Stewart-Haas Racing drivers are in a state of turmoil right now. The shocking news of the 15-year-old NASCAR Cup Series team has cast shadows of uncertainty over their futures. As the team struggles to make the playoffs, this year marks its final attempt before closing down forever. But Chase Briscoe seems ready to offer SHR one last glory before the end and also, most importantly, prove his mettle. 

Briscoe is the brightest of the lot, with one top-five at Darlington and five other top-ten finishes. Yet even the top performer is scratching his head in finding new employers. The pressure is multifold given his expanding family, as Chase recently expressed.

Chase Briscoe is fighting hard

Before SHR’s news broke out in the outside world, Tony Stewart approached his drivers first. He gathered them in a room and shared the tragic update. Earlier, the binding contract forbade drivers from talking to other teams, despite rumors of SHR’s exit circulating for months. Hence, Briscoe aptly asked if that rule stands revoked now. Stewart answered, “You guys are free to do whatever you want.”

But the newfound freedom is laced with difficulties, as finding a new home is an uphill battle. Chase Briscoe’s primary sponsor, Mahindra Tractors, recently gave unpleasant hints. Talking to Cup Scene, Briscoe confessed that he is trying his best to secure his future. “You still are trying to put yourself out there and let people know that you’re available and go talk to them and meet them, and do whatever you have to do.”

Briscoe hails from a humble background, being broke when he first came to Charlotte. He alternated between sleeping on a friend’s couch and an air mattress for two years, hunting for jobs in race shops. Thus, his journey to stardom is different from other racers who have strong family connections. “You know, I don’t have anything to fall back on. I’m not like some of the other people who have their family business or something like that.”

But what motivates Chase Briscoe the most is his current family. Back in April, he and his wife proudly announced that they were expecting twins as siblings to their son Brooks. So Briscoe emphasized his blooming family as the primary reason why he cannot afford to lose a spot. “With a two-and-a-half-year-old and a wife, and then twins on the way, I definitely can’t afford to be left out and not have anything. So I have been trying to do everything I can to put my best effort forward at the racetrack and off the racetrack too.”

Previous experience taught Chase Briscoe the importance of excelling on the racetrack. It is the ultimate sponsor-puller that secures one’s future.

Playoff points make you the belle of the ball

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Knowing that he needed to draw sponsorships and employers, Chase Briscoe prepared well for Sonoma Raceway. But a transmission issue shoved him out of contention and dropped him to the 34th place. This scenario is very concerning, as Briscoe understands well through prior experience. In the fall of 2018, nobody sat him down to talk about his future. Briscoe thought he was going to get fired.

But when he clinched the Charlotte road course victory, Ford executives called in two days to talk about a spot in 2019. Chase Briscoe stressed the need to advance ahead of his rivals. “If you’re outrunning them by 10-plus positions, you’re the pretty girl at the dance. It just gives you more leverage. Teams are more apt to call you and talk to you because they know there are probably other people doing the same thing…Running good definitely changes the tempo of everything.”

Hence, Briscoe and his teammates need to step up to improve their racing resumes. And the No. 14 driver is not giving up, gathering hope for the next few races. “We do have a stretch of really good racetracks for me coming up. And honestly, we just need to win. At the end of the day, that’s what you’ve got to do.”