08/20/2018
Mid-Race Incident Forces Briscoe to Settle with a 34th-Place Finish at Bristol
BRISTOL, Tenn. (Aug. 17, 2018) – In only his second NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) start at the ‘World’s Fastest Half-Mile’, Chase Briscoe was working his way through the field when contact was made sending the No. 60 Ford for a spin. The crew worked feverishly to repair the mangled machine, but the damage was deemed too severe forcing Briscoe to settle with a 34th-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway(BMS).
“I just got racing with the 4 really hard,” Briscoe said. “I’m all for hard racing, but it’s just frustrating when he lets four guys in a row go. We were faster than him and just kept hitting on him and hitting on him. I just kept trying to pass him on the inside. I could never clear him and I just got tight underneath him and drove up the race track a little bit and got my right-front up into him and spun out and hit the inside wall. It’s definitely frustrating.
“I hate it for all the 60 guys. They’ve had to work on a lot of race cars this year. I felt like we had decent speed tonight and maybe could have contended for a top-10, but the day got cut short.”
After earning his career best starting position at BMS, the Mitchell, Indiana native lined up in the 13th position for the 300-lap race. After starting in the inside lane, Briscoe lost a few positions to the preferred high line on the start. Despite battling a machine that lacked overall grip, Briscoe was able to take the first green checkered in the 17th position.
During the stage break, crew chief Mike Kelley made numerous adjustments on the Ford Performance Ford. The changes were to the NXS rookie’s liking allowing him to work his way up to the 13th position.
As Briscoe was battling for the 12th position, the caution was displayed on lap 104 forcing Briscoe to restart on the inside lane. After losing a few positions on the restart to the preferred high-line, the Roush Fenway Racing driver was jockeying for position when contact was made with the No. 4 machine sending Briscoe for a spin.
The crew worked feverishly on the mangled Ford but the damage was too severe forcing Briscoe to settle with a 34th-place finish.
The No. 60 team travel to Road America for the NXS race on Saturday, August 25. Race coverage begins at 3:00 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Coverage can also be heard on MRN and SIRIUS radio channel 90.
