"It's going to be tough in October" - Chase Briscoe navigates SHR's final stretch as playoffs approach

Chase Briscoe is preparing for a tough final stretch of the season with Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR). The 2024 NASCAR playoffs are just around the corner with only a few races left in the regular season. Briscoe recently talked about the challenges ahead during what will be the team's last season.

The No. 14 Ford Mustang driver, Chase Briscoe, has been competing for the SHR team since 2022. With the team shutting down after the end of this season, he will join Joe Gibbs Racing, next, and replace Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 19 Toyota.

In a recent interview, he spoke about the challenges ahead and his goal of making the playoffs.

"I would say the next couple of weeks, once the playoffs start, everybody's going to try to stick it out at least, you know, see if we make the playoffs, right? But after that, it's going to get tough, especially once you get to October," Chase Briscoe said.

As the NASCAR break for the Paris Olympics comes to an end, there are four regular season Cup Series races remaining. The first race back is at Richmond Raceway on Sunday, August 11. The following races are at Michigan International Speedway (August 18), Daytona International Speedway (August 24), and Darlington Raceway (September 1).

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Chase Briscoe hopes for at least one playoff spot for SHR

Chase Briscoe is hopeful about the upcoming races and believes SHR has a strong chance to do well this weekend. Currently, his focus is to win and improve his speed in the upcoming four races.

He added that SHR needs at least one car in the playoffs to keep morale high.

"The morale, I would say, will all depend on if we make the playoffs or not, from a company standpoint, right? Like, we need at least one car in there," Chase Briscoe said.

Briscoe also admitted that Michigan will be challenging for SHR. But he plans to be bold and aggressive and adapt his strategy based on track conditions.

"Michigan’s one that I would say is a little bit nerve-wracking for us," he said.

"The good thing is, good and bad thing is, we're kind of must win. So, you know, kind of just throw Hail Marys at it. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work out. There’s no kind of penalty for it. But if it does work out, then obviously we’re in a really good position," he added.

Briscoe also talked about the option tire set in the upcoming races. He pointed out that the next race will be different from the All-Star race at North Wilkesboro Speedway in May. The tires didn’t lose much grip over time there. But at the upcoming track, the tires will lose grip as the race goes on. He believes this will make the race more interesting because they’ll have to manage their tires differently.