Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Hollywood Casino 400 | Kansas Speedway
Saturday, September 28, 2024
Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Stewart-Haas Racing, met with media members Saturday morning.
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse
IN 2022 IN THE PLAYOFF RACE YOU WERE 13TH AND THAT WAS ON THE PATH TO YOU MAKING THE ROUND OF 8. DO YOU GUYS FEEL LIKE THAT’S A GOOD BENCHMARK TO SET YOURSELF UP FOR THIS ROUND OR DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU NEED TO HAVE THE DARLINGTON BRISTOL-CLASSIC PERFORMANCE THIS WEEKEND?
“Yeah, the Darlington Bristol-style performance would definitely be a big help for sure. We were talking about it earlier this week and feel like we definitely need to try to maximize this race just with Talladega and the Roval being unpredictable. I do think if we can come out of here 12th or 13th, and get some stage points, it should put you at least in the hunt. You’re not going to start at huge depths like you did at Atlanta. So that’s for sure a focus. This has probably not been our best racetrack, so we’ve got some work to do, but I am confident that we’re going to be the best we’ve been here in a long time.”
IT’S BEEN SINCE MAY SINCE YOU GUYS ACTUALLY RACED ON A TRUE MILE-AND-A-HALF TRACK BUT NOW YOU’VE GOT THREE IN THE PLAYOFFS SO GIVEN HOW MUCH TIME HAS PASSED, HOW GOOD DO YOU FEEL ABOUT WHAT YOU GUYS COULD DO AT THOSE TRACKS WITH YOUR PROGRAM?
“Yeah, it is crazy to think the last time we ran one of these was in May, right? But I think for us, honestly probably the closest comparison to a mile and a half would be Darlington. Aero does make a little bit of an issue there. This track does have a little bit of tire fall off, like a place like Darlington does. Obviously, not near as extreme. The speeds are way slower, but as far as a mile and a half style race, out of everything we’ve done recently, that’s the closest comparison. I thought from where we were in April or whenever it was we raced Darlington the first time to where we are last time we went there was quite a bit different so I think if we can just make our program kind of make that same jump then it should be way better. Last time we came here we were able to qualify in the final round and do things like that so I’m confident that we should be able to be in the mix but it’s still obviously going to take execution and just a full complete weekend. That’s the difference in the playoffs it doesn’t take just a full complete day. It really takes the whole weekend and you know it starts in practice and obviously qualifying. That’s something that we’ve been really good at these last couple weeks.”
HOW REWARDING IS IT TO YOU AND THE 14 TEAM KNOWING THAT PEOPLE DIDN’T EXPECT YOU TO MAKE IT TO THIS ROUND?
“Yeah, it’s nice. I think internally we all knew what we were capable of, especially once we got into the playoffs and just the momentum and the confidence that that brought. It’s honestly been kind of similar to 2022 in that sense where everybody said that we were going to be out the first round and we kind of knew that we were way better of a team than that. So from that standpoint, it’s been fun to kind of bust everybody’s brackets again. Hopefully we can do like the last time and make a really deep playoff run. I feel like we’re way stronger now than we’ve ever been as a team. Even when we did that in 2022, we just had like some really good weeks. We still weren’t really that fast, like Texas and Vegas. We were running 30th a lot of that race and just kind of salvaged the top five. Where right now I feel like we’re in a totally different space. We’re running up front, we’re one of the faster cars, so I feel really good about it and hopefully we can just keep proving people wrong.”
HOW DEMORALIZING WOULD IT BE TO KIND OF WATCH THINGS DISAPPEAR IF SOMETHING CRAZY HAPPENS NEXT WEEK AT TALLADEGA BECAUSE SOMETIMES IT’S COMPLETELY OUT OF YOUR HANDS, OUT OF YOUR CONTROL, KIND OF LIKE WHAT YOU EXPERIENCED AT ATLANTA.
“I definitely have experience with that, just from Atlanta and even the Truck Series. The reason I didn’t make the Final Four was Talladega. So it’s tough, just because there it is out of your control to a certain extent, but also it’s the same for the other 11 guys I’m racing. They all have to go to Talladega too. So it’s the cards that you’re dealt and you just gotta figure out what the best hand is and hopefully we can go there and have a good day. But regardless of what the finish is, it’s gonna be what it is, right? You can’t change it, so you just gotta move on from it and hopefully we can leave Talladega in a really good spot going into the Roval, because I definitely feel like the Roval is our strongest track out of the three in this round.”
