Chase Briscoe and his crew chief Richard Boswell had faith in their potential throughout the season. However, circumstances have necessitated some assistance from outside their team.
The No. 14 car from Stewart-Haas Racing has made it to the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, achieving a remarkable championship run that seemed unlikely until their buzzer-beater victory at the Southern 500 during the regular season.
They were not far off from their competitors, finishing the regular season ranked 17th in points — a figure that has now dropped to 16th, with an average finishing position of 14th.
This team was always playoff-worthy, narrowly missing the Round of 16 due to a stretch of misfortunes over the summer. Their ultimate win stands as a testament to the strength of the group they had established.
This is why Briscoe is not shocked at their advancement to the Round of 12.
“Not really,” Briscoe remarked on Saturday night post-advancement. “We have excellent people; individuals who are determined and have the motivation that comes from being backed into a corner.”
Consider the challenges facing this team.
At the start of the season, Stewart-Haas Racing lost its Tier 1 Ford Performance affiliation amid rumors of potential downsizing or closure. Tony Stewart did little to quell those fears as the season unfolded, which was followed by the official announcement of the company’s decision to shut down and sell three of its four ownership charters.
“We began the season very strongly; however, that was overshadowed by a disappointing mid-season and the news that over 300 employees would be laid off along with the fact that four drivers were in search of rides,” Boswell explained. “While that’s not a valid excuse, it’s a genuine situation, right?”
“Everyone had to cope with the distractions on where they might end up.”
This environment has fostered some resentment within the shop, where those who remain feel they were not given a fair chance.
“I can’t quite put this into words… We’re not aiming to prove a point to SHR, but we want to demonstrate our capabilities and what we can achieve,” Briscoe stated.
“Something about this atmosphere has instilled confidence and swagger among everyone here — it’s different from anything I’ve encountered since joining the Cup series. The only comparison I can draw is from my time in Xfinity with SHR, during which Kevin (Harvick) and the No. 4 team were winning nearly ten races, and that energy invigorated the entire operation.”
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It’s an entire building in Kannapolis, North Carolina that has committed to working towards the singular goal of advancing their counterparts in the No. 14 as deep into the playoffs as they can go.
Most notably, Noah Gragson has the closest driving tendencies to Briscoe and crew chief Drew Blickensderfer has completely bought into using their practice sessions to try things that Boswell doesn’t have time to put into the No. 14 car.
“We as a group decided when they made the playoffs that the 10 team, we were going to try one setup and the 14 team would try a different setup, and whichever one worked the best is what direction they’re going to go,” Blickensderfer said.
He said their speed at Watkins Glen was a reflection of that.
“Noah was fast in practice and it kept them kind of grounded in saying we don’t need to change a whole bunch,” Blickensderfer said. “They went to work on how chase was driving compared to Noah and that was a great result for the,
“I think it helped again (at Bristol) because we went one direction and practiced with the same setup and they went the other and lo and behold, we came back together by the end of practice and were very similar again.”
Briscoe and Gragson are talking after every session too.
Blickensderfer says he and Boswell unload each week with identical setups and leave it to their drivers to steer them in what direction Briscoe will have it once they take the green.
“With the NextGen car, we can get it almost identical,” Blickensderfer said. “So because of Noah and Chase’s relationship, talking about the cars doing whatever it is, they can look back on what the other is doing behind the wheel to make each other better too.”
“Which, by the way, is a huge thing because we crew chiefs and engineers can go back and can feel a lot of validity with the changes when we’re all doing it together.”
Rodney Childers and Josh Berry aren’t as hands-on with the No. 14 collaboration as their teammates at the No. 10 but have bought into whatever Boswell might ask of them too.
“I honestly love this,” Childers said. “Honestly, that group is a little quiet compared to our 4 team but they definitely tell us when they need help but they are very focused on what’s good for them, and the things that make them better, and they’re doing a great job.”
Boswell, beyond being grateful for the collaboration, also says it’s reflective of the tragedy of the closure.
The current group at Stewart-Haas Racing have worked as well together as any team in NASCAR possibly could and circumstances are breaking them up.
But for now, they have at least three more weeks, and maybe three more weeks after that, to try to send out the company with one more championship race appearance and everyone is relishing every opportunity that comes with it.
“That’s the worst part about all of this,” Boswell said “We have an amazing group of employees that work together and I don’t know what caused all of this but the one thing I can say is that (vice president of competition) Greg Zipadelli does an amazing job.
“He pushes the four teams to work together, which is his main job, and he’s done a great job of that. I have three amazing teammates that help with everything they can, crew chiefs helping crew chiefs, drivers, shop hands talking through every detail.
“We are a big family working together for one goal.”
