Chase Briscoe said in February that there was no reason he couldn’t win a quarter of Xfinity’s races this year.
Even as he concentrated on becoming the series’ dominant driver, he focused on another goal: winning the inaugural Xfinity race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET on NBC Saturday).
A win this weekend for the series points leader would complement the four Xfinity victories he has scored this year and the six he has in his career, which includes winning the inaugural Charlotte Roval Xfinity race in 2018.
Briscoe has practiced weekly for Indy’s race on the Ford simulator since February.
“Every Wednesday I have been running at least an hour and a half or two hours at Indy, just trying to prepare for the track,” said the Indiana native.
“I feel like I have a very good idea of where to speed. It’s hard to really say how much the simulator will correlate to real life, but I feel like I have a very good overall idea of what to do, and I won’t get lost on those first few laps. “
The only NASCAR driver to have tested the road course is Matt DiBenedetto. He drove a Team Penske Xfinity car in a January test, compiling data for all teams. DiBenedetto said he hopes to see Saturday’s race.
“I’m super jealous of those guys,” he said. “They are going to have a blast. That course is amazing. It’s a lot of fun, it has great passing areas, so I’m going to be watching closely. “
Briscoe’s challenge won’t be just with the 14-lap, 2,439-mile loop that winds through the Indianapolis Motor Speedway infield and includes the famous frontstretch tracks. Among his main enemies are expected to be Austin Cindric and AJ Allmendinger.
Cindric and Allmendinger combined to win three of the four Xfinity road races last year. Cindric won at Watkins Glen and Mid-Ohio. Allmendinger won at Charlotte Roval.
Cindric said there is additional meaning this weekend due to the uncertainty of the Xfinity schedule beyond this month. All four racetrack events last year were held after July. NASCAR has not announced the Xfinity schedule for the rest of the season beyond July.
“It is not (surprise) that the circuits are … a strong point for our team, and we do not know how many are left,” he said.
Cindric says Saturday’s race at the Indy circuit will be fun and points to the passing areas.
“I think it will be the best pass design for NASCAR to go,” he said. “You have two really cool passing zones at the end of the two straights, that’s something you can’t really say about Roval and Watkins Glen, those races are better for other reasons.”
Allmendinger should be a formidable enemy to Cindric, Briscoe, and others based on their track record experience. Ross Chastain said Allmendinger has been a key asset to Kaulig Racing while preparing for this event.
“AJ Allmendinger has definitely led the charge for drivers to drive the simulator and has developed our setups and what we should feel on those teams with Team Chevy and (Richard Childress Racing),” said Chastain.
Allmendinger is more motivated to win at Indy than just to win Xfinity’s inaugural race on the road.
“There are many places … when you go to a race track that has so much history behind it, whether it’s IndyCars or stock cars, whatever it is, you say, Indy and non-motorsport people understand what history is it’s being that race track, “he said.
“I want to be part of that story. It would be something special to kiss the bricks, even if we had to do it with masks. I don’t care. I’ll kiss them with the mask on.
But first he will have to spend the two-day weekend for the series. When running the route for the first time, teams will have two practices on Friday. That will be key for drivers, including Jeremy Clements, who won at Road America in 2017.
“I don’t know anything about (the track),” Clements said. “We don’t have simulators or anything like that. It’s like going blind. So I’m going to be a little behind. “
Of one thing he is certain, however.
“I think it will be a survival type race,” he said.
Briscoe just hopes he will be the first to pass the checkered flag. He admits, if he does, he will feel different because fans, including friends and family, will not be able to enter the track this weekend due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I hate, first of all, that there are no fans in Indianapolis just because when I go there, there are a lot of people who come from my hometown (Mitchell, Indiana) and from my area who can’t see me. run anywhere else.
“Feeling support every time I go is very special. Last year in the drivers’ introductions when we were riding the trucks, I literally had tears in my eyes from the number of people standing and cheering for me. It wouldn’t be bad to win Indy without fans, but it would be bittersweet because none of my family would be there, none of the fans who don’t see me anywhere else (would be there). I’m not going to turn down a win at Indy just because there are no fans, but it’s hard to go there and have no fans. ”
