"My whole career has been that": Chase Briscoe opens up on facing tough situations in his NASCAR journey

Chase Briscoe earned his way into the NASCAR playoffs by taking the win at Darlington. Briscoe's win was his first of the season, in a year full of uncertainty and bad news for his organization, Stewart Haas Racing.

After months of speculation, SHR announced that they'd be shutting down at the end of the 2024 season, leaving all of its drivers looking for seats for 2025. For Chase Briscoe, the opportunity came in the form of getting the keys to the #19 Toyota Camry of Joe Gibbs Racing.

Considering the season he's had so far, with all the SHR events, after he won at Darlington, Kevin Harvick asked him what it has all been like for him.

"I don't know. I wouldn't say it's an uneasy thing for me. I mean, I love job security but I also love having my back against the wall. I feel like it makes me perform way better. And my whole career has been that. Sleeping on the couches, volunteering in shops, getting one opportunity in a race, having to go perform and then going to the Truck Series, the Xfinity Series, all those things. You have to perform if you want to continue to have a job in the sport," Briscoe said recently on Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour. [6:55]

The #14 driver mentioned that his career has been 'a wild ride.' And SHR shutting down put him in a weird spot for a while given the uncertainty over his future.

But it was the win at Darlington that Chase Briscoe claimed gave him a sense of gratification.

"I felt was gratifying in the sense, and proved to the people that probably doubted why I got that ride that I'm capable, that I'm one of those people that deserve that caliber of a ride," Briscoe added.

---

Crew chief of Chase Briscoe reveals environment inside SHR following NASCAR exit announcement

SHR announcing their imminent departure from NASCAR led to an environment of uncertainty within the organization. Drivers, crew chiefs, engineers, tire changers, and everyone else employed by the organization now had to find a new job for the coming season.

So far, three of the four drivers have found seats for next season. But the environment within the organization is still sad, as the crew chief of Chase Briscoe revealed following their recent Darlington win.

"For those of us that have been there for quite some time, it’s sad, right? It sucks. This is family. Every employee there I would have at Christmas dinner. I think the struggle and the difficulty that’s come with it has been, we have a job to do, and that hasn’t changed," Richard Boswell said as per Motorsport.

Boswell claimed that every week he has to face questions from SHR employees who have no clue where their future would be. But the crew chief emphasized that one has to have such conversations from "an empathy standpoint."

The Southern 500 winning crew chief claimed that has been a big difference within SHR, them being mindful of what everyone is going through while also focusing on the job at hand for the weekends.