Tony Stewart’s star Chase Briscoe addresses playoff future - "Controlling what we can control”

Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) driver Chase Briscoe recently spoke about his mindset as he sits last in the playoffs standings. He said he would go on track and try controlling what he and his team can control.

The 29-year-old driver pilots the No. 14 Ford Mustang Dark Horse at SHR team, along with teammates Josh Berry, Noah Gragson, and Ryan Preece. He earned his way into the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs after winning the last race of the regular season at Darlington Raceway.

However, Chase Briscoe had a difficult start to his playoff run following a DNF at the postseason opener in Atlanta on September 8. The No. 14 driver remains optimistic as he recalled the time he was on the brink of elimination and still made it past the Round of 16 two years ago.

“Guys do it all the time. I want to say two years ago when we were at Bristol, we were 21 out going into the [cut race] and we advanced by nine points,” Briscoe said (via Frontstretch YouTube channel). “So yeah, we just have to go and control what we can control the next two weeks.”

The Indiana native may appreciate a race win but his focus is scoring points at Watkins Glen and Bristol.

“If we win a race, great, but we have to score a lot of points and, you know, if the points are enough at the end, then it’ll be enough. But all we can do is what we can do and hope that we put up enough points,” Briscoe added.

Chase Briscoe is currently 16th in the playoff standings and -21 below the cut line along with Brad Keselowski, Harrison Burton, and Martin Truex Jr.

For the upcoming Watkins Glen stop (September 15), Briscoe set a lap time of 1:22.619 in the qualifying session, earning him the 12th starting position. His No. 14 Ford will start ahead of nine playoff drivers, including Denny Hamlin, who is only +2 to the cut line.

The Go Bowling at The Glen playoff race is debuting a new Goodyear tire compound designed to degrade quickly. As such, the No. 14 team should come up with critical strategy calls to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Chase Briscoe is set to exit Stewart-Haas Racing at the end of this season

Chase Briscoe, along with his current teammates, will leave the Stewart-Haas Racing team following the decision to sell its charters. The team will stay in the NASCAR Cup Series with one charter as the Haas Factory Team, fielding Cole Custer as its sole driver.

After spending four years with the outgoing SHR, Briscoe will head to Joe Gibbs Racing. He will pilot the No. 19 Toyota Camry of playoff rival Martin Truex Jr., who is set to retire at the end of the 2024 season.

While Chase Briscoe and Martin Truex Jr. are below the playoff cut line, they are in a good position to score points at Watkins Glen, with the latter starting P2 behind Ross Chastain. Both drivers should look to bounce back after failing to finish in Atlanta.