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NASCAR XFINITY SERIES: DESERT DIAMOND CASINO WEST VALLEY 200November 7, 2020Chase BriscoeJustin HaleyAvondale, Arizona THE MODERATOR: We're now joined by Justin Haley, driver of the No.11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet. We'll get right into questions for you. Q. Justin, this is Kaulig's first time in the Championship 4. I know you didn't come away with what you wanted, but overall what was it like to get Kaulig into the Championship 4? JUSTIN HALEY: Yeah, I mean, it was awesome. Just being a part of it, having Matt Kaulig back at the racetrack, that was the most important thing for me. He texted me before Martinsville and he was like, hey, make it to Phoenix so I can go to Phoenix. Being able to see Matt, we haven't been able to see him in a while, and it's good to catch up with the team owner, but awesome for all of the guys and men and women at Kaulig Racing. Special moment for us. Obviously we didn't have the speed in the early part of the race, but we actually got it way better there and we were running in the top 5 and strategy just put us a lap down‑‑ meaning the 98 a lap down, and we really just couldn't recover from it. All day we fought hard, just lacked a little bit, and we actually found it just a little bit too much too late. Q. Three wins this season, first time getting Kaulig in the Championship 4. What's your biggest takeaway from the season? JUSTIN HALEY: It's awesome. I mean, just breaking records. Obviously you are in the Championship 4 and you want to go win the championship, but I've been in this position before at GMS in the Final Four, and you know as a driver all you really can ask for is to make it to the championship race. Whatever happens after that, like it's just‑‑ it's life. Life goes on. It's part of it. Being able for all of them to experience it, right, like even the shop guys, having the added pressure and not making any mistakes, nothing fell off the car, car was great all day, and we found a good bit of speed, just having reps and that kind of stuff so we can come back next year and be stronger. THE MODERATOR: We are also joined here by Chase Briscoe, driver of the No.98 Stewart‑Haas Racing Ford. Q. Chase, can you talk about what happened on your lap where you spun? Obviously there was some chatter whether‑‑ I heard your chatter on the radio but wanted to get it from you. CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah, first off, it was just embarrassing to spin out, especially when the‑‑ truthfully we weren't going to probably win regardless and the 22 was leading the race and the main priority is for a Ford to win, and I've never felt so little in my life thinking if he didn't end up winning it's going to be costly. I was just so loose all day long, and I don't know if I wheel‑hopped or what. I really don't. I just know I went in there and the 61 got in a little bit slower than I thought he was going to, and I was sideways behind him and counter‑steering and I just got out of the grip stuff and it spun me out. I about spun out four or five times, once in 3 and then two or three other times into 1 and hit the wall a couple times, too. I was just really loose all day long, and it got me there at the end. Q. Chase, I got a photo of that moment of you a while ago talking to Austin. What were you guys talking about as y'all shared a‑‑ you came over there to congratulate him on the win. CHASE BRISCOE: I just told him I was proud of him. He was just happy obviously that he won the championship, and just same thing, we've literally on the stock car deal came up together. We've always been teammates, always worked together, and obviously good friends. If I couldn't win, obviously I wanted him to win, not only because he was a Ford guy but obviously just that friendship. I just went over there and told him I was proud of him, and he was just sorry that it went so bad for us today, and obviously just happy. Q. Chase, obviously disappointed to not win the championship, but it's been an incredible season for you on the racetrack and you've also had a lot of difficulty to overcome off the racetrack. Could you summarize a little bit what you think this entire year has done for you growing professionally as a driver? CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah, it's been a huge year. Obviously just from where we started the year to where I'm going to be come February, I didn't think that was really possible to be honest with you, and to have the year that we had and to now get promoted to go to the Cup Series, you know, it's definitely been a big year on the racetrack. It's been tough off the racetrack. But yeah, it obviously sucks right now sitting here knowing that we ran fourth in the championship, but I think a week from now, two weeks from now, it's going to still be something to hang our head high about. To win nine races is a big deal. The championship didn't work out, but that's part of it. You can't worry about that. Just proud to have won nine races and to be in line with such a great race team. Q. With no testing and probably entering next year with not much practice and qualifying, how are you going to approach moving into the Cup Series? CHASE BRISCOE: I mean, it's going to be tough. I think the one thing that helps is just the cars I feel like are obviously a lot higher downforce, so they're not going to be potentially on edge as much as the Xfinity cars, and it's just going to be I feel like easier to run laps by yourself. But just the racing side of things is going to be so much tougher. It's going to be a very humbling year. You can't go in there expecting like this year to win eight races. I think if we can make the playoffs, that would be a phenomenal year. But the biggest thing is just to learn as much as I can next year, and kind of same thing as this year. I felt like I really grew a lot as a race car driver, and just trying to do that again next year. Obviously the following year we're going to be in a new car where everybody is kind of on the same playing field, but trying to shorten that experience gap compared to those guys I think is going to be the biggest thing. Q. Justin, I know you got that full‑time ride set with Kaulig for next year in Xfinity competition, but I'm curious do you have any part‑time rides in Cup for a few races yet next year? JUSTIN HALEY: I have no idea. Normally the Cup stuff or the Truck stuff is a call week‑type situation. No, not any plans. Just extremely focused on Kaulig Racing and the Xfinity Series. Obviously I ran less Cup races this year I think than I did the previous year. No, I don't have anything set in stone. Q. Chase, can you give me any examples of how you've seen Austin improve? I know you've been pretty close with him and kind of come up together. How has he gotten better over these last couple years? CHASE BRISCOE: I think the biggest thing is anybody will tell you Austin is very aggressive on the racetrack, I think just being able to put races together. He's done a really good job of that, especially this year, of just putting the whole deal together. I felt like at times he may be too aggressive in the race and would tear his car up, and then at the end you're obviously not there, and this year he's done a great job of making sure he's there, he's in the hunt. That's half the battle. If you're up front at these