“We ran really bad even at the beginning of last year” - Chase Briscoe details key improvement for Stewart Haas Racing in 2024 

Stewart Haas Racing driver Chase Briscoe has uncovered the crucial amendments made by the North Carolina-based outfit that have produced a comparatively better output on the track this year than their 2023 season.

Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola fielded the Fords of SHR in 2023 but as the season concluded, so did Harvick's professional racing career and Almirola's time with the team. The latter got reinstated in the Joe Gibbs Racing's stable. Despite having a pair of dominant veterans on their roster, the team failed to etch a single victory to their name.

Nevertheless, SHR has seen improvements this year, with a solitary top-5 from Noah Gragson's P3 finish in Talladega and eight top-10s collected by Gragson, Ryan Preece, and Chase Briscoe. Josh Berry is yet to score a top-10 after missing the P10 spot by a whisker at the Richmond Raceway.

SHR is yet to disrupt their 2023 winless streak, but Briscoe believes in his team's development as he sheds light on their dismal start to their previous season and how they have uplifted themselves from it.

Speaking of the improvements seen in 2024, the #14 Ford Mustang driver told Bob Pockrass (via Fox Sports):

"Truthfully, we ran really bad even at the beginning of last year — I don't really know how we were in even the cutoff position anyway. But this year, we've been really consistent. From just an overall speed standpoint, we're in a way better spot."

Chase Briscoe added:

"This year, we probably don't finish as good we run a lot of days where last year, at the beginning of the year, we probably finished way better than we ran."

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Veteran SHR driver Chase Briscoe speaks on his "pivotal year" in the team

Briscoe was promoted from the Xfinity Series into the realm of Cup Series racing in 2021 and replaced Clint Bowyer in the North Carolina-based outfit. He bagged three top-10s in his rookie year and claimed six top-5s, ten top-10s, and a win in his sophomore year. The 29-year-old lifted the Cup Series race trophy for the first time at the Phoenix Raceway.

The 2023 season saw the Indiana native collect four top-5s and eight top-10s but fell shy of a victory and is yet to replenish that drought. Chase Briscoe has 118 Cup Series starts and is the most experienced driver on the team. So, naturally, the burden to perform is more on the #14 Ford driver.

Speaking on his "pivotal year" and being the veteran driver at SHR, Briscoe told Bob Pockrass (via X) [0.20]:

"I definitely feel like this is a pivotal year for me. I was able to win my sophomore season [in 2022] and make a deep playoff run, but last year was embarrassing."

"I felt like I don't have the excuse anymore of 'Hey, you're still trying to figure this out.' I have over 100 Cup starts now. I need to know what I'm doing and not be making mistakes — even just dumb mistakes," Briscoe added.