Chase Briscoe receives special message from childhood idol Tony Stewart ahead of NASCAR championship race

Chase Briscoe grew up idolizing fellow Indiana native Tony Stewart. Briscoe later got the opportunity to drive for Stewart’s race team as he began his NASCAR Cup Series career.

Stewart is no longer Briscoe’s boss, as Stewart-Haas Racing shut down its operations after the 2024 season. Briscoe is now a Joe Gibbs Racing driver and Sunday at Phoenix Raceway, he will race for his first Cup championship. The bond between the two Hoosiers remains strong, and it was Stewart who delivered a special message to Briscoe ahead of Sunday’s race.

“Go do some of that driver sh*t,” Stewart said, via NASCAR reporter Steven Taranto. “Let’s get it done.”

Stewart knew how to get it done in the biggest moments. He retired a three-time Cup champion, one of just 10 drivers to capture three or more championships.

Chase Briscoe one race away from capturing 1st NASCAR Cup Series title

To win his first, Briscoe will have to outperform Denny Hamlin, William Byron, and Kyle Larson. Briscoe clinched his spot in the Championship 4 with a win at Talladega Superspeedway. The week after, he got a call from Stewart. Briscoe missed it but quickly gave him a call back.

“The only person I have talked to is Tony Stewart and I talked to him last night,” Briscoe said last week at Martinsville Speedway. “I talked to Tony for 20 minutes. I talked to him out of respect because he texted me to make sure to call him before Phoenix. When your hero reaches out wanting to give you advice, you certainly call him back.

“I took from what he said what I could, but Tony and I are two different personalities. What may have worked for him, may not work for me. That was even Tony’s point. He said do what is working for me, so I don’t plan on changing anything for seven or eight months.”

Briscoe will start 12th at Phoenix. Whether or not he wins the 2025 championship will be decided throughout 312 laps of racing.