to prove in a series like the Camping World Truck Series that you must go out and give 100 percent each and every lap. He also noted that you must always be up on the wheel and try to lead every lap and win every stage of the race.
Every young racer out there usually holds a list of tracks that they look forward to racing at. We asked Briscoe to list just one. But, instead, listed three tracks, two that he’s never raced at before, that he cannot wait to get to later this year. Those tracks include Eldora Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, and Iowa Speedway.
“I would say that the three are Eldora, because I’m a dirt guy, so obviously, I’m really excited to go there. Bristol, and I’ve never raced there, but typically I like high-banked places where I can run around the fence, so I’m looking forward to getting there for the first time,” Briscoe said. “And then Iowa. Iowa was a track I got to run at last year in the ARCA Series, so I’m really excited to get there in a truck.”
One track that Briscoe enjoyed racing at recently was Atlanta Motor Speedway – a track that the series visited just over a week ago. It is generally a driver favorite because of its rough and worn out racing surface that create numerous challenges for the driver behind the wheel.
Unfortunately, the 1.5-mile track will need repaving soon. Fortunately, after receiving views from drivers following the race weekend there, the track announced that they will give it a second look.
Briscoe says he hope that they don’t repave it.
“I certainly hope they don’t repave it. It was my first time going there and it is by far my favorite track I have ever raced at,” said Briscoe when asked about Atlanta. “There’s really no grip so you’re really just sliding around. You can ride along the fence or ride along the bottom. For me – I hope they leave it like that forever. Seems like more when they repave places it makes them so fast that you’re pretty much wide open, and that makes it harder to race at. I’m hoping they don’t repave it as I had a blast there.”
Another track that made headlines surrounding the Camping World Truck Series lately was the announcement regarding Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The track out west announced a second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series visit – with the Camping World Truck and XFINITY Series also there both times as a companion.
Briscoe is happy to see two Camping World Truck Series races at Las Vegas because having the series with the premier series puts the truck series on an even bigger showcase. The young driver will not race at the track until late September as a stand-alone event.
“I think it’s really cool that we’ll get to go to Vegas twice,” Briscoe told SpeedwayDigest.com. “I think Vegas is a real cool town to go to and they seem to always pack the place. It’s a cool area to go to and I think it’ll be really cool to go there with the cup series cars on both weekends. I feel like it’s really special to be in the truck series to be able to go race with the cup series guys, because it puts you on a bigger showcase. We do run good having those guys there and it’s obviously good for your career. I’m excited and looking forward to it.”
If the schedule stays relatively the same, the race at Las Vegas eliminates an off weekend early in the season. This is something that fans have been asking for quite some time.
Briscoe entered the season opener at Daytona without ever running in the truck series before. However, it wasn’t his first event at Daytona, as he raced there in the ARCA Racing Series the year prior.
In his Camping World Truck Series debut at Daytona, Briscoe started the night 16th on the leaderboard. With a wreck-filled season opener that featured six cautions involving much of the field, Briscoe had mostly a clean evening, despite catching a piece of the accident on lap three involving 13 other trucks on the frontstretch.
The crew were able to continue throughout the race staying clean – ending stage one in sixth to earn four additional driver points. When stage two ended 20 laps later, Briscoe sat outside the top 10.
Capitalizing on numerous crashes that plagued numerous drivers, the 22-year old quietly made his way to the front of the field. Dodging spinning trucks on the backstretch on the final lap, Briscoe was able to avoid it all to finish third in his first ever NASCAR national series race.
“My first Truck Series race was pretty wild from start to finish; this kind of racing will make your hair go white. I had a really fast Cooper Standard Ford F-150 all weekend, and everyone on the team did a great job,” Briscoe said after the Nextra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona. “I honestly have no idea how we made it through that last big wreck. I felt like we were in a really good position on the last restart: we restarted third and kind of got bottled up on the bottom and lost track position. I just stayed tight to the line and got through it. My spotter, TJ Majors, was incredible. We got a few more spots and a solid finish by getting through that wreck, and my guys get to load up that truck in one piece, which is big.”
Despite all of that, Briscoe apologized to team owner Brad Keselowski and teammate Austin Cindric for the lap three accident.
“I want to apologize to Brad [Keselowski] and my teammate Austin Cindric; I am torn up about the fact that I had anything to do with that wreck at the beginning of the race that took Austin out,” he said after the race. “I hate it for everyone on the No. 19 team. Overall, to have my first start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with BKR in the Cooper Standard Ford was awesome. Hopefully we can head to Atlanta Motor Speedway next weekend and get BKR its first win of the season.”
With the momentum gained at Daytona, Briscoe went into Atlanta looking to continue that with his new No. 29 team.
In the opening Camping World Truck Series practice at Atlanta, Briscoe sat atop the leaderboard at its conclusion. In the second practice and final practice later that day, the young racer sat inside the top five – giving the team even more momentum going into qualifying and the race.
In round one of qualifying, which featured a single truck / two rounds format, Briscoe sat in the runner-up spot behind eventual pole sitter Christopher Bell. In the final round of knockout qualifying, he sat fourth on the leaderboard – earning him a fourth-place starting spot for the Active Pest Control 200.
When the race got underway, Briscoe stayed inside the top 10 through the end of stage one. Finishing eighth in that stage, the team elected to come down pit road for four tires, fuel, and adjustments.
Later in the race, Briscoe ran into an issue that would ultimately impact his finish. That’s when he reported a tire going down, leaving him with no choice but to enter pit road. While doing so, the flat tire came off the wheel, wrapping itself in the truck and forcing the team to make multiple pit stops to correct the issue.
When the Active Pest Control 200 concluded, Briscoe finished 25th and three laps down.
“Our finish tonight was really unfortunate. I had a fast Cooper Standard Ford F-150 this weekend; I believe we had a truck that was capable of winning the race,” Briscoe said after the race at Atlanta. “We had a flat left-rear tire after our first pit stop, and once the tire got wrapped up in there, it took us a while to get going again. It’s a part of racing; it was something we couldn’t control and can’t change. My Brad Keselowski Racing team did a great job and gave me such a good truck. If we do that week after week, that’s all you can ask for. We can only go on to Martinsville and hope to get a better result.”
With two Camping World Truck Series races in the books, Briscoe sits eighth in the driver standings as the series heads to Martinsville Speedway early next month. That race will air live on FOX Sports 1 at 2:30 p.m. ET. on April 1st. You can also hear radio coverage provided by the Motor Racing Network and on SiriusXM Channel 90.
About Me: Brett has been following the sport of NASCAR since the beginning of the 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Since Brett was 13, he has had a passion of chasing a job in sports that not many get the opportunity of doing. He has been in the NASCAR media since the middle of the 2010 season. Since then, he has been a part of many racing podcast shows to improve his talents. He has written for racingonfuel.com and theracingwheel.com. Currently, Brett writes for motorsportsnat.com and TracksideChatter.com. You can find him on twitter @NASCAR_Brett.
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