July 5, 2021 | By Lee Spencer

Extra seat time, even in a sprint car, pays off for Briscoe and Bell

PLYMOUTH, Wis.— In the days leading up to NASCAR Cup racing’s return to Road America, both Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe adopted the Kyle Larson formula of racing on dirt to sharpen their skills prior to the weekend.

The strategy paid off. After racing with Larson for two nights during Pennsylvania SpeedWeek, Bell, 26, finished second in the Jockey 250—his best result since winning his first Cup race at the Daytona Road Course in February.

Briscoe jumped in an IRA sprinter—his first start in a winged-sprint car since 2018—at Plymouth Dirt Track on Thursday night. On Sunday, the NASCAR Cup rookie led the Ford contingent on the 4.048-mile road course and equaled a season-best finish of sixth on Sunday.

Neither driver had been behind the wheel of a dirt car since the Chili Bowl Nationals in January.

Although NASCAR team owners have every right to opt for a safety-first approach when it comes to their drivers’ well-being—to ensure they are at their best when it comes to race day—clearly racers need to race.

Bell finished fifth in the sprint car feature at Lincoln Speedway on Monday. Justin Peck won the A-Main, with Robbie Kendall and Larson rounding out the podium. Larson won the second night at Grandview Speedway and one night later at Port Royal. Bell finished seventh at Grandview.

“I think it’s really cool that they allowed him to run that,” Larson said at Road America on Saturday. “I don’t know how much more Gibbs will let him run, but he’s a lot like me. And they need to let him race. As much as I don’t want to see him race because he’s so good, they need to let him race.’

Bell believes the additional laps were beneficial to Sunday’s performance. He came from 13th to his runner-up finish behind Chase Elliott. But Bell doesn’t expect the powers that be at Joe Gibbs Racing to reevaluate his extra-curricular racing based on Larson’s heightened performance.

“I’ve always been a huge believer in racing as much as you can,” Bell said. “I haven’t been able to do much racing outside of the Cup Series this year. So, we’ll see what happens in the future. (Larson’s success) doesn’t seem to affect my owners. I don’t know. Everyone knows what Larson is capable of and who he is.”

True, but Bell has just scratched the surface of what he’s capable of accomplishing—especially as Toyota Racing continues to gain on Hendrick Motorsports. With just one top-10 result in his 10 previous races prior to Road America, the No. 20 needed a boost.

“That was good,” Bell said. “That was really strong. I’m really proud of this 20 group. They brought a really strong SiriusXM Toyota Camry to the racetrack, and it showed. I’m glad we were able to get a good finish out of it.”

During Briscoe’s tenure with Stewart-Haas Racing, he has been limited in which events he’s allowed to race outside of NASCAR—even though Tony Stewart’s name is on the door. His return to sprints resulted in a dash win and laps led in the Thursday feature. But the true gains came on Sunday.

“I had some fun over there,” Briscoe said. “It was very eye-opening how wore out I got after six laps. I was wore out, though. It was cool to go back. It had been three years since I ran a sprint car. I had a blast. Hopefully, I can do some more of it, but I have to get in way better shape or realize I have to breathe more.

“I think I just wasn’t used to the speed—and all those things. It’s crazy. You’re going slower, but it’s such a tiny racetrack that it seems like you’re going faster. It was fun. I think I’m going to run the Indy midget race (BC39) as well. Getting ready to do a little bit more this year.”

Unlike Bell’s situation, Briscoe feels Larson’s example will earn him a reprieve moving forward.

“I think that’s some of it, for sure,” Briscoe said. “I also think today—with no practice—any time you’re racing, you’re getting better whether it’s a go-kart, a sprint car or a Cup car. Whatever you’re doing, if you’re racing, you’re always learning.

“To me, I felt like running that sprint car on Thursday made me sharp. As soon as I got here, the first lap in the car, I wasn't readjusting to driving. I think there’s a fine line between safety and health for your driver as well as being prepared as they can be. Hopefully, the owners will start letting us go out and do more things. I think it’s great for the sport. I think it’s great for dirt tracks and grassroots racing.

“Larson has been the guy who has been the trendsetter over the last couple of years, but hopefully you’ll see more and more guys doing it.”