Race Name: Desert Diamond West Valley Casino 200 (Race 32 of 33) Venue: ISM Raceway in Avondale, Arizona Television: 3:30 p.m. EDT on NBC Point Standings: – Cole Custer: 2nd; trails points leader by 31 points; 52 points above cutoff line – Chase Briscoe: 5th; trails points leader by 65 points; 18 points below cutoff line
Chase Briscoe’s career-best finish at ISM Raceway is a fourth-place outing during his 2017 Gander Outdoors Truck Series campaign. He finished sixth here in the Spring of 2019 Xfinity Series race.Through 31 races in 2019, Briscoe has 12 top-fives, 24 top-10’s and an average finish of 8.4.Crew Chief Richard Boswell makes his second start at the 1-mile oval. In his first appearance atop the box, he helped secure a sixth-place finish for Briscoe in the Spring of 2019.
Ford’s racing program is part of the Ford Performance organization based in Dearborn, Mich. It is responsible for major racing operations globally, including NASCAR, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, FIA World Endurance Championship, FIA World Rally Championship, Virgin Australia Supercars, Formula Drift, and NHRA Funny Car and sportsman drag racing. In addition, the organization also oversees the development of Ford’s racing engines, as well as the outreach programs with all Ford Clubs and Ford enthusiasts. For more information regarding Ford racing’s activities, please visit www.fordperformance.com, www.facebook.com/FordPerformance, Ford Performance on Instagram and @FordPerformance on Twitter.
You head into ISM Raceway 18 points below the cutoff line. What is your mindset going into the final race to secure a spot in the Championship 4?
“It’s essentially a must-win situation for us this weekend after the luck we had at Texas. Honestly, Phoenix isn’t one of my best racetracks, but we learned a lot back in the Spring and were able to get the car where I needed it to be towards the end of the race. Hopefully we will have good speed right out of the box and set ourselves up to battle for the win, so we can be one of the four cars battling for a championship. We won’t go down without a fight that’s for sure – I believe in my guys and think we can make it happen.”