NASHVILLE (April 9, 2016) - According to Chase Briscoe, he’s never been all that good at qualifying…not until today anyway.
Briscoe, in the Cunningham Motorsports Ford, won the Menards Pole presented by Ansell Saturday at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville. It wasn’t just his first pole; it was a brand new one lap track record.
“I’ve always really struggled in qualifying…I’ve never won a pole before,” Briscoe said.
Briscoe set the track record on the first of his two laps, then shut it down, opting out of the second lap. Briscoe circled the historic, high-banked oval in 19.178 seconds, an average speed of 111.878 mph.
“Chad (Bryant/Crew Chief) said on the radio, ‘Shut it off…don’t even take the second lap.’ So I shut it down."
Most of Briscoe’s racing experience comes from sprint cars on dirt bullrings back home in Indiana.
“I’ve always really struggled in qualifying. After practice, I knew we had a really good car. I just told myself to stay calm and not put any extra pressure on myself.
“As bad as I’ve been in qualifying, as good as this car is, I’d have been disappointed if we weren’t at least second, but I’d rather be first.”
Despite Briscoe’s limited experience on pavement, he’s well tuned to the significance of his pole award here at Nashville.
“This is really cool. I don’t know a lot about pavement racing, but I know Nashville’s got some great history. When you look back at all the great drivers who have raced here, this is really a big deal. I just want to thank Cunningham Motorsports for this amazing opportunity, and especially my car owner Briggs Cunningham for all his support.”
Don Radebaugh, dradebaugh@arcaracing.com