Following Kevin Harvick’s retirement from NASCAR last year, Chase Briscoe strolled up as the most experienced driver at Stewart-Haas Racing. The 2024 season saw Briscoe embrace his leadership role, winning a race at Darlington that pushed him into the playoffs, although he was ousted after the Round of 16.
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This season, Briscoe has notched three top-5 finishes and nine top-10s, with an average finish of 19.3 overall. Going to Homestead this weekend, he vividly recalled his first NASCAR victory that came in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2017 on the same track. However, he described the victory as bittersweet.
Briscoe’s first NASCAR win came at Homestead during the championship’s final race, a memorable day where he won the pole, dominated the race by leading the most laps, and seized the checkered flag. Yet, the victory was tinged with melancholy, as it coincided with his last race for Brad Keselowski Racing (BKR), which was winding down operations at the season’s end.
Reflecting on that moment, Briscoe shared: “That day in 2017 is certainly one I’ll never forget…We’d been so close that entire season. I think we ran second three times before and just never quite seemed to be able to jump the final hurdle… We got there and just instantly had speed…”
“It was bittersweet with it being the last race of the year, winning it and knowing that you could’ve been in the Championship 4 and, if you were, then you would’ve been the champion, but it just didn’t work out that way,” he added.
Given the parallels with his previous team, Briscoe intends to replicate his past success as he approaches what is going to be his final race at Homestead with Stewart-Haas Racing.
Briscoe reflects on his emotions heading into this year’s Cup Series at Homestead
This Sunday, the #14 driver will make his way to the Homestead-Miami Speedway with an average finish of 23.7 from three starts in the Cup Series, his best result in the Next Gen car being P17. As Briscoe prepares for his final race in the #14 car at Homestead, he finds himself revisiting the feelings he experienced back in 2017.
“A little bit, just with being in this same position where the team’s going to cease to exist at the end of the year. It’s definitely reminiscent of ay just with how similar that feels and the emotions of the team and things like that, it’s going to be a little bit different since it’s not the ve le year, but it’s still one of the last races. So, it’ll feel pretty similar,” Briscoe explained.
Despite the #14 car’s recent struggles, not finishing better than P24 in the past four races, it will be compelling to see Briscoe’s efforts to pull off another win for SHR in their closing chapter.
