This is the end of the road for Stewart Haas Racing, and the only man who can give them the finish they deserve is Chase Briscoe. The No. 14 Ford driver made a clutch move by winning the last race of the season, which put him in the playoffs instead of Kyle Busch. Briscoe now holds the mantle for SHR as they participate in the last postseason before the team splits.

So far, Chase Briscoe has been surprising everyone with his performance. He started the top 16 by almost getting eliminated because of the lap 1 wreck at Atlanta, but the next two races got him a spot in the top 12. Again, during the first race of round 2, he managed to find trouble as he was far from the front runners, finishing 24th. From his Darlington and round 1 performances, it has become clear that Briscoe handles things better under pressure. Now with the last 2 races to decide if he is in the top 8, will he make it through?

Chase Briscoe’s crew chief’s plans to make him score points at Talladega

Chase Briscoe has made it into the playoffs for the second time in his 4 years of racing in the Cup Series. The last time was in 2022, when he finished 9th, but this year the pressure is on. Briscoe is currently carrying the weight of SHR’s last chance to win a championship on his shoulder, and the team is ready to give their all for one last rodeo. Briscoe’s crew chief, Richard Boswell, had an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, and that’s where he discussed the No. 14 team’s plans for the upcoming race.

While speaking to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Boswell declared that the team would not be wasting any time. “We have to be aggressive all race long. We have to score stage points; I think that’s our way to set ourselves apart from the guys that scored stage points this week,” said Boswell while keeping his sights on scoring maximum points at Talladega. Although the team is disbanding, the members are ready to give their everything for one last time as everyone is locked in.

Boswell revealed, “I know that we’ll have a car capable of running up front and contending for stage points and a race win. I think we’ve seen it out of the four groups for the past several years, so that’s what we have to do. We just have to go there.” As of now, Chase Briscoe is sitting 25 points below the cutline at rank 11. To make it into the top 8, he will need to improve his standing significantly and gain at least 3 positions over the course of the next two races. For this, the team is taking inspiration from Kevin Harvick‘s No. 4 team’s tactic of aggressive driving to conquer their upcoming challenge.

To make sure the Briscoe has the team’s backing when it comes to winning, Boswell explained, “We have to be aggressive with our pit calls, and we have to be aggressive with the car we’re bringing to make sure that it has the speed it needs out front in the pack. The handling in the pack is going to be important, so we just have to be all hands on deck. We have to be super aggressive and hope like heck we can make it through the melee that is Talladega.” 

How has Chase Briscoe performed at Talladega in the past?

Chase Briscoe has had a mixed outcome at Talladega. So far he has not won a race on the Superspeedway, and his best finish was 4th in April 2023. Besides that, the next best result he achieved was the P10 in 2022, the year the NextGen cars arrived. Briscoe has had better finishes at Talladega during the playoffs compared to the early season races, and this is a good sign for the team.

Over the last 3 years, Briscoe has been in the top 15, but that result will not be enough to keep him in the next round of the playoffs. For Briscoe to make it through, it’s crucial that he finishes in the top 5, but in a situation like the playoffs, the other driver’s positions matter too. The Superspeedway might be his best chance at making it to the next round, as the team has been known to not perform well at Roval. Aside from the 9th-place finish in 2022, The Roval has not been a track at which Briscoe has excelled.

This is the last chance for him to bring home a title for Stewart-Haas Racing, and the next two races are the most crucial. So you think that Briscoe and the No. 14 crew will be able to pull up their socks and deliver like never before? Share your thoughts in the comments below.