36xRacing

36×36: 2024-4-Phoenix
14-SHR:
Driver: Chase Briscoe – Crew Chief: Richard Boswell – Spotter: Joe Campbell
Playoff seed entering race: 20^th (-15 to cut)
Practice: 25^th overall (29^th in 10-lap average)
Qualifying: 8th (1st/4 SHR cars)

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Stewart-Haas Racing is, well, not at their best.

SHR’s four chartered entries have combined for just five playoff appearances over the last three years. The iconic 2018 Talladega dominating 1-2-3-4 photos are a relic of a bygone era.

Stewart-Haas Racing	2018-2020	2021-2023
Seasons (4 cars x 3 years)	12	12
Playoff appearances	11 (92%)	5 (42%)
Championship 4 appearances	2 (17%)	0

With championship winning Kevin Harvick and ‘he might not win all the time but he can bring the car home in one piece’ Aric Almirola gone, lead driver duties fall to Chase Briscoe.

Briscoe is still at the start of his Cup Series career. According to the 36x start-win chart tracking career progression, drivers may grab a win in their first 100 starts but they don’t truly hit their stride until the start 90-120 range.

Phoenix presented itself as an opportunity for Briscoe. The uniquely shaped short track is where Briscoe won in early 2022 and collected top ten finishes that fall and in spring 2023.

The 2024 spring weekend did not start great for Briscoe. He was 25^th on the practice single-lap charts and his 29^th place standing in 10-lap average was the worst of Stewart-Haas Racing.

Briscoe bounced back in qualifying, making the second round, starting the race in 8^th.

Early in the race, Briscoe was fighting tight conditions while maintaining his top ten starting position. The tightness of the car made it difficult to properly “diamond” turns 1 and 2 and nearly impossible to run along the bottom yellow line in 3 and 4.

While being the new lead driver at SHR, Briscoe is still getting coached like a young driver.

“You’re doing something different every lap. Pick a line, stick with it.”

Maybe you can blame *the package* for a lack of passing but regardless, Briscoe was able to hold a top ten through the short first stage and collect two points.

At the stage break, things start to go off the rails.

Briscoe: “I really don’t know what I need…”

Crew chief Richard Boswell: “We need to be a robot, we’re the only ones moving around.”

Briscoe settles on a stage one car critique of, “fired off a touch tight but it was getting better.”

Adjustments were made in the rear of the car to, “help with lateral security,” but Briscoe was warned the car, “might fire off tighter.”

Briscoe fell from P7 on the restart to P15 by the pit cycle just 45 laps later.

The car was tighter -> Briscoe couldn’t hold the bottom -> Briscoe wore out the right rear tire -> Briscoe couldn’t hold the bottom -> etc.

It was a bad spiral.

Luckily for the 14 team, leader Tyler Reddick was held up by difficult-to-lap Joey Logano. Briscoe was able to hang on to the tail end of the lead lap at the conclusion of stage two, down in 18^th place.

Boswell assessed the situation as, “two weeks in a row with bad restarts and bad adjustments.”

Wedge and left-rear air pressure changes were made to help the car turn better in the final stage.

After two quick and early stage three yellows, the 14 came to pit road. With four fresh tires, a completely full tank of fuel, and a round of wedge out of the left rear, Briscoe was away.

The yellow flag a few laps later for a Denny Hamlin spin meant everyone was suddenly in their fuel window to make the end of the race. Having pit under the last caution, Briscoe was able to stay out as the field flipped.

While getting ready to restart in sixth, Briscoe was told, “we can make it.”

A dozen laps into the run, the likes of Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick arrive in Briscoe’s mirror.

“Be a robot.”

Briscoe was coached throughout the race to run consistent laps

When Briscoe kept the car stable and consistent, it made time. Overdriving entry in one and two or the middle of three and four was nearly an automatic position lost.

The track position captured with the field flip at the final caution got Briscoe to the front and he held on to finish in ninth.

In a season where favorites have won early races, there could be a lot of drivers making the playoffs on points. If Briscoe is going to make it back to the playoffs, he’ll need more solid points days like the one he had this week in Phoenix.

Finish: P9 (S1:9th) – 30pts
Playoff seed leaving race: 19th (-3 to cut)

The 36×36 project will follow Chris Buescher and RFK Racing next week; the organization that seems to have passed SHR on the Ford leaderboard.
Next race: 5-Bristol
36×36 featured team: 17-RFK