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Notes of Interest |
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● For Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang, the plan for the early stages of his rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series has been unchanged since week one and that is to be relentless about continuous improvement. Briscoe’s embodiment of HighPoint Fundamental No. 13 is why he has overcome adversity in each of the first four events of the year to score two top-20 finishes, something that is not an easy task for a young driver in NASCAR’s premier series. Following The HighPoint Way, Briscoe and the No. 14 team have adopted the strategy laid out in Fundamental No. 13 – “Regularly reevaluate every aspect of your job to find ways to improve. Guard against complacency and don’t ever be satisfied with the status quo. ‘Because we’ve always done it that way’ is not a reason. Demonstrate a hunger for knowledge and take responsibility for your career by being a lifelong learner.”
● Phoenix hasn’t been one of Briscoe’s best tracks, but his stats at the 1-mile oval tell a different story. He has four career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts there and each has resulted in top-10 finishes. His best Xfinity Series result at Phoenix is sixth – scored twice (March 2019 and March 2020). In last year’s season finale, Briscoe led twice early in the race for a total of 41 laps, but ultimately the championship contender finished ninth after a spin that sent the race into overtime.
● He also has a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start at Phoenix. In November 2017, Briscoe started eighth and finished fourth in his Ford F-150, securing his 13th career top-10. The result served as a prelude to Briscoe’s talent, as he won his first career Truck Series race the very next week in the Ford EcoBoost 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Prior to his only Truck Series start at Phoenix, Briscoe ran a NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at the track in November 2013.
● With four NASCAR Cup Series starts under his belt, Briscoe leads the Rookie of the Year standings by 12 points over Anthony Alfredo. With Rookie of the Year honors in the Truck Series (2017) and Xfinity Series (2019), Briscoe is looking to join Erik Jones and William Byron as only the third driver in history to claim the title in all three of NASCAR’s national touring series.
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Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing |
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Phoenix is not at the top of your list when it comes to favorite tracks. Why has it been so tough for you? “I felt like we made some good gains at Phoenix last year and I learned a lot. The results didn’t necessarily show the speed that we had. But I’m sure it’ll be different and I’ll take time to figure things out in the Cup car. Statistically, it’s not my best racetrack, not that I don’t get around Phoenix great, I just simply haven’t had the success that I’d like to have there. It’s a place I’ve always kind of struggled to just get the balance that I need.”
You’ve gone from winning the most races in the Xfinity Series last year to really having to work to find your footing in the Cup Series. Are the results so far what you expected? “I think so. I knew there would be some learning curves and I would be at a disadvantage with no practice. We probably actually should’ve had some better finishes than we’ve had, but we dealt with a lot in those first three races and were able to come back and still get a decent finish in the (Daytona) 500 and at Homestead. We’ll get there. Johnny (Klausmeier, crew chief) and the team have been great – really patient as I figure things out. I think we’re doing pretty good, though. There are always going to be people who think I should be finishing better, but I know how much I’ve been able to learn and feel a lot better about where I stack up.”
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