NASCAR: 5 drivers set for bounce-back seasons in 2024
By Asher Fair
4. Chase Briscoe
As much as I think Stewart-Haas Racing are in for another rough season in 2024 following the departure of not only former NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick but veteran Aric Almirola, I also think that Chase Briscoe is poised to bounce back and put up a season that much more resembles what he did in 2022 than 2023.
In 2022, Briscoe won at Phoenix Raceway, and despite enduring a rough stretch later in the year, he parlayed his first career playoff appearance into a round of 8 appearance that was just a few laps away from turning into a Championship 4 berth at the very Phoenix track where he had won at just a few months prior.
Briscoe is the veteran now at Stewart-Haas Racing, and if Tony Stewart's message to the doubters is to be taken at all seriously at a time when expectations are at an all-time low, it needs to start with the driver of the No. 14 Ford. Ryan Preece, Josh Berry, and Noah Gragson have a combined one season with the team under their belts; Briscoe has three.
While the 2023 season was certainly less than ideal for Briscoe, who would have finished in 23rd place in the point standings even without a 120-point penalty that left him mired in 30th, Stewart-Haas Racing solidified their vote of confidence in him before the season began by signing him through 2026.
His seat is not at risk, so he can enter the 2024 season with a clear mind and focus on turning this team around following their first ever winless season.