NASCAR MEDIA CONFERENCE

March 13, 2022

Chase Briscoe

Johnny Klausmeier

Press Conference

An Interview with:

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by our race-winning team, the No. 14, with Stewart-Haas Racing. We have Chase Briscoe and crew chief Johnny Klausmeier.

We'll go straight to questions.

Q. Chase, what is it like knowing you are battling against two other drivers trying to get their first win, too?

CHASE BRISCOE: I thought on that last two restarts, I feel like that was probably the worst-case scenario for me. Ross and Tyler are two of the most aggressive guys on restarts. Fourth you had Kevin, who obviously has been a year, year and a half since he won, so you know he's hungry, too.

I knew that as long as I drove in there deeper than everybody else, I probably was going to be okay. Those two other guys, they were giving everything they had, too.

Thankfully Ross left me a lane. He didn't have to do that. I thought I was going to plug the fence and be done. But I was committed at that point. I was kind of blown away that it stuck as well as it did and then that he even left me a lane because he was all but clear.

Everything worked out perfect. There was one point in the race we kind of faded a little bit, but Johnny and the pit crew did an incredible job of giving me an opportunity to try to win the race. As a driver, that's all you can ask for.

Q. Knowing the journey you've taken, how does it feel to finally win at the top level, be the 200th winner as well?

CHASE BRISCOE: Just to get there, just to win a Cup race, I never thought I would win a single Truck race, let along a Cup race. To be the 200th winner as that. Some incredible guys on that list. To be one of 200, it's humbling, it's unbelievable.

I said it in my post-race deal, seven years ago I was literally two days away from giving up racing, at least on the pavement side. Briggs and Beth Cunningham called me and asked me if I wanted to test their ARCA car. That turned into a race, then a full season, Ford taking a chance on me.

There were many times along the way my career could have been over, even in the last four or five. To now be a winner in the Cup Series is unbelievable. To be one of 40 guys week in, week out is special. To say you were the best guy that day. These guys are incredible race car drivers. To be on the racetrack with them is humbling, and to beat them is definitely humbling.

Q. Chase, if you end up in the wall, is that an okay finish if you're going for the win?

CHASE BRISCOE: I was committed at that point. If I lifted, I was going to get beat because then Ross has the lead. There is no way I was going to be able to pass him back.

Like I said, I thought there was no way that I wasn't going to hit the fence. Same thing at Darlington when I beat Kyle. I felt like God was with me because there's no way, when I won Darlington, when I hit the fence, somehow gained speed, then today.

There was no way I wasn't going to knock the wall down at the angle I was at. I was up in the marbles. Somehow it stuck. I was able to clear him.

Definitely was a crazy race. The restarts, they definitely made you earn 'em. Just an unbelievable day. Like I said, thankful to our pit crew was on it, they've been on it all year long, gave me an opportunity to go and win the race.

Q. Johnny, when you hear him say he was probably going to hit the wall, does that make you cringe a little bit? Is that what you expect?

JOHNNY KLAUSMEIER: No, that's what I expect out of Chase, 100% all the time. He's going to put it on the line, find the limit. Sometimes it's good. Sometimes it's bad. Today it all worked out.

Q. Johnny, we saw what Elliott's pit crew had done throughout the day. What was that like for you as a crew chief?

JOHNNY KLAUSMEIER: It's awesome. A lot of the guys on that team, they worked with us the last few years. We're a tight-knit group. We believe in each other.

We've had speed in the car, maybe have an issue on pit road, have speed in the pits, don't have the car to back it up.

Today those guys carried us. They were on it. With this new car, everyone is figuring out the single lug, how to be the fastest at doing it. They did a great job at it.

Our pit stall helped. Been playing around, getting the most in and out of the box. Those guys delivered when it mattered.

Q. Chase, when the caution flag went out with seven to go, what was going through your head?

CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah, I mean, there was a couple times there. I don't remember when that first one came out, maybe 30 or 40 to go. I finally started barely pulling away from Chase. I felt like if it went green to the end, I was going to at least have a shot.

Looking back I'm glad that caution came. Hard to say what happens the last 30 laps, his car comes in, mine fades. I was kind of getting worried there. Then the one with eight to go, there was no way they were going to catch me. The caution comes out. I'm glad that that's the way it was because you definitely had to go earn it.

Yeah, even there at the end, that last restart, it could have went multiple different ways. This place is crazy on restarts with the dogleg and everything else. There's a lot of unknown variables. I have a new spotter this year, he did an incredible job on those restarts to be aggressive, ultimately win us the race.

Q. Chase, have you talked to your wife?

CHASE BRISCOE: For like 20 seconds. It was super brief. I was on the phone with Tony. She was on FaceTime. There was a lot going on, obviously, it was when we got into Victory Lane and then there at the end.

