Sports
Chase Briscoe Reveals How He Blindsided Tony Stewart
Chase Briscoe Reveals How He Blindsided Tony Stewart
Chase Briscoe‘s life just did a 360, and he is definitely on cloud nine right now. But that was, evidently, not the case for the past few months. As Tony Stewart decided to shut Stewart-Haas Racing down, uncertainty about Briscoe’s future loomed large, and a ‘no owner’ situation was what he struggled with. In fact, his desperate situation even led him to scrounge Reddit forums to find answers regarding the hush-hush developments. But now it looks like things have certainly turned out for the better, with the driver even taking his team owner Tony Stewart by surprise!
How did the No. 14 Ford driver catch Tony Stewart off guard?
Tony Stewart‘s absence from the NASCAR tracks, the rumors spiraling about charters being sold, and the emptying seats of sponsors (catapulted by Kevin Harvick’s retirement) hinted that something was cooking behind the scenes. But despite the uncertainties, there was no clear answer. No one knew what was going on. Not even the team’s drivers who had time and again shown optimism. While many crew members had already reportedly started scouting for jobs even before the official closure news dropped, perhaps the most stranded were the team’s drivers. They had to be at SHR till 2024-end, make sure they were performing at a level that would attract new teams, while also dealing with the anxiety of being homeless come 2025.
Chase Briscoe’s situation was even more unique. With twins on the way, he couldn’t be seen slacking off! “I’m just trying to make sure that I’m not left out. I don’t have anything to fall back on. I’m not like some of the other people where they have family business or something like that. With a two-and-a-half-year-old and a wife and then twins on the way, I definitely can’t afford to be left out and not have anything,” the #14 driver had said, according to Autoweek.
But then Martin Truex Jr confirmed his retirement, giving the 29-year-old the sliver of hope he was looking for. Briscoe didn’t waste time and reached out to JGR representatives. And well, what do you know? Within a week, he had already signed a contract. And the most surprising part? Even his team owner didn’t expect this, which the driver revealed in a recent conversation.
Speaking with NASCAR, Chase Briscoe recalled the conversation he had with Stewart. He said, “So I had called him, and at the end of the conversation, he said, ‘If there’s anything I can ever do for you as far as calling people or anything, just don’t hesitate, let me know’. I said, ‘Well, you actually don’t have to. I signed something yesterday.’ And he goes, ‘Oh, the Front Row deal?’ And I said, ‘No, not the Front Row deal’. He said, ‘Oh, Wood Brothers?’ I said, ‘No, not Wood Brothers’. He said, ‘What is it then?’ I said, ‘I’m going to JGR to drive the 19‘.”
Briscoe actually did what Tony Stewart had done, only slightly differently. While Tony Stewart went from JGR to SHR, he jumped from SHR to JGR!
And for sure, for Briscoe, the road ahead looks exciting, with him taking the jump to one of the most esteemed teams in NASCAR. But with such a leap comes pressure and expectations. And it seems like JGR surely has high expectations of him and does the racer himself!
THERE IS COMMENT BOX AFTER THE ADS, SHARE YOUR THOUGHT WITH US
Mick Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel are teaming up to represent Germany at the 2025 Race of Champions (ROC), taking place at Sydney’s Accor Stadium on March 7-8, 2025. First held in 1988, the event will see Schumacher and Vettel team up for the fourth time in their Race of Champions partnership.
They will face off against top competitors from across the motorsport spectrum, spanning single-seaters, rally, and endurance racing.
Vettel, who hasn’t ruled out an F1 return in the future, secured an outright victory at the Race of Champions in London back in 2015. He said in a statement:
“I’m delighted to be coming back to the Race Of Champions and teaming up with Mick again.
“It will be exciting to race in the former Olympic Stadium in Sydney that looks like it will be a great venue for the Race Of Champions. Sydney is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and I think Fredrik (Johnsson) and his team have selected an incredible venue for the next chapter of ROC.
“I am also supportive of ROC’s efforts taking steps towards becoming a sustainable motorsport event, which started at ROC Sweden.
“All the drivers who have the honour to participate in ROC fall in love with the event, because it reminds us about why we first started racing; pure competition and of course with the identical cars there are no excuses.
“I will do everything I can to help Germany win another ROC Nations Cup Title with Mick on the Friday evening, but I will not be doing him any favours when we are going for the outright win on the Saturday night, especially as he beat me in the Semifinals of the Individual ROC in Sweden in 2023!
“At ROC the racing is always intense on the track and everyone wants to win, but it’s also about putting on a great show for the fans.”
