LAS VEGAS – Chase Briscoe and the No. 14 One Cure Ford Mustang team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) venture west for the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the first race at an intermediate track since mid-July. With just seven races remaining, Briscoe continues to add to his 255-point lead in the NASCAR Cup Series rookie of the year standings.
The One Cure project is led by the Flint Animal Cancer Center at Colorado State University with a mission to find a cancer cure through research benefiting man’s best friend. It is founded on the principle that cancer affects all creatures and that treatment breakthroughs come through collaboration between scientists and doctors working with people and animals. This approach is known as comparative oncology and it is the guiding concept of One Cure and the Flint Animal Cancer Center. The center works to improve prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer in pets, and teams with the human medical field to translate research findings that will help people with cancer.
The center, located in Colorado State’s James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital, sees more than 1,500 new animal cancer patients every year, with approximately 130 of them enrolled in carefully monitored clinical trials specific to their cancer type. The canine and feline patients are helping pioneer cancer research, moving cutting-edge treatments out of the laboratory and into clinical practice, ultimately providing hope for the next generation of animal and human cancer patients.
In the six points-paying races at 1.5-mile tracks this season, Briscoe’s best finish was his most recent – a 15th-place result earned July 11th at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Briscoe also finished fourth in the All-Star Open at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
Despite finishing 21st at Las Vegas in March, it has been one of Briscoe’s more successful tracks. He swept both NASCAR Xfinity Series races at the venue during the 2020 season and both wins aided in his pursuit of the championship. The first win on Feb. 23 secured Briscoe’s spot in the 12-driver playoff field, and the follow-up win in October locked him into the Round of 8. The No. 98 team went on to win once more at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City to advance to the Championship 4.
“This will probably be one of the last hot races we have,” said Briscoe. “I enjoy the hot races, it’s not the most comfortable, but the racing is fun when you can slip and slide around. Vegas is one of my favorite tracks and it seems like the hotter it gets, the wider it gets. So maybe the heat will be better for us. I think as a team we’ve learned a lot since the last mile-and-a-half race, which was so long ago, so I’m excited to get back to one and see if we’ve made up ground.”
Briscoe has five career Xfinity Series starts at Las Vegas with two wins among three top-10s. He also made a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series appearance at the 1.5-mile oval in September 2017, starting third and leading the first 40 laps before finishing third in a Ford F-150.
“Twenty-first was not an ideal finish and I feel like I’m a different driver now. Our cars have gotten better, and I’ve gotten better, but who knows,” Briscoe added. “I think we still have a good amount of work to do to get a win on a mile-and-a-half, but at Michigan, we were in the top-five with eight to go. If you get some restarts and can make up ground, anything can happen. I feel like from a speed standpoint we should be in the top-10 or 15 if we can do everything right. But, that’s the key – we have to execute. You have to do everything right in these Cup Series races. I think the big thing for us will be figuring out the balance between drag and downforce. That was our biggest issue in the spring at Vegas. Hopefully, we can hit all those variables right and have a good day.”
The season is coming to an end.
” It’s crazy to think we’re almost done. It feels like the Daytona 500 was just last month,” added Briscoe. “This season has been flying by and, in a way, it’s unfortunate but it’s exciting to see what the new car is going to bring. We’re getting back to what NASCAR used to be, in a way, with offseason testing and the preparation. It’ll be cool to experience that and start with a clean slate. This rookie year has been harder and harder to catch up to the veterans without practice. It’ll be kind of an even playing field and interesting to see who can figure out the new car the quickest. The people who do that will have a huge advantage at the start of the season.”
