MADISON, Illinois – As he tries to make his way into the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, Chase Briscoe now faces a new challenge with the potential for his Stewart-Haas Racing team to deteriorate around him.
Owners Tony Stewart and Gene Haas announced this week that the four-team garage would cease operations at the end of the season, leaving the future of Briscoe and teammates Josh Berry, Noah Gragson and Ryan Preece up in the air.
“It could be really difficult for us to even get the cars on the track,” Briscoe said during qualifying Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway. “You know, if people leave. It’s not like you’re going to get anyone to start coming to work there, even in the short term.
“Once people leave, no one comes back. We already do it with a lot less people than the other four-car teams, so it’s a little scary knowing the position we’re in now.”
Briscoe will enter the race on Sunday 16th in the points standings, but just outside the 16-driver playoffs because Daniel Suarez clinched a playoff spot with a win at Atlanta. Berry is 19th and Gragson is 21st.
“As for me, nothing is really going to change, right? I mean, I’m going to keep running hard and fighting and doing everything I can to keep running at this level,” said Berry, a rookie.
Berry said he hopes to find a new home where he can stay with crew chief Rodney Childers and other members of his team.
“Nothing has ever been so easy for me. So, you know, when I had this opportunity, I almost felt like it was too good to be true,” Berry said. “And here we are, less than a year later, dealing with all of this, but we’re not going to give up. “We’re going to keep digging.”
Amid the distractions, the team had problems on the track. For the second time this season, none of the four drivers qualified in the top 20. The other time was at the Circuit of the Americas road course.
LARSON IN LIMBO
After missing the start of the Coca-Cola 600 because he was competing in the Indy 500, Kyle Larson submitted a waiver seeking to regain his playoff eligibility. But he doesn’t worry about that.
“It’s not up to me,” Larson said. “So, yeah, I’ll be here every weekend.”
Other Cup Series contenders said they expect Larson to earn a waiver.
“I think he’ll get it and he should get it,” Brad Keselowski said. “There are some pretty unique circumstances and, you know, I like the idea of drivers doing the double. I think it’s good for our sport.”
Kyle Busch agreed that Larson should not be punished when he “does more for motorsports than anyone.”
“Kyle Larson is going to win five, six or seven races this year,” Michael McDowell said after winning the pole. “To sit here and say he’s not going to get a waiver because he tried to do the one-two and brought a tremendous amount of eyeballs to our sport and a tremendous amount of eyeballs to IndyCar and just helped motorsports all together is crazy.”
LOGANO’S LAMENT
Joey Logano, the 2022 winner and two-time Cup champion, had the fastest time in practice but dropped to 12th in qualifying.
“We have no more mulligans left at this time. Where we are in points, we need to go up in points, get as many points as we can, win a race if possible,” said Logano, who is currently 17th in points. “I see this track as one of the strongest, the last two times we have been here. finishing first and third. So I feel like we should have a good chance.”
Logano’s only win so far this season came in the All-Star race at North Wilkesboro, which doesn’t help in the playoff chase.
“There are a million reasons to love him. But you know, there are no points, right? said Logano, who has failed to achieve a top 10 in the last six points-scoring races. “It doesn’t really affect the season much beyond just building momentum.”
SEARCH
Kyle Busch led the most laps in both races at the St. Louis-area track, posting a second-place finish in 2022 before winning last year. It’s also a special place for the team because Busch’s crew chief, Randall Burnett, is from the St. Louis suburb of Fenton, Missouri.
“You have to drive World Wide Technology Raceway differently than other places we go. As a driver, that’s fun and gives you a different challenge,” Busch said. “It’s also unique because it’s not a very short track but it’s not a super speed track either. “It’s egg-shaped and drives like a short track.”
BETTING ODDS
Denny Hamlin is the 5/1 favorite to win in St. Louis, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. He placed second in St. Louis last year. Larson is the second choice at 13/2, followed by William Byron and Martin Truex Jr. at 8/1 and Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney at 9/1.
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