Schumacher, who recently revealed that securing a full-time seat with an F1 team was his ultimate goal, looks forward to the ROC at one of his favorite locations. He added:
“After finishing 2nd in the individual ROC in Sweden in 2023 and in the ROC Nations Cup in ROC Mexico with Seb, the goal this time has to be the overall winners trophy both in the ROC Nations Cup on Friday night and in the individual Race Of Champions on Saturday.
THERE IS COMMENT BOX AFTER THE ADS, SHARE YOUR THOUGHT WITH US
Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has issued a warning to Ferrari as Lewis Hamilton prepares to join Charles Leclerc as a teammate next season. Hamilton will leave Mercedes after this season to team up with Leclerc, creating significant intrigue in the sport.
The deal between Hamilton and Ferrari marks a historic move in Formula 1. Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, is set to bring his wealth of experience and competitive spirit to the Maranello-based team. This partnership aims to revitalize Ferrari’s performance, which has seen mixed results in recent years. Hamilton’s unmatched drive and Leclerc’s emerging talent promise a powerful dynamic. Both drivers are motivated by the same goal: to secure championships for Ferrari, a team rich in history but seeking to return to its former glory. Their collaboration is anticipated to be a challenge for the competition and an opportunity to push each other to new heights.
Domenicali emphasized the challenge Hamilton will pose for Leclerc, given Hamilton’s talent, experience, and popularity. The seven-time world champion aims to secure an eighth title with Ferrari, and Domenicali noted the importance of clear team rules to prevent any potential conflicts.
“As a Ferrari enthusiast, it’s an extraordinary opportunity because Lewis is a centraliser. He wants to bring home the eighth title and become the best ever. There will have to be respect with Charles, but it’s clear that when you lower your visor… in any case, the team rules and management must be clear,” Domenicali told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Replacing Hamilton at Mercedes will be 18-year-old Italian prodigy Kimi Antonelli. There’s considerable buzz around Antonelli, alongside other rookies like Oliver Bearman and Jack Doohan who will also debut in F1 next season.
Domenicali expressed his excitement about the influx of young talent and the diverse personalities they bring to the grid. “The young drivers? There are many and what I like is that each one has his own personality,” he added. “We are in a fortunate phase, the drivers are not a problem. The lifeblood of young people is fundamental for us, what F1 must do is to get out of its self-referentiality. I want to see different faces and professionalism.”
This new era in F1 promises to be thrilling as veteran talent and young drivers collide on the track.
The leader of wins in the 2024 Cup Series season achieved his feats without much noise. Kyle Larson currently owns 6 race victories, double the stats held by Cup rivals closest to his heels. Despite numerous instances of on-track scuffles in Cup this year – from the Stenhouse-Busch fistfight to Hocevar spinning Burton – you would not find Kyle Larson on that list. And that is what earned him the respect of a veteran who used to be NASCAR’s Ironman.
Ricky Rudd, a NASCAR Hall of Famer, was a golden phenomenon in his time. The 23-time Cup Series winner was known for his tremendous grit and iron capacity to continue driving even amidst extreme health risks. So recognition from this former HMS driver is no mean feat – but we are talking about Kyle Larson the overachiever.
Making his Cup debut in 1975 at Rockingham Speedway, 18-year-old Ricky Rudd soon developed his signature style of racing. Among his competitors, Rudd earned a name for being a formidable racer. Although he was a clean racer, he taught rivals who messed with him a lesson, as they fell on the wrong side of his bumper. The scrappy driver, the 1997 Brickyard 400 winner, received a fitting nickname for his on-track personality – “Rooster.” His rowdiness was experienced firsthand by veterans like Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, and Dale Earnhardt.
But even the “Rooster” tipped his hat to Kyle Larson’s indomitable calmness of spirit. In a recent interview, the NASCAR Hall of Famer detailed his mindset when he went to race. He did not snuggle with his rivals so much: “You gotta dig down deep when you kind of go out against the competition. Especially when these guys are the best, you know, the best there is…These guys on the racetrack, they were my enemy. I didn’t treat them unkindly, but those were the guys that I purposely wasn’t super close friends with any of them…We were, you know, friends, but just more acquaintances than it was friendship.
Yet Rudd chose to salute Kyle Larson‘s starkly opposite attitude on the racetrack. The Charlotte Roval race winner rarely harbors ill will towards his rivals, and that is what sets his unique driving style, as Rudd said. “I don’t think everybody’s programmed that way. Some guys win and they find a different way to do it. You look at Kyle Larson today. I don’t think he gets mad at anybody, you know. I don’t think he could get mad. But he wins. He’s a heck of a driver and he wins races. Everybody’s got their own way of competing and doing what you have to do to be competitive.” Larson tied Rudd on the wins list when he clinched his 23rd career win last year in Las Vegas.
