Chase Briscoe Reacts As Championship Hopes Shattered After Heartbreaking Week

Chase Briscoe’s hopes of clinching a NASCAR championship this season were definitively crushed following a particularly challenging week. The moment came during the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, marking an end to a fierce playoff run for Briscoe and the Stewart-Haas Racing team.

This emotionally draining week included substantial personal problems, as his wife, Marissa, was hospitalized twice after giving birth to their twins. Admitting to the strain of the circumstances, Briscoe said the following:

“Just one of those days, and honestly kind of one of those weeks with all that’s happened. Just ready for Monday.”

The race itself signaled the premature end of Briscoe’s NASCAR hopes. Mechanical setbacks plagued his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse, forcing him out of the race. A cut tire with just 14 laps remaining in the second stage further hampered performance, and the car’s steering eventually failed, nudging Briscoe out of any remaining fighting chance on the track.

Briscoe was open about the disappointments:

“Yeah, it’s tough, right? You know, to have all of that momentum that we had, to come to an end, and to have it all come to an end like it did is definitely unfortunate. But yeah, wish we could have kept going for it.” Briscoe’s elimination is particularly disheartening, considering his remarkable performance at the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. There, he clinched a win by outlasting Kyle Busch, solidifying his position in the playoffs when it mattered most.

It has been a difficult week for Briscoe. Just before the Kansas Speedway, his wife struggled with postpartum medical complications following the birth of their twins earlier this week. This saw the couple in and out of the hospital, even up to the Saturday of this weekend.

“Marissa is actually at the ER right now,” the driver said yesterday via Sports Illustrated. “She’s been twice. She’s had a lot of issues after. Hopefully, I can get done quickly here and get home. But yeah, the babies are good. They’re super small, I didn’t expect them to be as small as they are.”

For Stewart-Haas Racing, Briscoe’s prospects reflected a final push for the championship as the team concludes its last NASCAR season. The team’s storied legacy, established in 2009, comes to an end this year. Co-owner Gene Haas intends to remain in the sport, but Tony Stewart’s departure adds an element of uncertainty for the squad and its drivers.

As the racing season moves toward its conclusion without a third championship title for Stewart-Haas, Chase Briscoe remains committed to future races. “We still have a lot to race for, right?” he said. “We still could go win four races, and that’s what we’re going to try to do.”