Children often follow in their parent’s footsteps, drawing from the grind they witness at home and developing a taste for the family trade. In Chase Briscoe’s case, however, his son Brooks has taken a detour. While the youngster lives and breathes NASCAR, his loyalties lie not with his father but with Noah Gragson.
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With the start of NASCAR’s inaugural in-season tournament at Atlanta, 32 drivers are set to duel across five weekends for a $1 million payday. Seeding was determined by the combined results from Michigan, Mexico, and Pocono. In a stroke of fate, Chase Briscoe has been paired against former Stewart-Haas Racing teammate and close friend Noah Gragson in the opening round.
Despite the on-track competition, the two remain thick as thieves off it, often spending weekends golfing together. Briscoe revealed that Gragson holds a special place in his household, particularly with his son.
Asked during a media availability ahead of the Atlanta race whether there was any chance of convincing Brooks to switch allegiances, Briscoe didn’t hesitate. “No!” he replied bluntly. He added, “Noah (Gragson) is like that uncle that you take your kid to that has Pop-Tarts, ice cream, everything else when he’s with him — every candy that you try not to give your kid.”
Briscoe continued, “So, yeah, Brooks definitely loves Noah for that reason. Every time he’s around him, he’s getting sugared up like nobody’s business. Brooks definitely likes Noah, and it will be fun to go up against him and all of the trash talk leading into it. It will be a lot of fun.”
Why Briscoe thinks the Atlanta race will be tough against Gragson?
Although Briscoe has already punched his ticket to the playoffs with a win under his belt, while Noah Gragson has only mustered a single top-five and three top-10 finishes, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver admits that toppling the Front Row Motorsports contender at Atlanta will be no walk in the park.
Briscoe acknowledged that the Fords have shown strong form on superspeedways, and taking one head-on at Atlanta presents a challenging test.
He noted that Atlanta is the kind of racetrack where team affiliations matter little, as every driver on the grid has a legitimate shot at victory. While Gragson may not be aligned with one of the sport’s heavyweights, Briscoe emphasized that the No. 10 car will likely be in the thick of it.
He pointed to last year’s qualifying runs, where the Front Row Racing team’s cars locked out the front row, reinforcing the scale of the task ahead. Briscoe expects Gragson to qualify well, especially given that Toyotas traditionally lag in that department.
Still, The #19 driver kept his faith in his own camp, asserting that Toyota’s race-day handling would carry them deep into the battle. “Anybody that you are going up against in the Cup Series is going to be hard. Anybody can beat anybody on any given day, so it is going to be a hard one,” he said. He admitted that among all the bracket matchups, this one has him the most on edge.
“Of all the weeks, I definitely feel like this is the one that I’m the most nervous about because this is the one that is the most out of my control, but it will be fun. Hopefully, I win because if I don’t, I will never hear the end of it from Noah or my son,” he stated. Briscoe currently sits ninth in the driver standings, while Gragson holds 32nd.
