Big changes are coming for Stewart-Haas Racing in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season with veteran Clint Bowyer leaving the No. 14 Ford for the FOX Sports broadcast booth and Chase Briscoe replacing him.
The team announced Tuesday that Briscoe — who’s currently competing for a championship in NASCAR’s second-tier Xfinity Series — will take over driving the No. 14 car for his childhood hero, Tony Stewart.
“For me to get to drive for Tony Stewart is unbelievable,” 25-year-old Briscoe said Saturday after winning his ninth Xfinity race of the season.
“When I go back to Indiana in my hometown, my bedroom still has Tony Stewart stuff everywhere. I was a die hard Tony Stewart fan. I used to literally dress up in a Home Depot uniform and helmet and play my Sprint Car video game every single day. And now I get to drive for the guy.”
Still at a loss for words over everything, I grew up with Tony as my hero. Five years ago I was sleeping on couches and volunteering at race shops and now I’m driving my hero’s car. The 14 is more than just a number to me, I hope to make everyone proud like the last Indiana guy. https://t.co/i34FZhNPGK
— Chase Briscoe (@ChaseBriscoe5) October 20, 2020
For his part, Stewart expressed his excitement over the up-and-coming driver, and the NASCAR Hall of Famer said he hopes Briscoe ties his and Jimmie Johnson’s record of three wins in a rookie season.
During a Zoom press conference Tuesday following Stewart-Haas Racing’s announcement, Stewart, a three-time Cup Series champion, was asked about why he said he sees a lot of himself in Briscoe. Stewart explained:
“When he makes a mistake he will spend more time reflecting on that mistake, unfortunately, than he does the rest of the good things that he does all day. But that’s kind of the way I was in my career too. I felt minimizing mistakes was the key to winning races and championships, and that’s also the same mindset that Chase has as well.
“He’s very, very diligent about making sure he learns from everything that happens on the race track, and he’s got a pretty good memory bank to hold all of that knowledge in. So he’s great about realizing when he makes a mistake and then analyzing what happened, why did he make the mistake and what can he do to correct it for the next time. That’s something that I had to try to do through my career as well.”
Like Stewart, Briscoe also has experience in a variety of racing disciplines, including the NASCAR Truck Series, sports cars in IMSA and dirt tracks. He has, however, never competed in the Cup Series, even in a one-off event. So his Cup debut as a rookie will be the 2021 Daytona 500 in February.
But Stewart also said he and his team are looking at the bigger picture.
“I feel like even if the first year is a struggle for him, we’re committed to him, and we’re gonna make sure we get him where he needs to be,” Stewart explained. “And I think we will have a lot of success with him down the road.”
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