SPORTS

Chase Briscoe and NASCAR Cup Series headed to Texas Grand Prix Sunday

The Times-Mail

AUSTIN, Tx. — Chase Briscoe went from the front to the back last Sunday at Atlanta after early damage to his No.14 Highpoint.com Ford Mustang caused handling issues.

But he and his crew fought to the finish and salvaged a 15th-place run in the NASCAR Cup Series event, and that leaves him solidly in third place in the points heading into week 6 at Texas this weekend.

Briscoe started on the pole after picking up his first Cup Series victory the week before. He led five of the first six laps of the race before getting hung out of the pack and falling toward the back of the field.

Mitchell's Chase Briscoe blazes around Atlanta Motor Speedway during practice for the Folds of Honor Quik Trip 500. Briscoe finished 15th in the race.

The No. 14 team worked its way back into the top-five before Briscoe and Ford Performance teammate Ryan Blaney got loose while making a run for the lead and made contact with the outside wall on the final lap.

“There at the beginning, I got a little bit of damage but our car was honestly really good. We could never lead, but I could shove people really, really good and, if I had somebody that was good in front of me, I could just keep going and keep picking them off," Briscoe explained. "There at the end, I felt like with how my car was, and I kept going to the bottom, the top was just so fast down the straightaway, so I knew I probably wasn’t going to win with the damage I had on the nose.

"So I was just trying to stay committed to running the top to keep our momentum up. I thought we were going to come out third or fourth and was trying to help the 12 (Ryan Blaney) and, honestly, to shove him to potentially the win, and I went in there and I just got him loose into (turn) one and obviously we both hit the fence because of it. It’s unfortunate. We were both going to have a really good day and I kind of shot ourselves in the foot there.”

Turning attention to Texas

Now the 27-year old Mitchell driver will keep pushing this strong run along in the first road race of the season in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

The race will be 68 laps (15/15/38) for 231.88 miles over the 3.426-mile, 20-turn course. Fox Sports has the telecast, and it will be broadcast by PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Chase, Marissa and Brooks Briscoe await the National Anthem Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Chase started on the pole in the No.14 Highpoint.com Ford Mustang.

With five races complete, Briscoe currently holds a spot in the 16-driver playoff field by virtue of his win two weekends ago at Phoenix Raceway. He has two top-five finishes and sits third in points, 15 behind leader Chase Elliott.

In last year’s inaugural event at COTA, Briscoe earned his first Cup Series top-10, finishing sixth after starting 27th.

Chase Briscoe will be back with the Mahindra Tractors colors on his No.14 Ford Mustang Sunday at the Circuit of the Americas for the Texas Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.

“From the racetrack standpoint, I feel like I’m kind of going there for the first time, just because last year I don’t think I ever ran a single lap in the dry," Briscoe recalled. "I think we practiced, qualified, everything in the wet, so it’s going to be like learning a whole new racetrack this week.

"I know from a facility standpoint it’s pretty remarkable. It’s super cool to go out there. Even last year in the rain, there were a ton of fans out there, so I’m excited to see what it looks like this year. I didn’t get to do a ton of exploring in the city last year, but I know Austin is a really cool town. I’m going to try to do a little bit more this year while we’re there, just because we’re there a little bit longer than usual. I’m super excited to get back.

"I’m really excited, truthfully, just to get this Next Gen car on a road course. Based on some of the testing we did on the (Charlotte) Roval, they’re a blast to run on the road course. I’m curious to see what the racing will be like. I think it will definitely change the landscape of these road-course races. I think you’re going to see a lot more guys that are competitive than in years past because you can drive this car so much harder. It does a lot of things a lot better than the old car, so it’ll be interesting to see how that works out and plays out. It looks like the weather is going to be really good and it should be a great show.”

SHR team co-owner Tony Stewart watches Chase Briscoe crew in action during a pit stop at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

This Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix serves as a home race for Mahindra Tractors, a brand of Houston-based Mahindra Ag North America. Part of Mahindra Group’s Automotive and Farm Sector, Mahindra Ag North America is the No. 1-selling farm tractor company in the world, based on volumes across all company brands.

The driver/sponsor relationship has been a smooth transition.

“It’s been really cool," Briscoe said. "I've been super fortunate my entire career. I’ve had really good relationships with all of the sponsors I’ve had and they are all incredible people. We’ve been able to build a lot of really cool things, but Mahindra Tractors is different in that it’s really the first time I’ve been aligned, with the exception of maybe one or two times, with an actual consumer brand.

"You look at HighPoint.com, for example, it’s not as much of a consumer play. It’s more of a B2B thing, whereas Mahindra is trying to sell tractors to fans and that’s something that I haven’t really had at the higher levels of NASCAR. It’s been cool to see the approach and what they’re trying to do to correlate that over to tractor sales, and it’s been a lot of fun.

Mitchell's Chase Briscoe test drives one of the models from his primary sponsor, Mahindra Tractors, as he prepares to be in a television commercial for the company.

"Anytime you can bring a new partner into the sport, it’s special, and to be able to do it in a way that we’ve been able to do it and make a big splash, it’s all because of them. They are obviously investing a lot, not only with the race team but with our broadcast partners and things like that.

"Not only are they seeing the success in all of this, but it’s also helping my brand to let people see my personality in these commercials and some of the other things we’re working on. We’re not done, yet. It’s just been a lot of fun for me to see how enthusiastic they are about this race team and it’s been a lot of fun.”

Looking forward to dry run

Briscoe, the Mahindra folks and NASCAR fans are hoping and expecting a dry track Sunday.

“I think it’ll definitely be different than what we saw last year," Briscoe said. "I mean, last year’s race will look way different than this year’s race with the weather. It was a different style of racing when it was that wet, but from a driver’s standpoint it’s a lot of fun, just the visibility is obviously tough. And then, from a fan’s standpoint, it’s tough to see what’s going on and a little more miserable than if it was a really nice day.

Mitchell's Chase Briscoe blazes and the rest of the NASCAR Cup Series teams are expecting a dry track Sunday for the Echopark Automotive Texas Grand Prix Sunday in Austin, Tx.

"I think this car on the road courses is where it’s really going to shine and, truthfully, on the oval stuff, it’s been a lot better than what people expected. I think the road course is probably going to blow it out of the park. It’s a really well-built racecar, especially for road-course racing. It’s going to be interesting to see with 40 of us out there going for it versus just a test session where only a couple of guys are on track, but I think COTA is a really good racetrack to unveil this thing on a road course and I’ve been really excited to get there, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Contact Times-Mail Sports Writer Jeff Bartlett at jeffb@tmnews.com, or on Twitter @jeffbtmnews.com.