ROSSBURG, Ohio — It was a long Tuesday night at Eldora Speedway for Chase Briscoe and his No. 29 Brad Keselowski Racing team.
After posting the seventh-fastest time in final practice and solidifying himself as one of the pre-race favorites to contend for the win in the fifth annual Eldora Dirt Derby, Briscoe’s positive momentum ground to a halt after he jumped the cushion in Turns 3 and 4 with roughly 22 minutes to go in ‘Happy Hour’.
Briscoe caught air and rode the wall for a portion of the corner, catching a fence post and portion of the safety fence itself before his truck righted itself and came down on all four wheels.
Extensive damage to the primary truck forced Briscoe and company to unload a backup, which both crew and driver were feverishly working on as Super DIRTcar Series big block modifieds took to the track for their main event, held after Truck practice had concluded.
Hands worked all over to rip a green-and-black Fitzgerald Glider Kits wrap from the truck and reveal the standard, chrome blue BKR livery underneath — a backup truck originally intended for Austin Cindric going into action as Briscoe’s weapon of necessity for Wednesday night’s racing program.
Though Briscoe declined a formal interview request, as he was working on the Truck alongside his team, he did confirm to Race Chaser Online that he was “all good” and gave a short, but telling statement on what happened.
“I was going for a slide job, got in too deep and popped the cushion,” Briscoe said. “It was on from there.”
Briscoe hopes that his dirt resume from early in his career — racing his family-owned 410 sprint car — will give him an edge in Wednesday night’s 150-lap main event, as he continues to seek his first-career Truck Series victory.
Entering Eldora, the Mitchell, Ind. native has four top-fives and five top-10s in 10 starts this season, with a best finish of second coming at Texas Motor Speedway in June.
He currently sits third in regular season points and fifth on the provisional playoff grid.
Two-lap time trials for the Eldora Dirt Derby kick off at 5 p.m., with live coverage on FOX Sports 1.
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 23-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: [email protected]
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
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