“I really thought that I would be in the 14 car my entire career.”
In 2021, Chase Briscoe got to realize a dream of piloting the No. 14 Ford for the organization co-owned by his favorite driver growing up, Tony Stewart. Episode 2 of Netflix’s “NASCAR: Full Speed,” which premiered on the streaming platform May 7, dives into the closing of Stewart-Haas Racing in 2024 and Briscoe having to carry the banner for the team in the playoffs.
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The five-part docuseries details Briscoe’s up-and-down 2024 campaign, highlighted by a thrilling victory in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, the regular-season finale last year, to make the 16-driver postseason. Netflix also goes behind the scenes with the Briscoe family as Chase’s wife Marissa prepares to give birth to twins.
Marissa opened up about the emotions that come with her husband’s career, knowing the nine-month grind of a NASCAR season.
“I wouldn’t say I resent him or his job or get angry about it because in a way, I almost signed up for this,” Marissa said. “But there are moments when I get angry and I break down like ‘why can’t you be there? Why can’t you be here? Why can’t we do this together?’ But nobody else lives this life, but what, 40 other people in the world?”
With Chase’s Cup future unknown following the announcement of SHR’s closure, he reached out to several teams to see what the outlook was. That’s when he received a text from a legendary team owner.
“I get a text message from an unsaved number I didn’t have, it says: ‘Chase, it’s Coach [Joe Gibbs], what are you doing tomorrow morning?’ And I said, ‘Well, I’m supposed to go meet with the Wood Brothers – the 21 car.’ Coach calls me and says ‘I’m nervous about you going to this 21 car. You better not screw this up.’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘Well, if you want to drive the 19 car, it’s all yours. Martin’s [Truex Jr.] not coming back.’
Episodes 2 and 3 look at Briscoe’s 2024 playoff run with elimination races at Bristol Motor Speedway [Round of 16] and the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course [Round of 12] being the featured events. Briscoe scored a top-five result in the daunting Bristol Night Race to earn a berth into the next round of the postseason. However, Charlotte did not serve the No. 14 team good fortune as Briscoe’s day ended early on Lap 41 of the 109-lap affair after being involved in a chain-reaction crash, eliminating him from the Cup playoffs and SHR’s shot at a title before closing its doors.
“Everybody at Stewart-Haas has been like family. That’s all I’ve known for the last seven years,” Briscoe said. “I was crying literally before we rolled off [at the final race of 2024 in Phoenix]. I don’t think it even hit me until I saw all the guys like they were tearing up on pit road too. Just knowing that we don’t get to race together again is sad.”