“We’ve Been Really Bad”: Tony Stewart’s Protege Highlights His Team’s Highly Inconsistent Performance Ahead of Talladega

NASCAR can be a wild ride, filled with ups and downs. And no one knows it better than the protégé of Tony Stewart. The 29-year-old driver for Stewart-Haas Racing recently shared his thoughts on his team’s performance this season, shedding light on the highs and lows they’ve experienced. Additionally, there’s a touch of nostalgia as SHR unveils some iconic paint schemes for the upcoming race at Talladega Superspeedway.

Chase Briscoe‘s 2023 NASCAR season has been nothing short of a rollercoaster. The young driver, under the mentorship of racing legend Tony Stewart, has showcased moments of brilliance mixed with frustrating challenges. Briscoe’s season’s highlights include 7 top-10 finishes and 3 top-5 finishes, indicating his ability to run at the front of the pack. However, there’s a glaring inconsistency in his performance, with 17 finishes outside the top 20, and he pointed out the reasons why.

Chase Briscoe highlights why his team has been so inconsistent this year

Chase Briscoe’s season began with promising moments. But his team faced numerous challenges, including a heavy penalty from NASCAR. On May 31, NASCAR issued its heaviest penalty since the introduction of the Next Gen car against Briscoe’s #14 team and Stewart-Haas Racing. After inspecting Briscoe’s Coca-Cola 600 car, NASCAR found that the team had counterfeited a duct to the engine panel—a severe violation.

This penalty was a significant setback for Stewart and SHR, tarnishing their reputation and forcing them to overcome both the penalty and performance issues. Briscoe’s struggles at tracks like Auto Club Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway underscore the team’s consistent difficulties on intermediate and large ovals.

One significant change during the season was the decision to change the crew chief, a move aimed at addressing the performance issues. Briscoe acknowledged the difficulties associated with making such a change mid-season.

When NASCAR journalist Eric Estepp asked him about the inconsistent season, Briscoe said, “Yeah, it’s been weird you know. I’ve never in my career had a season where you know, you either run top five top ten bound for the win, or are you 30th or worse. Like we have been nowhere in between like we don’t have those 15th place days. And you know, for us, we started the season, we had, you know, not-so-great runs. But then we got on the street there three weeks in a row we ran the top five. And we’re leading a lot of laps and then we went like four months with not even a top ten.

“A couple [of] months ago we changed crew chiefs. And that was a huge, you know, thing to do in the middle of the season. You know, my new crew chief, Richard Boswell, essentially was coming in 50-something weeks behind. Where all these other next-gen crew chiefs have been able to learn and know about the car. And I feel like just now, these last three weeks, we’ve finally been having speed.”

“Looking back on… and I’m glad we kind of made the switch when we did. Just because I think it’s going to give us a great opportunity now, going into next season. To kind of hopefully start the season where we need to be. We’re not going to be starting behind and going through this kind of two three-month building process because we got it out of the way this year,” he concluded.

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In a delightful turn of events, Stewart-Haas Racing has decided to bring a touch of nostalgia to the NASCAR world. The team, along with drivers Chase Briscoe and Ryan Preece, is set to showcase iconic paint schemes inspired by a cult classic movie.

Tony Stewart will have Talladega Nights paint scheme running on his 2 cars in Talladega

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In an announcement that thrilled fans and brought smiles to racing enthusiasts. Stewart-Haas Racing revealed that Briscoe and Preece would be sporting iconic paint schemes inspired by the film. Briscoe will pay tribute to Cal Naughton Jr. with the Old Spice scheme, harkening back to the days when Tony Stewart himself represented the brand.

Meanwhile, Preece is set to dazzle with the Wonder Bread brand on his No. 41 Ford Mustang, a nod to the memorable No. 26 driven by Will Ferrell’s character, Ricky Bobby. It’s a chance to relive classic moments from the beloved movie.

In a Tuesday teleconference, Briscoe and Preece couldn’t contain their enthusiasm. “Holy smokes, we’re actually doing this,” Briscoe exclaimed according to NASCAR.com, embodying the sheer joy and camaraderie that this fun-filled initiative has brought to the team. Stewart-Haas Racing’s tweet announcing the ‘Talladega Nights’ scheme captured the excitement perfectly: “Preece & Chase! We wanna go fast with @WonderBreadUSA and @OldSpice at Talladega.”

READ MORE: NASCAR Insider Defends Tony Stewart as He Went Against $250 Million Dollar Partner

Chase Briscoe exemplifies the challenges his team has been facing as he seeks to tame the rollercoaster of inconsistency. Meanwhile, the ‘Talladega Nights’ paint schemes promise to add a dash of nostalgia and humor to the upcoming race at Talladega Superspeedway. Let us know your race predictions for tomorrow in the comments below.