After last weekend’s ‘tire’-some race at Bristol, NASCAR takes the action to the first street circuit on its schedule. For some, road courses are their forte while for others, like Chase Briscoe, it has been kind of hit-or-miss.
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The Stewart-Haas driver was strong at road courses earlier when he used to compete in the Xfinity Series. In his 14th Xfinity start, Briscoe bagged a win over runner-up Justin Marks at the Charlotte ROVAL. His second Xfinity win came in another road course race, this time at the inaugural 2020 Brickyard 150.
But all of those triumphs came in the lower tiers of NASCAR. Despite having the speed, road courses in the Cup Series have hurt him quite a bit. “I’ve definitely had way more success in the lower series compared to Cup, where I’ve been kind of hit-or-miss,” Briscoe said. “I feel like the old car with just how badly it drove, you were always slipping and sliding around, it didn’t want to stop. I feel like this NextGen car certainly has closed up the gap.”
“The guys who were typically off on road courses are definitely closer because the NextGen car is just easier to drive on the road courses – it stops better, it turns better, it just does everything better,” he added.
Does Briscoe like racing on road courses?
As it doesn’t matter whether one likes it or not, keeping a positive approach toward all kinds of racetracks on NASCAR’s roster is beneficial for a driver. Nevertheless, Briscoe enjoys racing on road courses. However, things have not always been smooth between him and street circuits.
“I used to be terrible at it. So, it kind of got frustrating at times,” he revealed. “Then finally something just clicked with me and I was able to win a couple of road-course races and, now, every time we go to a road course, I’m super excited. I look forward to it from the driver’s side of things.”
“Not that you don’t make a difference at the ovals, but I feel like at the road courses, as a driver, you make a little bit more of a difference, so I enjoy that part of it.”
Briscoe also feels like his dirt racing experience will help him feel more comfortable on the road courses in the future. Sliding the car around the turns, constantly switching directions, and counter steering, all of which are dirt racing tactics, work for street racing as well.
Taking the names of expert dirt racers like Tony Stewart, Kyle Larson, and Christopher Bell, who have been equally successful in racing on ovals, Briscoe is sure that success at road courses in the Cup Series is on its way.
