2023 was a forgettable year for Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe. The 29-year-old driver found himself 30th in the standings, bottoming out Tony Stewart’s Cup Series lineup. Despite the disappointing season, the #14 driver believes that he can stage a massive comeback going into 2024.
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But his goal going forward is not to just win races but to lead SHR and be the next Kevin Harvick.
Expressing his ambitions, he said, “Leadership role comes from running at the front week in, week out. Kevin was the leader because he ran the best on the most consistent basis. For me, that’s the biggest thing. I wanna be the new Kevin Harvick at Stewart-Haas. I wanna be the cadet that’s running up front week in, week out.”
️ @ChaseBriscoe_14 has big expectations heading into 2024 with @StewartHaasRcng ⬇️
“I wanna be the new Kevin Harvick at Stewart-Haas. I wanna be the guy that’s running up front week in week out.” #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/bwrETAIXsd
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) December 18, 2023
Emulating Kevin Harvick is one of the highest ambitions that a driver can have right now at SHR. Briscoe will no doubt face tough competition for that from his new teammates. Josh Berry and Noah Gragson both have strong causes to prove themselves and Ryan Preece won’t be making the job any easier.
Though Briscoe is more familiar with the team’s garage than his counterparts, that won’t necessarily give him an edge over them. After all, Kevin Harvick’s championship-winning 2014 season came in his maiden year with Stewart-Haas Racing.
Chase Briscoe turns out to be the favorite to lead Stewart-Haas Racing
Briscoe’s average finish fell from 17.3 to 20.3 in 2023. Regardless of the inconsistency, the now-departed SHR driver Aric Almirola backs him to step into the leadership position. He said to NBC Sports last month, “Briscoe has got to step up to that (leadership role). He’s been there the longest and he’s got some credentials to back it up with all the success he’s had on the Xfinity side and he’s won a Cup race and gone deep into the playoffs last year.”
The driver received further backing from Mark Rushbrook, the global director of Ford Performance. He said, “Losing Harvick is going to be a transition that they need to go through but now we’ll have Chase Briscoe, who came through our driver development program.”
Rushbrook provided his verdict that Briscoe will have a lot more weight in addition to the leadership on his shoulders since he was now the team’s longest-serving driver.
