September 2, 2022 | By Lee Spencer

NASCAR's Odd Couple to share their Playoff coming out party at Darlington

CHARLOTTE—They’ve been there for each other since the start of their NASCAR careers. 

They were two third-generation racers from very different backgrounds coming up through the Ford farm system. One honed his racing skills on international road courses. The other dabbled on dirt. They were teammates at Cunningham Motorsports in the ARCA Menard’s Series. They graduated to Brad Keselowski Racing on the Truck tour. They shared an Xfinity Series development ride at Roush Fenway Racing in 2018 before going their separate ways to battle head-to-head for the 2020 NXS title.

Now, after scoring breakthrough wins on NASCAR’s top tour, Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric are making their Cup Playoff debuts--together.

“I think we have very similar perspectives about what’s at stake for both of us in our careers from Trucks to Xfinity to Cup,” Cindric said. “It’s good to have someone to lean on. We’re still close. I would say, if there’s one guy in the field that I’m friends with, it’s him. But I would also say, if there’s one guy that I’m the most different from, it’s probably also him.

“Maybe it’s the opposites attract thing. But I think that we both understand what each other is going through and it’s easier to go through it with somebody.”

Both drivers grew up in racing, but their upbringings were as different as blue jeans and T-shirts versus dress pants and starched white shirts.

Briscoe’s father raced on dirt and later was a USAC crew chief. Cindric’s father was an engineer and strategist for Team Penske before becoming the company’s president. Cindric honed his skills on road courses around the world. Briscoe followed his father’s footsteps in a 410-sprinter on Midwestern dirt tracks. Cindric’s favorite driver growing up was Ken Block. Briscoe’s hero was fellow Hoosier Tony Stewart.

“We've always kind of had that competitive nature against each other,” Briscoe said. “It's funny how we always find ourselves in the same situation, I feel like. And we're both kind of underdogs now. 

“I saw the BetMGM or whatever sports book about how we were both like dead last, but I was a little bit better. So I sent it to him and said, ‘I got you again.’. But I feel like we definitely have grown up racing together, at least in my stock car career.”

Cindric, 24, was carefully groomed for a racing career. Briscoe, 27, barely missed out on winning the 2013 Peak Stock Car Dream challenge—a contest set up by now-defunct Michael Waltrip Racing to discover new talent. The opportunity led to a three-race audition in the K&N Pro Series West. 

When fellow dirt-tracker Christopher Bell turned down an offer from Roush Fenway Racing in 2015, he told Briscoe to pursue the opening. A test session led to an ARCA ride with Cunningham Motorsports—and ultimately the 2016 ARCA Menard’s title. Briscoe had earned his way into the Ford driver pipeline.

Briscoe and Cindric were the final drivers to compete for BKR in the Truck series. Both drivers won races and Cindric finished ahead in the standings, but Briscoe won rookie honors. In 2018, the drivers graduated to the Xfinity Series in a development program for Roush. Briscoe split the No. 60 ride with Cindric and Ty Majeski. Cindric rounded out the full season with 24 races for Team Penske in his rookie season. With limited road course experience, Briscoe won in his 14th Xfinity start in the inaugural Charlotte Roval race—beating his buddy, who was classically trained on road courses.

“It’s funny because everyone says, ‘Well, Austin taught him how to drive on road courses,’” Cindric said. “I may have sped up his progression for my own selfless interest when we were racing in IMSA together. So I don’t think I played much of a role there.

“I don’t think I’m going to stop that, but how does it move forward? I guess I have to beat him in a dirt race now.”

The following year, both drivers ran the full Xfinity schedule. Briscoe joined Biagi Brothers in partnership with Stewart-Haas Racing and scored a win at Iowa—the 14th race of the year. Cindric won the next two events at Watkins Glen and Mid-Ohio with Penske. Briscoe finished fifth in the standings his freshman season and won rookie-of-the-year honors. Cindric was sixth. 

In 2020, both drivers advanced to the NXS championship round. Although Briscoe led the series with nine wins—including the inaugural race on the Indianapolis Grand Prix course--Cindric won the Xfinity title. 

“When we were both going for the championship in 2020, we would talk to each other after every race,” Cindric said. “‘What did you think? What did you feel?’ You wouldn’t think that you would do that with someone you were rooting and gouging with to get every point away from, but it seemed to work.”

Briscoe graduated to the Cup Series in 2021. He became the third driver to win the rookie title in each of NASCAR’s top three series. Cindric remained in Xfinity for a fourth season—and to defend his title. Penske announced last July that Cincric would replace Keselowski in the flagship No. 2 Cup car for the 2022 season. Cindric tied AJ Allmendinger for most series wins with five last year. He appeared to be en route to a second NXS championship until Daniel Hemric executed a last-lap bump-and-run on Cindric to win the title.

For 2022, NASCAR’s odd couple were reunited in stock car’s top division. 

“Our backgrounds are different, even personality-wise, I feel like we're quite a bit different,” Briscoe said. “I'm way more laid back than he is, that's for sure. We are literally total opposites in a lot of ways, but I think it kind of balances each other out. 

“Even when we were teammates, I felt like that's what makes us so competitive is like he gets mad at how laid back I am, right? I don't understand how he's as intense as he is. It just works itself out. But it’s definitely a lot of fun to have a guy like that that you can kind of go compete with.” 

Cindric’s Cup coming-out party was a victory in NASCAR’s biggest race—the Daytona 500. His bragging rights were short-lived. Three weeks later, Briscoe took the checkers at Phoenix. Entering the postseason, Briscoe is currently 12th on the Playoff Grid. Cindric is 14th. 

“It's weird how it all works out,” Briscoe said. “Who would have thought the son of the President of Penske would ever be good buddies and teammates with this Sprint car driver from Indiana? I don't think you could have ever scripted it, but we definitely get along well and we look out for each other. And it's been fun to kind of ride through the ranks because it's somebody you can compare yourself to. 

“In the past, I haven't always had that, where with me and him, we've literally come up together, have the same amount of starts. It just makes it easy when you can look at another guy and say, ‘OK, what's he doing that I'm not doing or what am I doing that he's not doing? Even statistically, it just makes it better.” 

Whether they win, lose or continue to advance through the Playoffs, the Ford drivers will continue to rely on each other. Racing has forged a lasting bond between them.

“It’s been a great experience,” Cindric said. “He comes from a great family. And I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to get to know him.”