Chase Briscoe

Last season was a tough rookie campaign for Briscoe. Given the things that were happening at Stewart Haas Racing, there were plenty of headwinds to his first Cup Series season. Briscoe labored to just three Top-10 finishes, but most of his good performances came in the final third of the season. The No. 14 Ford team seemed to get things together going down the stretch and that's a hopeful sign for the upcoming season. We expect some modest growth for Briscoe in season two. He and crew chief John Klausmeier should take some steps together in 2022. Briscoe's excellent road racing skills are a real asset with the road-course heavy schedule that lies ahead. Those along with the larger ovals seemed to be the real sweet spot for this driver and team. Briscoe has a lot of talent and potential to climb the driver standings.

The prime rookie of this season's small rookie class is Briscoe. He'll take over the No. 14 Ford of Stewart Haas Racing after a smashing season in the Xfinity Series in 2020. Briscoe tallied a whopping nine victories and 16 Top-5 finishes but fell short in the championship playoffs thanks to some late-season inconsistency. With the retirement of Clint Bowyer, it was an easy decision for SHR to promote Briscoe into that ride. He'll inherit Bowyer's crew chief, John Klausmeier, and the two will begin to build chemistry right out the gate in 2021. Bowyer tallied 12 Top-10 finishes with this race team last season, but it may be a bit overly ambitious to expect a similar level of performance for Briscoe. After all, the youngster has absolutely zero experience racing in NASCAR's top division entering this season. However, we could see some modestly good performance that might mirror Tyler Reddick's stats as a rookie from last season.

Stewart Haas Racing has brought Briscoe back for another season in the team's No. 98 Ford Mustang. He captured Rookie of the Year honors last season with a one win, 26 Top-10 finish campaign. With Cole Custer now gone, and Stewart Haas Racing reducing from two to one team, Briscoe will become the focal point of SHR in the Xfinity Series. Richard Boswell will return atop the team's war wagon and continue mentoring and guiding this young driver. The two developed a lot of chemistry last season and it led to some great results. With so many talented drivers promoting to the Cup Series over the off-season, Briscoe's star should shine a little brighter in 2020. He's the new, big prospect driver at Stewart Haas Racing.

Stewart Haas Racing and Biagi-DenBeste Racing have decided to take this team from part-time to full-time in 2019. This team's successes in part-time competition are well documented. Aric Almirola, Kevin Harvick and Briscoe have taken this team to victory lane four times in the last three seasons. After last year's two wins and four Top-5 finishes in 12 starts it was decided to bring in Briscoe and go full-time. Briscoe made 17 starts last season between this team and the No. 60 of Roush Fenway Racing. It was his first foray into the Xfinity Series. The 24-year-old driver still has a lot to learn, but it's clear that he has exceptional talent. This team's success in part-time racing teases the possibilities of a full 33-race slate with this up-and-coming driver.

With the closure of Brad Keselowski's truck series operation, Briscoe and Cindric became two very good young drivers in search of a ride. Roush Fenway Racing stepped in and revived their No. 60 team in an opportunistic situation. This team was named Ford's development driver team, and the two truck series aces will head up the effort. Majeski is a 23-year-old product of kart racing and late model stocks. He made three starts for this team in 2017, and collected a Top-10 finish in the season finale at Homestead. The driver distribution for this team has yet to be announced, but we can only imagine it will be a heavy dose of Cindric and Briscoe, followed by a lesser dose of Majeski. This team should be pretty competitive given the talent behind the wheel.

Briscoe was named a Ford development driver and named to the No. 29 BKR Ford truck in mid-January. He'll replace the departed Tyler Reddick in the driver's seat of the team's truck. Briscoe got a taste of success last year as he piloted Cunningham Motorsports' No. 77 Ford to six victories and a championship in the ARCA Series. The 22-year-old driver from Indiana has never raced a competitive lap in a Camping World Truck Series truck. However, it's abundantly clear that he has the gift of wheeling a stock car around an oval. Briscoe will not only take over a strong team, but he'll be paired with one of the veteran crew chiefs in this garage area. Mike Hillman Jr. will be calling the shots from atop the team's war wagon. If the variables fall into the right slots, Briscoe could push this team into the Top 5 of the driver rankings.

Signed with Brad Keselowski Racing and Ford Performance in January 2017 as a development driver and competitor in the Camping World Truck Series.