WITH NO 1.5-MILE TRACKS SINCE MAY, FORD WASN’T GOOD AT THEM EARLY IN THE SEASON, BUT THAT WAS ALSO BEFORE FORD WENT ON ITS REALLY HUGE SUPER RUN WITH WINNING A BUNCH OF RACES. SO WHEN YOU GUYS LOOK AT THE RESULTS OF THOSE RACES, ARE THOSE ONES YOU CAN KIND OF JUST THROW OUT THE WINDOW KNOWING THAT IT’S NOT GOING TO BE THE SAME AS WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN THIS WEEK?
“I definitely don’t think you can look at the manufacturer performance and say just because you were bad in May or whatever that you’re going to be bad now. I think if you’re good, it’s a little bit easier to say. Toyota, for example, has always been super fast every time they come here, and I’m sure it’ll be the same. But for us, I feel like as a not even an OEM, but even just as a team, where the Fords have come from, where they were in May is totally different. And even as a race team, I feel like we’re a totally different team. I don’t think you can really read into the results of what we did in April or May just because stuff changes so much. Even a month and a half ago, guys that were running good aren’t running now and vice versa. The sport is constantly evolving, constantly changing. I definitely don’t think you can read a whole lot into just because you were bad in May, you’re going to be bad now.”
THE DYNAMIC WITHIN STEWART-HAAS RACING, THERE WAS A PIT CREW CHANGE THIS WEEKEND. THREE TEAMS STILL RUNNING FOR WINS, RUNNING FOR THEIR OWN RESPECTIVE SITUATIONS, BUT YOU’RE IN THE PLAYOFFS. HAVE YOU NOTICED A CHANGE OR WHAT IS THAT DYNAMIC LIKE WITH YOU BEING APPARENTLY ON THE RECEIVING END OF LOTS OF INSIGHT? I KNOW NOAH’S TEAM AND YOURS HAVE BEEN KIND OF SEPARATED. WHAT’S THAT LIKE FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE?
“It’s been humbling, just from the whole company all embracing the 14 car and doing everything they can to make the 14 car have the best potential to win the championship. So that’s been cool. Just to have 300 and something employees literally feel like they’re on your back and riding with you every single weekend. And then just as a company, like SHR from the day I’ve been there has never worked as well as they have right now. Like all four crew chiefs, all four drivers. I think, we even saw it last week, Noah was genuinely excited for me to make it onto the next round of the playoffs and, the 10 car has been going to the racetrack identical to us every week for the last three weeks and even this week now the 4 car as well. I do think that’s a little unique where since I am the only car in, and even just our situation with the whole team shutting down, like all the resources, all the effort, all the focus, everything they got is on us right now. So that’s different. No other team can say that. Penske still has three cars, and they’re all three trying to make the next round, where for us, especially at a place like Talladega next week, I do think it’ll make a difference, just because I’m going to have three teammates that are super committed to doing everything they can to help me.”
HAVE YOU STUDIED THE CHANGES TO THE ROVAL AND WHAT EFFECT DO YOU THINK THEY MIGHT HAVE?
“I definitely think it’s going to race way better. It’s going to create more passing zones, it’s going to create more chaos too, which I think is always exciting from a fan’s standpoint. I do think it’s going to race really, really good. That whole section that they added the corner to, that was kind of a non-passing zone all the way once you got into the infield until you got back on that back straightaway. There was really no opportunity to pass anybody, where now it’s going to create a huge brake zone. I think it’s going to struggle to get the car back going, so it’s going to make even a passing zone on corner exit. And then the front stretch chicane is going to be way tighter, so it’s going to be heavier braking, which should create more passing opportunities as well. The restarts are going to be probably tougher just with how much more narrow it is now. I’m excited for the change. I think it was something that will definitely make the racing better. I’ve been able to go over there through our relationship with Ford Performance Racing School and go see it and it’s definitely different. It’s way different than what we’ve had. Even that whole new corner, I haven’t gotten to drive on that part of it, but just the elevation is a lot and it’s completely blind. Like inside the race car, I think you will probably catch some air over that. It’s going to be a challenge for the race car driver, so I’m excited.”
WHAT DO YOU NEED OUT OF THIS NEW PIT CREW, AND WHAT WERE YOU NOT GETTING?
“The pit crew thing is tough, because the guys that I’ve had have been on it for the last year and a half really well they got changed whenever Harvick was in the playoffs so I’m back kind of with my original guys. It’s tough you know they’ve been able to be there and get his to this point right and that’s a decision that truthfully is made above me. I didn’t even know it was happening until they called me on Monday. The big thing I think for me is I just told those guys – I texted them all and I said look you guys are just as much of the 14 team as you were last week. I know it probably doesn’t feel that way right now, but obviously, Zippy and just everybody at SHR felt like that’s what gave us the best opportunity to try to move on and try to advance to the next round. Last week was a struggle, right? We had a couple 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 gotta just try to move on from it. I told Josh on the way over here today that your pit crew gonna be on it this weekend. They’ve got a lot to prove. I think it’ll it’ll be good, but definitely hate it for those guys just because they were like family to me. It’s just a tough situation all the way around.”
