Gold Line: Chase Briscoe '24 Mahindra Throwback' Mustang

Chase Briscoe began racing at the highest levels of Nascar in 2017. Winning one race that year in the Trucks he was then promoted to the Xfinity series. After a few years of learning at Stewart-Haas Racing, he hit his stride in 2020, winning nine races during the Covid pandemic. That success made him a top prospect for the Cup series. Briscoe would remain in-house however, and upon Clint Bowyer's retirement, he took over the reigns of the 14 car. For a closer look at this '23 throwback honoring his boss, read on...

---

The real thing: Briscoe, shown here, is working to qualify his number 14 For Mustang for the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on May 13th, 2023. (Photograph by Jared C. Tilton, courtesy of Getty Images).

---

By 2023, Nascar's annual throwback race had essentially been shifted away from the Southern 500. The racing at Darlington had improved in the years leading up to the 2023 spring race, and the new Gen 7 car had proven to be a success on 1.5 mile tracks. These results helped to promote Darlington back to hosting two races each season. (Darlington consistently had two races a year until 2004. It then hosted one race per year until 2020. During the 2020 season, Nascar used Darlington as the site of three races during the Covid-19 pandemic). Since then Darlington has hosted the Goodyear 400 in the spring, and the Southern 400 in the summer. 

For the 2023 spring race, Chase Briscoe and co decided to honor team boss, Tony Stewart and the car he raced at the Turkey Night Grand Prix. 

---

---

Notes:
In 2020, when Briscoe was winning several Xfinity races, several came at Darlington. later on, in 2024, Briscoe would go on to win the Southern 500. He certainly has a skillset at a driver to be great at one of the toughest tracks on the tour. While this particular car may be one of his best looking schemes, Briscoe would only be able to manage at 17th place finish with this Toney Stewart tribute. Still, he started the day in 32nd, and Nascar historians would also remind you that 2023 was one of the worst years ever for SHR performance wise. 

The 1/64 itself is a good one. Lionel did a masterful job of replicating the gradient colors of the flames on the car. This must be tricky business when you get down to such a small scale. The other paint and printing details are very good as well. The only glaring issue has to do with the assembly of the Gen 7 which is a known issue. This car would likely score as high as a 7 or 8 in a detailed review. Nice job.