Racing is the Briscoe family business. Current NASCAR Cup driver Chase Briscoe is a third-generation racer, and he is already planning on turning three-year-old son Brooks into a fourth-generation racer someday.
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The Mitchell, Indiana native is a dedicated husband to Marissa, and father to Brooks and nearly one-year-old twins Cooper Banks and Collins Ivy.
“So my grandpa started owning sprint cars, dirt cars in the ’70s, my dad raced for 20 something years,” Chase said in an interview with TV station KCTV. “Then, naturally, I just grew up going to the racetrack, wanting to be part of it.
“My dad wanted nothing to do with me racing, and [I] just continued to beg him and wear him out and eventually got an opportunity to do it.
“Moved to Charlotte, North Carolina straight out of high school and slept on a (friend’s) couch for three and a half years and would just volunteer at all these different race shops, and eventually got an opportunity and it just spiraled from there.”
Briscoe reflected on his family’s legacy, saying it was super special given the history and everything racing had meant to them. From its beginnings in 1974 to him now competing in the Cup Series, he didn’t think his grandfather or his dad would have ever imagined it turning into what it has.
The JGR driver continued, “It’s certainly special just being able to carry on the Briscoe name in some form or fashion in motorsports. I already have an (almost) four-year-old son that is super involved in racing and just loves it and eats it up. So yeah, I’m sure he’ll be a fourth-generation and carry on that history for our family.”
The biggest lesson Briscoe learned from his elders and which he’s already started passing on to his son is treat people with respect and treat them the way you want to be treated. He admitted there’s been countless times where just being a good person has come full circle for him.
“That’s something that’s been super important to me, to pass on to my kids now, to show them to treat everybody with respect. Their world is totally different than the world that I obviously grew up in. So, just trying to do that, that’s the most important thing,” Briscoe added.
Briscoe’s family will either be in-person or watching back home as he competes in Saturday’s annual night race at Bristol Motor Speedway, the final race of the Playoffs’ Round of 16. By virtue of his win in the playoff-opening race at Darlington two weeks ago, Briscoe is already locked into the Round of 12 that starts next week.
But if he can earn important playoff and stage points, that’s almost as good for him as a win. Briscoe is currently second in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings, behind Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin, who won this past Sunday at Gateway, his series-leading fifth victory of the season.
Plus, Briscoe will have his No. 19 Toyota Camry adorned with sponsorship by Bass Pro Shops, which is also sponsoring Saturday’s race. “Any time your main sponsor is sponsoring the race, it’s of extra importance and do the best we can,” Briscoe said.
“Then to start the next round, the Round of 12, start off in New Hampshire as best we can and hopefully win that first race again so we can move on.
“We have eight weeks left in our season and if we can put eight really, really solid weeks together, then we feel like we can be the champion. So that’s what we’re trying to do.”
