Chase Briscoe Looking to "Zone Out" From Stressful Week at Home
Speaking from experience, I can tell you there's no better feeling than welcoming your children into the world, and there's no bigger painstaking feeling than when the situation of childbirth spirals out of control. That's what Chase Briscoe has had on his plate this week as his wife Marissa has had multiple trips back to the Emergency Room, where she remains on Saturday, following the birth of their twins, Cooper Banks and Collins Ivy, earlier this week.
"Yeah, it's been a chaotic week," Briscoe admitted during a media availability on Saturday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. "Marissa is actually at the ER right now. She's been twice. She's had a lot of issues after. Hopefully, I can get done quickly here and get home. But yeah, the babies are good. They're super small, I didn't expect them to be as small as they are."
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With the postpartum medical complications afflicting his wife, Briscoe has done the best he can to fill in the parenting gaps at home. He's been playing dad and mom to three young children, while not partaking in much sleep, and certainly racing has been an afterthought. But the two-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner was just ready to get back to his place of zen on Saturday, the race car.
"I'm excited to get in the car today just from that standpoint," Briscoe explained. "Just to try to zone out everything I've had going on all week. So, I feel good about it. Being a father of three has been really cool. It's been really cool to see Brooks transitioning to the big brother role already. Just hoping that Marissa will obviously be okay, and to get back to her."
While it's been a roller coaster week for the 29-year-old racer, whose NASCAR Cup Series championship aspirations have understandably taken a back seat to what's been going on at home, the driver of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang wants to be clear, things could be much worse. He's thankful to have a set of healthy twins and a great family support system that has helped him and his wife pull things together this week.
"For me, my faith is a big one. And then just having a really good support system," Briscoe said when asked how he has kept the aftermath of the week from becoming a distraction. "You know, between Marissa's parents and my parents doing everything they can to just make it easier for both of us. It's chaos, I'm not going to lie. With Marissa being at the ER, right now, not wanting to bring four-day-old twins into the ER, they're out in the parking lot with my mom. And she's pumping and running milk out there, so, then I'm going back and forth. So, it's chaotic, but without that support system, and without that family support, it would be way harder."
While it seems of minimal importance in the big picture, Briscoe will shift his focus to his professional career, which is driving a race car. Despite not having a chance to plug in much with his team this week, and coming into the race as the last driver in the 12-driver NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Standings, Briscoe isn't worried about Sunday's Bank of America ROVAL 400.
"To be honest with you, I haven't been to the shop all week. So, yeah, I think for me, I'm not -- I don't feel worried at all," Briscoe stated. "I honestly feel a lot like I did going into the Darlington week where like I know that we can win here, we've done it before at the Xfinity level. This is a track I feel really good about. Our road course stuff has obviously been really good if you look at Watkins Glen and things like that. So, I'm not really nervous. There's not a whole lot that I feel like isn't capable by our team when we do everything right."
And if they do everything right this weekend, Briscoe truly feels he is capable of winning at the Charlotte Roval, especially the new layout, which has replaced the old Turns 7 and 8, which he felt was his worst portion of the track.
Another thing that has helped Briscoe gain confidence coming into the weekend is the fact that at 32 points outside of the cutline, he knows what he needs to do this weekend. He needs to win. He doesn't have to worry himself with clinch scenarios, and math.
"Yeah, I think for us, it's honestly better that we're kind in the position that we are in being 32 [points] out or whatever it is, versus 15. Just because if you're 15 to even 20, that's doable. Wherever 30, at least for us, we're looking at it as a must-win," Briscoe said. "And I mean, yeah, you could maybe point your way in, but a lot of things would have to go your way. So, I think it honestly opens up a lot for us from a strategy standpoint of just going in with the approach of flipping the track position and everything else."
However, even if Briscoe comes up short of the win this weekend, and he fails to advance to the Round of 8 of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, he knows there's more to life than where he winds up in Sunday's race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. The birth of his first child, son Brooks, and the situation surrounding the birth of his twins this week, have given the driver plenty of perspective.
"I think just your perspective changes, at least it did for me with Brooks. Yeah, what I do in the race car is important, but in the big scheme of things, and the big scheme of life, it's not the most important thing where I finish on a Sunday.," Briscoe explained. "I think it does add motivation at the same time, just knowing you have two more mouths to feed and things like that and you want to provide for your family. But it also, my worth isn't where I finish on Sunday, whether I move on the Playoffs. It's how good of a husband I am and a father I am, and that's what I try to take pride in."
Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.