TULSA, Okla. – Chase Briscoe has a love-hate relationship with the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals.
That relationship continued Saturday night inside the SageNet Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the driver of Stewart-Haas Racing’s No. 14 Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Cup Series fell three positions short of advancing to the 55-lap championship feature that headlines the biggest midget racing event in the world.
This year’s Chili Bowl delivered another heartbreaking result for Briscoe, who has come agonizingly close to making the finale via the B Mains several times over the last few years.
“We got going pretty good there at the beginning. The first five, 10 laps, I felt pretty good and felt like I was in a good spot,” Briscoe said. “I think I came out running sixth, and I felt like if I didn’t make a mistake I could have come out running fifth. Honestly I was just logging laps.
“I was hoping honestly it went green to checkered. I felt like that was probably my best chance to [advance]. The way the cautions kind of fell at the end were kind of weird for me. I’d just got passed, and I was running seventh and still felt like I was in an OK spot.”
At the Chili Bowl, only the top seven drivers in each of the two B Mains advance to race in the Chili Bowl finale. Briscoe was running seventh when the final caution flag of his B Main waved with three laps to go.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwHXM-DErpU
Instantly Briscoe knew he was in trouble, because he knew he had a huge target on his back.
“The caution came out and stacked everybody back up, and when you’re seventh with three laps to go, you’re kind of panicking here I feel like because you know big sliders are coming,” Briscoe said.
Briscoe’s panic was warranted. In the final three laps, Briscoe nearly flipped and dropped from seventh to 10th, eliminating him from contention.
“[Kevin Thomas Jr.] had been running the bottom fairly consistently, and I kind of expected him to do the same,” Briscoe said. “He kind of changed lanes real last minute and checked me up, and then [Ryan] Timms came in there and slid me. From there I just kind of got swallowed up.”
Despite the obvious disappointment, Briscoe’s enthusiasm and love for the Chili Bowl hasn’t wavered.
He considers the Chili Bowl one of the greatest motorsports events in the world, and the statistics back it up. More than 15,000 fans pack the SageNet Center every January to watch drivers from a variety of racing disciplines do battle on a temporary fifth-mile dirt oval.
It’s no wonder Briscoe and other NASCAR drivers like Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell and Tony Stewart have made the pilgrimage to Tulsa to participate in the Chili Bowl through the years.
“I feel like these are the best race car drivers in the world at what they do. You want to be considered one of the best,” said Briscoe, who qualified for his only Chili Bowl finale in 2017. “For me, I’ve been able to taste what the Saturday A-Main is like, but I got flipped over 12 laps in, so I really haven’t been able to experience the full thing, and I was so overwhelmed.
“It was my second time ever here, and I didn’t really savor the moment. I want to do that again and enjoy it a little bit more.”
While Briscoe has all the passion in the world for the Chili Bowl, he’s also realistic. At 28, he realizes he’s slowly slipping out of his midget racing prime.
This year alone Briscoe could only watch as a couple 14-year-olds, his teammate Brent Crews and Ryan Timms, raced their way into their first Chili Bowl championship finale. He knows his time could be running out, but that doesn’t mean he is going to stop trying.
“I’m getting older, I know that sounds weird being 28, but I don’t know how much longer I’m going to realistically do this and be able to do this at a [winning] level,” Briscoe said. “The kids are getting better and better and younger and younger.”
As much as the Chili Bowl broke Briscoe’s heart on Saturday night, his passion for the event still burns as bright as ever.
He’s not afraid to be disappointed, and he’s willing to have his heart broken. All in pursuit of a chance to race for a Golden Driller trophy.
“It’s definitely a week-long event where the anticipation keeps continuing and continuing, and I think that’s why this race creates such passion for it,” Briscoe said. “Because you’re always so close, or you make it and it’s exciting because you’ve been here all week long, or you’re dejected when you don’t make it because you’ve been here all week long.
“That’s part of what makes the Chili Bowl special, and I’ll always keep coming back.”