The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season was not a good time to be a driver for Stewart-Haas Racing. The four who drove for the Tony Stewart-owned banner in its final year struggled with the team’s management, courtesy of the fiasco that followed when the organization shut shop. Chase Briscoe’s words before the Awards Banquet in late November reflected the tensions that prevailed.
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The former #14 Ford Mustang driver revealed that the drivers were not even allowed to enter the team’s race shop following the season finale in Phoenix. Chase had to clean his locker in the team hauler and store his things in the Joe Gibbs Racing #19 hauler, his new team. The toxicity in the atmosphere was clearly unwarranted.
The 29-year-old, however, quickly came to terms with the adversity.
“Honestly, I already kind of turned the chapters because we were locked out of the building and everything,” said Briscoe. “We couldn’t even go back. I mean, truthfully, I’ve already cleaned my closet out. I kept some stuff. But I mean, there’s really no SHR in existence anymore, right?”
The shop now runs under the name of the Haas Factory Team.
Stewart-Haas Racing was a team with a glorious past. For it to leave the field is sad in itself. And the instance narrated by Briscoe would have been heartbreaking for the driver who helped the team save face in 2024 by reaching the victory lane.
He had made it into the playoffs too, and gave reason for the team and its employees to keep the energy flowing within the organization till the very end.
Briscoe prepares for next chapter with Joe Gibbs Racing
“Everything happens for a good reason” is the motto that Briscoe will keep in mind as he heads into the 2025 season. In just a few weeks into his stint with Joe Gibbs Racing, Chase is already aware of how advanced the game is on that side of the fence.
“At SHR, if we ran eighth, that was a good weekend,” said Briscoe. “Where at JGR, the expectation is way different. It’s like, well, if we ran eighth, why did we run eighth? It’s just a totally different vibe and atmosphere.”
The Truex replacement is experiencing the pressure to perform that comes with driving for a top-tier team in the Cup Series. Each day carries a surprise for him.
“Even when I was at the shop last week, I mean, they were literally trying to find ounces they can shave off my helmet. That’s stuff that I never even thought about at SHR, right?” added Briscoe, with a strong hint of pleasure in his voice.
The bad memories with his former team will soon fade for Briscoe. He is hoping to fight at the sharp end of the field during the upcoming season, driving with one of NASCAR’s strongest outfits to date.
