DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 13: Tony Stewart 25 Kaulig Racing RAM prepares to enter his truck during qualifying for the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Craftsman Truck Series Fresh From Florida 250 on February 13, 2026 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL.Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire AUTO: FEB 13 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Fresh From Florida 250 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon2602131432250
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 13: Tony Stewart 25 Kaulig Racing RAM prepares to enter his truck during qualifying for the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Craftsman Truck Series Fresh From Florida 250 on February 13, 2026 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL.Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire AUTO: FEB 13 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Fresh From Florida 250 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon2602131432250
Chase Briscoe is probably the biggest, yet the most unlucky Tony Stewart fan, and this story may have you laughing and crying all at once.
Briscoe always idolized Stewart, who won titles in both IndyCar and NASCAR as well as being the only driver to complete the grueling Memorial Day double duty.
Briscoe, who made his debut with Stewart Haas Racing in Stewart's iconic number 14 car back in 2021, has several memorable stories with Stewart and yet one rather sad one that he doesn’t often share.
The 19 JGR driver who recently won in Chicagoland was on the Dale Jr Download podcast with fellow racers. Ryan Blaney and Noah Gragson. Blaney was speaking about a special Tony Stewart helmet he once received to which Briscoe’s reply left most of us feeling for him.
Briscoe recalled a conversation ahead of the Daytona 500 between Stewart and his former drivers Noah Gragson and Chase Briscoe. Briscoe said that Stewart told Gragson that he would be bringing him a helmet, to which Briscoe replied if he could get one as well.
Briscoe revealed that when Gragson got his helmet, he texted Stewart. “I texted him, ' Hey, so did you bring my helmet?' And he goes, I wanted to put more thought into it and really make it special. So I don’t have one for you this week. I’m pretty confident that he just totally forgot.”
Blaney pointed to the Tony Stewart helmet in his own collection and spoke about how special it is for him, while Gragson took the mickey out of Briscoe by saying that he’s got a helmet and a picture with Stewart that he keeps together.
Briscoe remembers giving Stewart a special gift
Chase Briscoe got his first win with SHR in 2022 at Phoenix and followed it up with a win at Darlington in 2024 before he made the switch to JGR.
On the Dale Jr Download podcast, the JGR driver recalled a favourite helmet of his. He said, “I was a d**hard Tony fan, obviously. And I did this Home Depot throwback helmet. It had part of the USAC midget triple crown deal, had his cap, the IndyCar, like it tied into his whole career. I ran it at the Darlington throwback, gave it to Tony.”
Briscoe then spoke about visiting Stewart's place, where he recalled the 3-time Cup champion having over 500 helmets, of his own and those swapped with other drivers. Briscoe wanted to see the helmet he gifted to his former boss and realised it was kept in either the kitchen or his bedroom.
Briscoe said, “I guess in his bedroom or on the kitchen counter, like it’s really special to him. But anyway, he told me that he was going to give me a helmet.”
Briscoe also hoped that a clip from the podcast would reach Stewart, who would then finally give his die-hard fan a helmet that he has been waiting for his whole life.
What merchandise would you like to have of your favourite driver? Let us know.
Read more at Daytona Racing Digest.
Written by
Debrup Chaudhuri
Edited by
Kaamna Dwivedi