Getty Chase Briscoe waves to fans at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Chase Briscoe broke the middle finger on his left hand ahead of the trip to Bristol Motor Speedway, and he completed the dirt race while dealing with the pain. He has now set a date to undergo surgery to repair the damage.
Briscoe said on Twitter on April 12 that his finger is “still broken and hurting.” There was a scenario where he didn’t have to undergo surgery, but this is no longer the path forward. Instead, he revealed that he will get some rods and screws put in his finger first thing on Monday, April 17.
Briscoe broke his finger on Thursday, April 6, while competing in a dirt Late Model race alongside Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, and several dirt regulars. He hit the wall during qualifying, which ripped the steering wheel all the way to the right.
“When I pulled into the infield, it hurt a little bit and was kind of waiting,” Briscoe told NBC Sports after the Truck Series race on April 8. “I had adrenaline pumping and looked at my finger and it was pointed crooked, so I knew I was in trouble.
“I went to the ambulance and they didn’t know if it was necessarily broken and the next morning came here and got an X-ray. As soon as the picture popped up, the doctor went ‘oh boy,’ so I knew I was in trouble. Overall I feel like I’m 99 percent of what I normally am.”
Briscoe Completed 2 NASCAR Races After the Break
GettyChase Briscoe races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The Indiana native broke his finger on a Thursday and then he went on to compete in two national NASCAR series events at Bristol Motor Speedway. He also put himself in contention for strong finishes while dealing with the pain.
Briscoe’s double-duty weekend began with the Craftsman Truck Series race on April 8. He started 10th overall in the AM Racing Ford F-150 and then he ended the day seventh overall while fellow Cup Series driver Joey Logano swept all three stages and won.
Ended up 7th tonight banging the boards, had a lot of fun and appreciated the opportunity.
Post race I learned about the passing of Justin Owen, raced against Justin quite a bit in sprint cars. Thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.
The weekend continued with the Food City Dirt Race on April 9. Briscoe started 14th in the No. 14 Ford Mustang, and he gained bonus points in the first two stages. He then finished fifth overall while battling fellow dirt racers in Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, Austin Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Justin Haley.
Briscoe Now Takes on Another Short Track
Briscoe just completed two national series races at one of NASCAR’s short tracks. Now he will take on another event before undergoing surgery to repair his broken finger.
Briscoe will head to Martinsville Speedway on April 15-16 for the NOCO 400 weekend. He will complete 400 laps while trying to secure his first win of the season, and he will deal with a bulky left hand.
The driver of the No. 14 Ford explained after the Food City Dirt Race that he didn’t have pain during the race. His biggest hurdle was the fact that there was added bulk due to the brace on his middle finger, which impacted how quickly he could turn the No. 14 during the dirt race.
“I maybe got a touch behind sometimes, like when I would get really far out of shape and turning it back quick the other direction, just due to the sheer fact of how bulky it is,” Briscoe said after the Cup Series race.
“But you’re not gonna have that anywhere else. When we’re at Martinsville, I’m never gonna go full lock left, full lock right, back and forth, so I think I’ll be fine going forward.”