She obviously isn't here. We FaceTimed her and tried to take somewhat of a picture with me, her, and Brooks. Who knows if it turned out or not.

I wish that she was here. She was wanting to come literally last minute, and I talked her out of it because I was like, no, flying with the baby, flying commercial, last minute if it gets canceled or delayed, we'd be stuck here in Charlotte.

I saw my text. She said, I knew I should have came.

She's going next week and Brooks is going next week, so hopefully we can go back to back. But, yeah, it would be cool call her and just get back home tonight, whatever time we get home, and see her and Brooks.

Q. The 14 back in Victory Lane, could you tell us a little bit about that conversation with Tony.

CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah. He was just, first off, said congratulations. They actually won the Gator Nationals today in the drag racing deals, so he was pretty excited. You could hear dragsters going off in the background.

I just told him thank you for believing in me and giving me an opportunity to drive that car. That car is obviously his, and he has a lot of passion and drive for that car and to take a chance on another guy, kind of like himself, a dirt sprint car. We grew up 45 minutes apart. My dad raced against Tony Stewart in sprint cars. I was literally a diehard Tony Stewart fan growing up and diehard 14 fan, so for me to add my name to the list of guys that have got the 14 car to Victory Lane is definitely special for me.

Looking back, when I was six, seven years old and wearing the Tony Stewart helmet and uniform, I never in a million years thought I would get the 14 car in Victory Lane in the Cup Series, and it was cool for him to call and hear how excited he was.

Q. Chase, how does this win compare to some of the other Xfinity Series wins or that 2016 ARCA Series championship?

CHASE BRISCOE: The Cup Series is the pinnacle. You dream of getting an opportunity to run in the Cup Series. It's the most elite guys, the best race car drivers in my opinion in the world, especially in stockcars.

To win a couple race is nothing I dreamed in a million years I would get to win one of them. To be on that list of only 200 people. I don't know what I am now in winning all three series. I never thought I'd win a Truck race, let alone win in all three series now. It's super special. Can't believe it. I don't think it's sunk in yet. I don't know if it will for a while.

We've been very, very fast all year long, one of the best cars, you but W haven't been able to put a full race together.

Q. What do you think you're going to remember most about this victory?

CHASE BRISCOE: This is like my worst racetrack forever. Here, Richmond and New Hampshire. I used to dread coming here. Even in the Xfinity stuff. I was bumped truthfully that the race came here instead of Homestead. I felt Homestead was my best racetrack at trying to win a championship.

Even last year we didn't have the finish necessarily at Phoenix, but we were really, really fast at both races. I don't know, something about I think the more power, the less downforce has been a little bit better.

As they've added stuff to the top, it's really helped me because I can run the top all day long. I feel like that's typically better for me.

Q. Chase, you mentioned this being a very difficult track for you. How would it compare to last year in the Cup Series with the Gen-6 car?

CHASE BRISCOE: Came and tested here in January, whenever that was. I thought this was the most similar place to the old car out of anywhere I've driven it so far.

You have a little bit more grip. It feels a little bit slower down the straightaway. But the cornering is about the same. Even the brake points are pretty similar.

I will say, this car that had a tire that was wore out was different than the old car. But I thought the racing was better truthfully in this year's car than last year's, just what you can do in the race car, set guys up.

I've had a lot of fun in this Next Gen car. Everywhere we've went, I felt really comfortable in the car. Week in, week out I keep finding that limit of how much I can slide the car, slip it. At the beginning we were all scare that we weren't going to be able to do that at all. It's been fun to learn this car. Stewart-Haas, specifically the 14 guys, have done a good job of finding speed in it.

Q. Have you noticed any significant strides in yourself or the team compared to last year?

CHASE BRISCOE: I think from a confidence standpoint I feel like I belong this year. Last year, you're very eyes wide open. You're racing against guys you've watched on TV for years, you've looked up to. Now I don't look at the 18 car and go, That's Kyle Busch. It's just the 18 car, another guy out there.

I think that confidence has came a long way. Obviously with the results, the confidence builds. I feel like I belong. Especially now winning, I've proven I belong in the Cup Series. When you come in in your rookie year, you think you're ready, but you're never ready.

To run up front and lead laps is special, for sure.

Q. Chase, is this car an equalizer? Are you and Tyler Reddick and Ross Chastain better drivers and better teams?

CHASE BRISCOE: I mean, I think you see the dirt guys, I mean, Ross isn't a dirt guy, but a lot of the dirt guys, when we go to a racetrack, you get three laps, three hot laps and you better figure it out quickly.

I think this car, being new, not a lot of practice, the dirt guys have always had to figure that out quickly. The guys that grew up late model or pavement racing, they don't necessarily have that. They go and test and run hours of practice. The dirt guys, you got to figure it out quickly, adapt.

