FORT WORTH, TX. – Chase Briscoe and the No. 14 Ford Performance Racing School team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) are fresh off their eighth top-20 finish earned last Sunday at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway as the NASCAR Cup Series prepares for the most anticipated non-points event of the year – Sunday night’s All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
Seventeen drivers are automatically entered into the NASCAR All-Star Race. The criteria for eligibility include NASCAR Cup Series race winners in 2020 and 2021, and fulltime drivers who are either past All-Star Race winners or past Cup Series champions.
Briscoe will compete with the remainder of the field in the NASCAR Open qualifying race at 6 p.m. EDT live on FS1. The Open will be run in three segments – 20 laps, 20 laps and a 10-lap shootout – with segment winners, the overall winner and the winner of the NASCAR Fan Vote advancing to the All-Star main event.
“I’m interested to get to Texas and see what this is like. I think with this package we have a little less power than we normally have, and then there’s the format of the race, which I’m not quite sure anyone understands just yet,” said Briscoe. I’m excited to get there and see how it all goes and have a chance to be part of this. There have been a lot of those moments this year where it’s just cool as someone who grew up a fan to finally get to be a part of it. I think the new package is going to add a lot of entertainment, and the All-Star Race is always a fun event. Points or not, we’re all competitive and want to win when we’re on the track, so it’ll be a good show.”
This year’s edition of the NASCAR All-Star Race will feature six rounds for a total of 100 laps. The starting lineup for Round 1 will be determined via random draw. Rounds 1 through 4 will be 15 laps each; Round 5 will be 30 laps; the Final Round will be a 10-lap shootout. At the beginning of Round 2, the field will be inverted via random draw (minimum of eight/maximum of 12). Before the start of Round 3, the entire field will be inverted. At the beginning of Round 4, the field will be inverted via random draw (minimum of eight/maximum of 12). Starting positions for Round 5 will consist of the cumulative finish from Rounds 1 through 4. The lowest cumulative finisher starts on the pole, second-lowest starts second, and so forth. All cars must enter pit road for a mandatory four-tire pit stop during Round 5. The starting positions in the Final Round are set by finishing positions of Round 5. Only green-flag laps will count. Additionally, the fastest team on pit road during the mandatory pit stop will earn $100,000. And, of course, the race winner will earn $1 million.
Briscoe has five NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Texas with the best finish of second earned last July. He also has two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts at Texas. Both came in 2017 and both delivered top-fives.
It’s super cool to be in the top-five or top-10 for the fan vote as a rookie. I’m thankful for all the fans that have voted, but hopefully we can race our way in and don’t need to fall back on that. It’s certainly exciting and really encouraging as a rookie driver to have people that want to vote you in and think you’re likeable,” added Briscoe. “I think the lineup for the Open is a random draw and you’re going to need a good starting spot to capitalize on those short segments. I’d like to race in. I think we’re capable of it if we can get a good starting spot and win a segment but, if the fan vote works out and that’s how we get in, I’d be good with that, too.”
