Over the last few weeks, Chase Briscoe emerged as the favorite to replace Clint Bowyer in the No. 14 car at Stewart-Haas Racing. It was to the surprise of many, as not long ago, Kyle Larson was the frontrunner to land a ride at Stewart-Haas racing upon his return.

NASCAR great Tony Stewart reveals the two conversations were completely different. He admitted that Briscoe’s stunning performances in the NASCAR Xfinity Series had no bearing on the decision to pick him over Larson. Briscoe was always in the running because of his performances.

“They were two separate things actually… The Larson piece was on a separate side,” Stewart said during a media interaction.

Tony Stewart’s interest in Kyle Larson

A few months ago, Tony Stewart spoke highly of Kyle Larson as a driver and told NASCAR it was high time to reinstate him. Then, there were reports that post his reinstatement, Stewart was interested in landing Larson at Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR). It seemed as though Larson’s NASCAR comeback would be with Stewart’s team.

“NASCAR has gotta get off their ass and do the right thing and give this kid an opportunity to get back in a car. I think he’s paid his penalty and he’s served the penalty long enough. Where you know we’ve had similar instances in the sport that have happened and the penalties didn’t last as near as long as this has lasted with Kyle,” Stewart said.

Chase Briscoe made waves in the Xfinity Series

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Around the same time, Briscoe continued to show his worth through wins in the Xfinity Series. Ford’s involvement in Briscoe’s development through the years played a big role in Briscoe eventually landing the spot at SHR.

Briscoe even said post the announcement on Tuesday that Stewart had a conversation with him months ago. It was mainly around replacing Clint Bowyer in 2022 or as early as 2021.

Chase Briscoe Reveals Conversation With Tony Stewart ‘Few Months Ago’ About NASCAR Cup Future

Stewart also said that they started thinking of Briscoe as a potential Cup driver after his performances last year itself. “In the final three races last season, we saw a confidence in Chase that we hadn’t seen before,” Stewart said.

“There was a transformation. And I think those three races last year were a preview of what we were going to see this year.”

Briscoe now has big shoes to fill. Not just Bowyer, but Stewart himself drove the No. 14 car and made it iconic. Meanwhile, Larson is the favorite to land a spot at Hendrick Motorsports.

Is a Kyle Larson-Hendrick Deal Just a Matter of Time as Larson Is Officially Reinstated by NASCAR?