NASCAR wife opens up on tough journey, talks faith and support

Marissa Briscoe, wife of NASCAR Cup Series rookie Chase Briscoe, spoke candidly about a variety of topics regarding the couple’s struggles with infertility.

Stewart-Haas Racing NASCAR Cup Series rookie Chase Briscoe and his wife Marissa have been very open about their personal struggles, including the devastation of infertility issues and multiple miscarriages.

Fortunately for them, NASCAR has always been somewhat of a “second family” for wives and other family members of drivers, and that has been no exception in this case for the Briscoe family, who are excitedly looking forward to adding a third member with Marissa currently pregnant again.

We had the chance to speak with Marissa about a variety of topics related to her struggles, including her support from brand sponsor Huffy Bicycles, Thursday night’s Better Half Dash iRacing event, how she has been able to use her situation to give back, and how her faith has guided her through this challenging journey.

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“Going through hard times really shows how the NASCAR family is to one another,” Marissa said. “They really are just a huge family and Huffy has been with Chase for over a year now, and they’ve been nothing but supportive of him and his career, and they’re nothing short of amazing.

“They sent us a sweet little bike for Baby Briscoe that I love so much, and I can’t wait for him to hop on it and ride it with us and follow us around on our e-bikes! Huffy sent us some bikes, and my favorite is the e-bike. Me and Chase just kind of get on those and spend time together, and it’s such a great way to like put your phone down and enjoy the moment, ride around, and it’s great. It’s a great way for Chase and I to spend time together.”

Marissa spoke about how her dealing with the struggles that she and Chase have faced has given her a opportunity to help others going through similar situations.

“It’s given me, I wouldn’t say huge platform, but it’s given me a platform to speak openly about my struggles with our past, with miscarriages and infertility issues,” she said. “Not only to tell my story, but to tell how I will overcome them one day.

“We’ve given back by kind of being an outlet to people on social media. Social media is a great way to do stuff like that, and the people and fans that have reached out to us with their struggles and stuff close to what we’ve gone through is just overwhelming, but in such a good way.”

The Better Half Dash iRacing is an event for charity in which Marissa will be racing to support infertility and children, two topics close to her heart.

This race is slated to feature the women of NASCAR, highlighting their contributions to the sport and allowing them to raise money for charity. Marissa has committed to raising money for The Samantha and Kyle Busch Bundle of Joy Fund and Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital.

Marissa had nothing but positives to say about either organization.

“We go to fundraisers with them [Bundle of Joy Fund],” she said. “I knew about them because of Kyle and Samantha, before our struggles, and I always thought it was a great foundation. And Samantha has been just such a good friend to me, she checks in on me a bunch. So if I can help out in any way with it, I’m going to.

As for Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital, she was a patient there once.

“I’ve never actually I guess worked with them, but I was a patient at their hospital, and they are wonderful, wonderful — it’s such a great place,” she said. “I had a traumatic experience when I was younger, I ruptured my spleen. And I just remember that place being so warm and didn’t feel like a hospital at all. I love how dedicated they are to helping the kids.

“So when I heard Huffy was a proud donor of Levine’s, it was just so easy to choose that for one of my charities. … Huffy donates $1,000 to Levine Children’s Hospital when Chase wins, and he won a lot last year, so I think they donated over $10,000, which is so awesome.”

As for the iRacing event itself, she explained how she got involved in that.

“That’s kind of a funny story,” she stated. “Chase is a man of very few words, so he came home one day and said, ‘Hey, I signed you up for this race!’ and I said, ‘You did what!?’ He knows that I am terrified of being in a race car. I don’t like going fast at all. So he’s like, ‘Don’t worry, it’s virtual,’ and I was like, ‘Okay, that’s better.’

“But MRO is hosting the race, and I think it airs June 10 on Race Hub. And we’ve been close with MRO, Motor Racing Outreach. They held chapels before COVID-19 at every track, every weekend that me and Chase would go to before races. And we would never miss one because they’re such great messages. One of the preachers there, Nick Terry, was actually our officiant at our wedding, so he married us. So we’re pretty close with them.”

Marissa went on to discuss the role that her and Chase’s faith has played in this journey.

“It has been so, so important,” she admitted. “I feel like my faith has grown 110%, not only just me but with Chase and I both together, I feel closer and closer to God every single day, and when I feel like I’m going through struggles — I mean everybody goes through struggles in everyday life — I just turn to Him and my faith just keeps on growing.”

Be sure to tune in to Fox Sports 1 at 6:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, June 10 for the live broadcast of the Better Half Dash.