races you have a chance to win them and be there to win it, and that's something in the past that if you get wrecked out early you're not doing that. So I think he just came together as a race car driver. Obviously the short tracks, the intermediates, all that, just as experience goes he gets better and better. Same with me, as we both come up through the ranks, the more laps we get the better we get. He's just learned a lot over this year of how to put races together, and obviously he did that tonight. Q. I know it sucks; you had all the wins this year. I know you're moving up to Cup, and that's awesome. Do you have anything lined up part‑time or longer in Xfinity next year? CHASE BRISCOE: No, that's something I haven't even talked about. I have no idea what the Xfinity program even looks like for next year. I would love to‑‑ I mean, I don't know how it's going to work, for example, like the COTA weekend, if Cup guys are even allowed to go down and run, but I would love to run any races that I could, whether it's at any track, just getting seat time and getting to race on the racetrack, especially with no practice, that would be a huge thing. But no, that's been nothing that's been talked about, trucks, Xfinity. No, never ran double duty in my life in NASCAR. I would love to do it; it's just a matter of putting it all together. Q. This is the first time since we came back that Marissa is there; so yes, it sucks, but at least you know you've got a little bit of comfort in that and the fact that she actually flew out there I'm assuming to join you, so that obviously helped soften the blow a little bit? CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah, for sure. Normally she's one of my biggest critics. I'm just glad I didn't speed on pit road or anything like that today because she would have been ripping me. Yeah, I mean, it's going to be nice. She'll honestly be probably more bummed out than I am. She definitely gets into it, that's to say the least, and glad she's out here, though, especially after the outcome. It would be great to have her here and celebrate the success, but it's also nice if it doesn't work out that she can be there to try to cheer me up. So glad that she's out here. Q. Marissa just tweeted, "I couldn't be more proud to call him my husband, he's still a champion to me." What has she meant to you throughout this whole journey since you guys came back in May and throughout this whole year? CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah, I think the biggest thing is just how strong she's been. She would have had every reason to just want to sit at home and curl up in a ball, and she's continued to be strong. She just amazes me every day how she handles adversity. Just like I said, she has every right to be down in the dumps every day and she tries to put a smile on and not forget about it but just go on. There's nothing you can do now. I'm sure that's really hard for her to‑‑ it's hard for me. I know it's even harder for her to experience all those things and still put a smile on and continue moving forward. Just really proud of how she's handled all the adversity and just sticking true to our faith and not trying to put the blame on anything and just going forward. Q. I think it's a fair assessment to say that you've grown as much as a person as you have as a race car driver during the 2020 season, and I think you're a true definition of dreams do come true if you want them bad enough. Looking at how many drivers are looking at you as a role model, how do you put the season in perspective and try to be a leader or somebody that those guys look up to in trying to reach your dream that you'll have in 2021? CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah, I mean, I think it's certainly possible if you just‑‑ everything has to go right. God obviously opened a lot of doors for me that just normally don't open up. Obviously you have to perform and the opportunity, but just getting the opportunity, being there every single day and knowing that it's not always going to work out. There's multiple times I got told no, but out of those 99 times it only took one yes to get an opportunity. It's definitely something that I'm proud of, kind of the path I've got to the Cup Series, to never bring a check to anything, just to actually go from sleeping on couches and all those things, it's something to really be proud of, especially in today's world. But yeah, I try to be well‑respected on the racetrack as well as off the racetrack. I try to be as nice to everybody as I can, just try to treat others how they should be treated, and I do want to be a role model, like you said, on and off the racetrack. That's honestly the hardest thing about tonight for me. That's what's so embarrassing about spinning out. I know what it looks like, and never in a million years as in morals would I try to do that. I just got loose, and it's just embarrassing. I don't want that to change how people look at me or our season or anything like that. You know, I'm just proud to be the same Chase now that I was when I was in high school in little old Mitchell, Indiana. I feel like I haven't changed my personality. I try to treat everybody the same, and that normally goes a long way. Q. I just wanted to ask about your relationship with Stewart‑Haas Racing this year and going into next year into Cup. How has it been working with the Ford stable? How have you continued to settle in there? And what do you think the transition will be like to Cup? CHASE BRISCOE: Yeah, first off, I wouldn't be sitting here if it wasn't for Ford Motor Company to find me at the end of 2016 and offer me a deal to‑‑ it's just crazy looking back on it, the whole goal was in five years to be in the Cup Series, and four years or‑‑ yeah, I think it's going to be five years, I'm going to the Cup Series, just like we had planned it out on paper. It didn't work necessarily how we thought it was going to go a couple times, but regardless we're going to be there next year. It wouldn't be possible without Ford. With being a Ford driver, I can go to any Ford team, whether that's Penske or Stewart‑Haas or Roush or Front Row or any of those teams, and for how it all aligned and how all the doors opened up for me to be at Stewart‑Haas was literally a dream come true two and a half years ago just when I was running five races for them. That was five more races than I ever thought I'd get to run for my hero. Tonight two and a half years later, to win nine races this year, being in a shot for the championship and to be moving on next year into the Cup Series in the 14 car, which is my absolute dream deal, it's very humbling, it's huge. But yeah, next year is going to be a huge step. Those guys are so good at what they do. The cars are going to be different, all those things. I'm going to have to adapt. I'm probably going to get humbled quite a bit. There's going to be days where you do run 25th and that's part of learning in the Cup Series. You have to take those days and try to learn as much as you can before you can be battling for wins. It's going to be tough. I think expectation‑wise if we can make the playoffs, that would be a great season, so that's what we'll try to do and just go every week and try to learn as much as we can. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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