Chase Briscoe walks through the emotions of winning in Stewart-Haas Racing's final year of operation and qualifying for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs at Darlington Raceway.
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00:00Here in victory lane at Darlington Raceway, and he just shocked the world.
00:04He's in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
00:05Chase Briscoe, you put on a clinic tonight.
00:07You showed him how it was done, but you broke a 93 race winless streak to get into the playoffs.
00:14How'd you do it?
00:15I'm glad it was under 100.
00:16I knew it was close.
00:17Yeah, you know, our car was really, really good from the get go.
00:21I knew in the first 30, 40 laps, I was going to have a chance to be at least in the mix
00:26for this race.
00:27I told my picker guys, literally, it was probably like lap 60 or so, I said, look, guys, if
00:31we do everything right, we have a realistic chance to win this race.
00:36My car was good.
00:37I felt like I was better than Kyle, and I would catch him, and then I would just kind
00:39of fall off.
00:40So I knew if I could ever get the lead, I'd be probably hard to pass, I felt like.
00:45And then, obviously, was able to have a really good restart, get the lead.
00:48And then, obviously, Kyle, here comes him on new tires, and felt like the 2020 XFINITY
00:54race literally all over again.
00:55He was running me down.
00:56Yeah, just an unbelievable feeling, you know, to, you know, have one bullet literally left
01:02in the chamber, and to go and kind of shock the world, and, yeah, just to be able to race
01:06for a championship, the final year of Stuart Haas racing is an unbelievable feeling.
01:11So, yeah, pretty amazing day.
01:13You told your team that you were going to give it all you could give tonight to make
01:16them into the playoffs, and there's 323 Stuart Haas Racing employees that will not have a
01:20job next season.
01:22How much does this mean, not only you, but to Stuart Haas as an organization?
01:25Yeah, it means a ton, right?
01:27To be able to have a chance your very last season in existence to win a championship
01:32is something really cool.
01:34And just from a team around, even just keeping people, right?
01:36Like, if we're not in the playoffs, a lot of guys will probably start leaving and things
01:39like that.
01:40So, yeah, you know, truthfully, last week was the worst race I've ever raced in my entire
01:44career.
01:45It was ridiculous, and I stood on pit road to Daytona after, and I've never been more
01:48mad in my life.
01:49I didn't talk to any of the team guys, and I texted Richard right after, and I said,
01:52I don't ever want to talk about this race again.
01:54I don't want to talk about it this week, and I promise I'll make it up to you this week.
01:57And he came out there on the first race, and he said, man, I didn't know you guys turn
02:01it on and off like that.
02:02So yeah, just a huge, you know, win for us as a team, and to get this 14 car back in
02:07Victory Lane is just special.
02:09Finally, he's being congratulated here in Victory Lane, but finally, they moved the
02:13trophy behind us, not to be discounted.
02:15Chase, you're Southern 500 winner.
02:17You won a crown jewel in the sport of the NASCAR Cup Series.
02:20How does it feel?
02:21It's not hit me.
02:24I started literally bawling my eyes out after the checkered, and then when I did the victory
02:28lap, you know, like, nobody left.
02:30Like, everybody stood there and saluted me, and when you grow up wanting to race a NASCAR,
02:35the races you dream of getting just a race in are the Daytona 500, the Brickyard 400,
02:39and the Southern 500, and this trophy has so many Hall of Famers, so many legends of
02:43our sport, and my picture is always going to be on it, even if I never win another race.
02:48So just to, you know, win here at a place where the drivers take a lot of pride, it's
02:54special.
02:55Well, officially, welcome to the playoffs.
02:58Appreciate it.