I think that's why you've seen dirt guys run earlier in this Next Gen car. It's an equalizer to a certain extent. More comers and goers throughout the race. The old car, you saw one guy be fast. He was just fast the whole time. Couldn't really catch him.

This car you have really fast short-run guys, really good long-run guys. It's interesting to see how that plays out throughout the race. I can't speak to the setup side of it, but from a driver standpoint, I feel like we've done a lot better finding that limit and being able to ride on that limit. At first, you couldn't find the limit, and then it was gone.

I don't think we're better race car drivers or better teams, but I do think it's an equalizer to a certain extent because it's a new opportunity and guys to have figure out and adapt.

Q. (No microphone.)

JOHNNY KLAUSMEIER: We had a good car in the Coliseum. Built on that again to come back here. We were pretty quick. Qualified sixth. We're working on the simulator, engineers are working hard trying to figure it out. There's a lot of low-hanging fruit right now. I think we've kind of hit on something that fits his driving style.

We've been able to take different things to more racetracks and apply it because the car is more the same, drives the same, takes the same setups throughout all the short tracks and stuff. We've been able to refine it. Doing that, there's more success to come.

Q. Your career path, there's been different roadblocks. When you reach a moment like this, is there anything in particular, moments you think back on, Holy cow, if this, this, this? Anything in particular that stands out?

CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah, there's a ton. The warmup, like I said, when I was driving with half my stuff back from North Carolina back to Indiana, that one definitely sticks out. I called my mom, I remember, an hour before, I was bawling. I was over it. Felt like I had been kicked so many times, had no opportunities. An hour later I get that phone call.

Leading into 2020 I was going to get dropped. I had no sponsors, no nothing. Ford was in a weird situation, they didn't want to fund it anymore.

My dad, wearing a 98 Chase Briscoe hat in the middle of downtown Vegas, Mike Lindberg, the CEO of High Point, randomly walks by and says, Chase Briscoe. Gives my dad a card. A week later he is committed to sign up for Xfinity. Three days before that I was going to get dropped.

Then how hard my dad was on me. Chewed me out in Victory Lane in Sprint cars. Always hard on me. I can count on maybe three occasions where he's told me I've done a good job.

Without him being that hard on me growing up, I definitely wouldn't be the race car driver I am today. It was cool he was here in Victory Lane. He came up in Victory Lane and gave me a hug, I had tears in my eyes, he had tears in his eyes. He said, All that ass-chewing was worth it. It is true. Without him being that hard on me, a lot of dads sugarcoat it, tell their kids they are the best, not doing anything wrong. My dad was the opposite. He was always hard on me. Always not afraid to get into my rear-end. Honestly, I'm glad he did it that way.

At the time I didn't always understand it. Now looking back on it as I matured, I'm glad he was the way he is. He was the same way today. He was chewing me out for how I was doing stuff in practice yesterday. He definitely keeps me grounded and really helps me a lot.

Q. Johnny, is it any more validating to win a race the way you did today?

JOHNNY KLAUSMEIER: Honestly we had a fast car. To be able to match some strategy or nuance...

Yeah, it does. I think the coolest thing is with our guys, last year was a tough year. We didn't make the Playoffs. It was a struggle as a company and everything. We knew this was a reset for our side, too.

Having Chase, his confidence up and everything, being able to win with him is super special. So, yeah, I mean, it is. I think we've had speed. I think it can happen again. Just have to put it all together and execute.

Checking the box, the first one, certifying a place in the Playoff, that's a huge step. It's nice to win early, then you can learn the rest of the year.

Q. Chase, you alluded to like you feel you deserve to be here. Do you feel any relief getting the first win, knowing you'll likely be in the Playoffs this year as well?

CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah. Last year you come in, winning nine races in the Xfinity Series, you think you're ready, but you're never ready. You get humbled really, really quickly in the Cup Series and learn how good everybody is.

Even though we're running 30th, these guys are some of the best race car drivers in the world. You have to go to work and figure it out.

For me, I don't come from backing. I have to go have results otherwise nobody wants me tee drive the race car. It's definitely a relief to win a race. You can run second, third, but people want to win at the end of the day. You have to win races to stay here.

This isn't a guarantee. This could be my only win. I hope not. It shows I was capable of being at this level. But you still have to keep working. There's 39 other guys that are going to try to do their best next week. We can just continue to do what we need to do. Today we put a whole race together. We've proven now to ourselves that we can do it. Hopefully that confidence carry through.

Q. While you were doing the hat dance in Victory Lane, an excited gentleman in the back that showed you a receipt.

CHASE BRISCOE: I guess he placed a bet. He was pretty excited, yeah. It was a good one that he won. He was pretty fired up. It was cool for him to win.

Q. Do you know who that was?

CHASE BRISCOE: It was Rusty Rush, our sponsor. He won six figures, so he was pretty excited.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.