NASCAR Cup Series drivers had no luck at the 2024 Chili Bowl Nationals. With two-time champion Kyle Larson announcing his return to the Golden Driller earlier this week, the chances of a Cup Series driver clinching the title had increased massively. But after his unprecedented early exit, Ricky Stenhouse Jr followed suit in the C1-Main race to leave a single Cup driver in contention for the title: Chase Briscoe.

Competing in his ninth Chili Bowl event, the 29-year-old Ford driver had a solid buildup to the A-Main race, including a comeback in the preliminary race on Monday, where he surged from P12 to P4. However, Lady Luck only favored Chase Briscoe briefly as a drastic change in the conditions pushed him back to a P21 finish in his first main event appearance in six years. Speaking to Frontstretch, the Mahindra Tractors-backed driver unboxed his experience and expectations on the Saturday night.

Chase Briscoe reveals changes in the track cost him a better finish

One of the reasons for a poor finish in the main event was Briscoe’s placement on the grid. Not being among the top 10 seeded drivers to compete for the pole shuffle had already hurt his chances. A P19 start on top of that just added more misery for the Stewart-Haas Racing driver. With dirt racing circuits offering a minute window to make a pass on opponents, it is certainly challenging to work a way up to the higher echelons of the grid.

Chase Briscoe explained the importance of starting the race near the front row and stated, “Starting position would have helped, obviously. Just wasn’t that great in the feature. The track was kind of different than anything we really ran on all week, at least for us. So, yeah just kind of missed it.”

“I didn’t do a very good job either. I felt like at the beginning of the race, going hard, I could have done a way better job. Frustrating but at the same time glad that we were able to make sure you want to come back there. Unfortunate how our Saturday night ended but to still be racing at the end of Saturday night is something to really be happy about.”

Acquaintance with the team and the track was another aspect that Chase Briscoe pointed out in the conversation. While he has participated in the Chili Bowl numerous times, he only gets a little time to gel with his crew year after year. Highlighting the same, he also appreciated his team’s effort. However, as the interview moved ahead, he also specified that his team could have managed the car better. Having had a shorter preparation time for the A-Main track than earlier, tire wear hurt Chase Briscoe and Co. more than they could have imagined.

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The Tulsa Expo Raceway took Briscoe’s rubber

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According to Chase Briscoe, by the end of B-Main, his team had noticed that the dirt track had begun to take away the traction from the tires. Expressing his opinion on the rubber-consuming track, he said, “I was surprised that we didn’t do anything to the bottom, truthfully. At the end of the B-Main, it was already getting pretty bad and felt like it was probably going to rubber as soon as we rolled out.”

Dirt tracks taking up rubber is detrimental for drivers as it loosens the tire’s grip and sprint cars can lose control on corners due to the same. Suffering from it in the most important race of the dirt racing festival, Briscoe acknowledged how far his team came in this year’s Chili Bowl. The driver also remained hopeful that he and his team can learn something from this year’s event that will help them next year.

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Further in the conversation, Briscoe was also asked about his feelings about being the longest-lasting Cup Series regular in the 2024 Chili Bowl. Unsure about how he should feel about it, Chase Briscoe answered, “I was the only one that even entered. Then the two other guys kind of entered at the last minute, but yeah, cool to represent the NASCAR bunch. We need to do a little bit better.”

Earlier, Briscoe had expressed his wish to find a top-10 finish in the main event on Saturday. Although his wish didn’t materialize into reality, it was a valiant effort from him and his team.