Event: NASCAR Xfinity Series Doubleheader (Rounds 9-10 of 33)
Date: June 13-14, 2020
Location: Homestead-Miami Speedway
Layout: 1.5-mile oval
Chase Briscoe Notes of Interest
• This weekend’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Homestead-Miami Speedway marks a first for the venerable series – a doubleheader. Two Xfinity Series races will be held on back-to-back days at the 1.5-mile oval, with twin 250-mile races – one on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. EDT on FOX, and the other on Sunday at 12 p.m. EDT on FS1. SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will also carry both races.
• Briscoe comes into Homestead after finishing ninth in the series’ previous race last Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The 25-year-old from Mitchell, Indiana, led twice for 40 laps and looked to have the car to beat before a pit-road speeding penalty late in the race placed him outside the top-20. Briscoe climbed back into the top-10 in the closing laps to pick up his sixth top-10 of the season and maintain his lead in the championship standings.
• Briscoe holds a four point-advantage over second-place Noah Gragson in the championship standings. Briscoe has four top-five and six top-10s this season, punctuated by victories Feb. 23 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and May 21 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
• Briscoe has two Xfinity Series starts at Homestead, with a best finish of third last year when he started fifth and led 14 laps.
• Homestead is where Briscoe earned his first career NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series victory. Wheeling a Ford F-150, Briscoe led four times for a race-high 81 laps in the 2017 season finale. The effort placed him sixth in the championship standings and allowed him to claim both the rookie-of-the-year title and the series’ most popular driver award.
• Briscoe was the 2019 Xfinity Series rookie-of-the-year and has his sights set on an Xfinity Series championship in 2020. He already has one title to his name – the 2016 ARCA Racing Series championship where he won six races and the title by a whopping 535 points.
• Briscoe finished fifth in the Xfinity Series championship standings last year, narrowly missing out on advancing to the Championship 4 and competing for the series title.
• Briscoe has four wins, 18 top-five and 36 top-10 finishes in 58 career Xfinity Series starts.
Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 98 Ford Performance Racing School Ford Mustang:
While you’ve raced at Homestead in the Xfinity and Truck Series and had success, that was in November when the temperatures are typically cooler. Heat and humidity will be ever present throughout the upcoming race weekend. Does that change your approach to these races?
“I’m excited to race there in the heat of day. I always love when it’s hot and slick. It used to be we’d start the race in the afternoon, around the same time actually, but it was a different time of year, so it wasn’t as hot and we’d end the race at night. I’ve always said this style of track and racing suits my style best, and Homestead is my favorite racetrack. It’s a special place to me since that’s where I got my first NASCAR win. Hopefully, we can add two more wins with Ford Performance Racing School this weekend.”
Have you changed anything in your typical routine to prepare for running two 250-mile races in two consecutive days?
“I really haven’t changed anything other than trying to make sure I’m hydrated. Running multiple races over consecutive days at the Xfinity level isn’t too much of a concern. I think you’ll see some guys who are worn out after the second race but, in comparison, our races are much shorter and we see guys that run two or three races in a weekend all the time, so if I stay hydrated everything should be good.”