CHANGES LIKE THAT ARE NOT UNPRECEDENTED AS YOU NOTED IN THE PLAYOFFS, BUT YOU KNOW WHEN THEY HAPPEN IT CAN CREATE KIND OF A SENSE FROM THE OUTSIDE OF A CHAOS WITH THE TEAM AS THEY’RE SCRAMBLING TO TRY TO FIND THINGS. HOW DO YOU ADDRESS THAT?
“I definitely don’t feel like it’s chaos at all, being internally in it. I do get where the outside perception of it sometimes is chaos but I think from the inside, the guys that got taken off are obviously frustrated. I get it, but I think at the end of the day, they still want to see us win this championship because they are a part of this team. I think that’s the unique thing about our company right now is the total buy-in from top to bottom of everybody having this one goal of us going out as champions. The whole thing is super unfortunate, right? But the 4 car has probably been the most consistent pit crew on pit road. Consistency is what it takes right now, so I guess that’s the decision behind it, but from an internal standpoint, it doesn’t feel like chaos at all.”
IN 2016, YOU WON THE ARCA CHAMPIONSHIP, AND YESTERDAY THEY ANNOUNCED THEIR SEASON FOR 2025 YESTERDAY, AND ALSO THE SEASON OPENING EVENT ON FOX. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT?
“I think it’s super cool for ARCA. That’s a series that means a lot to me. Without that series, I’m not sitting up here. That was the only reason I ever even got put on anybody’s map and one of the top three series. So for them to be able to race on Big Fox is really cool. I think that that Daytona ARCA race always has a ton of viewers. That’s kind of the kickoff to stock car racing in the U.S. For that to be on Big Fox is really, really cool. It’s a great opportunity for a lot of young up-and-coming drivers and even teams that just don’t get that normal spotlight to have the spotlight and try to sell different sponsors and different things. Just the opportunities that it comes with being on Big Fox. So I’m excited for everybody, obviously on the ARCA side. There’s a lot of just really great stories in that garage, and hopefully a couple of those will get highlighted.”
HOW’S BABY WATCH GOING? IS THERE A CONTINGENCY PLAN? WHAT’S GOING ON?
“I mean, I’m here. We were at the hospital last night, but everything was good. A couple contractions and they sent us home. It’s the most helpless feeling, truthfully, in the world. Even this morning, I left the house at 6 a.m. to get on the plane, and she was having contractions here and there, and just knowing that I gotta come, right? I can’t stay. I have to go to the racetrack. It’s tough. Once I landed, that was the first thing I was worried about it the whole plane ride. And she said that she hasn’t had one since. I just told her to literally lay down, don’t do anything until Monday. And then Monday, you can get on your yoga ball, bounce all around, we can walk miles, whatever you want to do. So far, so good. The doctor seemed to think that they weren’t gonna make it till October 8th, but we will see.”
SO WHAT IS THE CONTINGENCY?
“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. Coach has been super awesome about telling me I can use this 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 Richard if it happens during the race don’t tell me. Just tell me as soon as we take the checker flag, hey look Marissa went into labor, so I can get out of the car and just go as fast as I can.”
DID YOU THINK IT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN LAST NIGHT?
“I don’t know it was weird last night, so she finally had some contractions and with Brooks she never really had any contractions. We just kind of went there and then they ended up doing a c-section. So she wasn’t really sure what it felt like anyways and then we were supposed to have a doctor’s appointment yesterday and it got canceled because there was no power. So then they were like, well we need you to come in if you’re having these symptoms. So then we went and we were only there for like two or three hours and they sent us home and we went to Cook Out and went home.”
COACH GIBBS IS OFFERING HIS PLANE TO YOU?
“Yeah, so coach has been amazing. The last four or five weeks, he’s called me every single week and we’ve set up a plan, whether it’s the plane being here or a Bristol helicopter, whatever it was, just anything he can do to help. He’s called and texted Marissa telling her that you know he’s praying for her, so it’s just been a really amazing thing that coach is willing to do that for me so I can be there. Hopefully I don’t have to use it but even last week SHR didn’t have a plane at Bristol. Everybody drove. So I actually flew on the Gibbs team plane which was a little awkward after knocking some of their cars out, but yeah coach has been awesome in the whole process.”
