When he was growing up in Mitchell, Indiana, Chase Briscoe dreamed about two things: to one day pitch in the major leagues and also drive a race car in NASCAR. He’s already accomplished the latter and, come Thursday evening, he’ll accomplish the former — well, sort of.
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Briscoe will toe the pitching mound at Chicago’s Wrigley Field and throw out the first pitch prior to the game between the Cubs and visiting Cleveland Guardians.
“If you woulda told me 20-25 years ago when I was having my mom and dad pitch to me so I could copy 15-20 different players batting stance that I’d be doing this, I wouldn’t believe you,” Briscoe wrote on X/Twitter. “Played a ton of baseball growing up so this is super cool.”
Before the race in Atlanta, he said, “I grew up playing baseball and loving baseball. Truthfully, my passion was to be a professional baseball player. For me to be able to go there, and throw out the first pitch is going to be really, really special. So looking forward to the opportunity. It is going to be neat.”
If you woulda told me 20-25 years ago when I was having my mom and dad pitch to me so I could copy 15-20 different players batting stance that I’d be doing this I wouldn’t believe you. Played a ton of baseball growing up so this is super cool. https://t.co/M86tXqTi0t
— Chase Briscoe (@chasebriscoe) June 27, 2025
In fact, Briscoe — who won last Sunday’s Cup race at Pocono Raceway — initially envisioned himself being a big leaguer before he discovered racing. He said, “I didn’t really start racing until I was 11. So all I did growing up was play baseball. I wouldn’t say I’m a Cubs fan now, but as a kid, I loved the Cubs. I loved Sammy Sosa, and Gary Gaetti played there.”
The big league city closest to Briscoe’s hometown is Cincinnati, but Briscoe wasn’t a Reds fan back in the day. “I loved the Cubs for whatever reason. When I’d play my MLB video game, I would always pick the Cubs,” he said. “It is going to be really cool to go to such an iconic place like Wrigley.”
But during Thursday night’s game, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver will be cheering for the Guardians rather than the Cubs. “The Guardians (are) the team that I’m closest to now,” Briscoe said.
“A couple of their players are huge NASCAR fans, so (I) get texts from them almost every single week. It is going to be cool that it just so happens that the Cubs are playing them. They are all going to be there too, so it will be nice to see some friends for sure.”
While celebrities and athletes oftentimes ridiculously embarrass themselves with wild first pitches, the No. 19 Toyota Camry driver hasn’t been practicing his fastball. Rather, he’s going to rely on his old hardball talent.
He said, “I’m just going to go there and let her rip. I played enough baseball growing up that I feel like I’m going to be alright.” But Briscoe concluded with a smile, “I’ll just maybe throw my arm out, that’s all.”
