JOLIET, Ill. — At 5-foot-7 and 148 pounds, Ryan Briscoe has the prototypical build for an IndyCar series driver.
You probably wouldn’t guess his favorite sport growing up in Australia was … rugby?
“I try to be tough,” Briscoe says, smiling. “I don’t know if I am. I was definitely the little guy in school, I was always the small guy. But I could take down the big guys.”
The mild-mannered Briscoe is taking down the big guys in IndyCar this year, too.
After beating fellow championship contender Scott Dixon in a thrilling race at Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday night — winning by only 0.0077 of a second for the fourth-closest finish in series history — Briscoe has a 25-point lead over Dario Franchitti in the standings going into the final two races of the season.
Briscoe is now the clear favorite to win the series championship, a remarkable turnaround for a driver who struggled to find a full-time IndyCar ride after an unsuccessful stint with Chip Ganassi’s team in 2005 ended with a brutal, fiery crash at Chicagoland that earned him the dubious nickname “Briscoe inferno.”
Now he’s on an entirely different kind of hot streak.
“I’m proud of myself and the team to be here, because it’s a pretty cool achievement,” Briscoe says. “I’m really happy with the way the season’s gone, and I still feel like I’m getting strong. All that’s left is to try to close the deal.”
Briscoe doesn’t have the racing resume to match either of his championship rivals, Dixon and Franchitti. And his easygoing personality stands in stark contrast to revved-up Penske Racing teammate Helio Castroneves, who is recognized off the track for his “Dancing With the Stars” title as often as he is for his Indy 500 wins.
Briscoe doesn’t necessarily act like a star, but he’s on his way to becoming one.
After racing part-time in several different series in 2006, Briscoe took a job with the elite Penske team in 2007 — not in IndyCars, but in the lesser-known American LeMans sports car racing series.
And it paid off when Sam Hornish Jr. transferred to Penske’s NASCAR team, opening up one of the IndyCar series’ most coveted rides. Briscoe knew he finally had the equipment and team he needed to contend for a title.
“That’s obviously the goal,” Briscoe says. “Obviously, you come to a team like this and you want to believe that you’re capable of winning championships and winning Indy 500s. And certainly, when I came on board on the IndyCar side at the beginning of last year, I had really no expectations of winning the championship that year just because I felt so much like a rookie.”
Briscoe showed he had speed last season, winning at Milwaukee, Mid-Ohio and an exhibition race in Surfers Paradise, Australia. But he needed to become more consistent to become a true championship contender.
And after winning in Chicagoland, he has 12 top-five finishes in 15 races.
“I think (it’s) something I’ve definitely been working hard on over the last few years,” Briscoe says. “You know, I think when Penske hired me in the LeMans series, it was probably one of the main things that was lacking in my department. It’s something I’ve really been working hard on, together with the team.”
Briscoe said he has learned patience from Roger Penske, perhaps the series’ most respected team owner. He’ll still go for wins — as evidenced by his wheel-to-wheel finish with Dixon at Chicagoland — but he won’t make an overly aggressive move if the risks outweigh the reward.
“I’d say (it’s) maybe choosing moments to be aggressive, learning when it’s time to go, when it’s time not to,” Briscoe said. “That’s probably been a big part of it. And, probably, getting more comfortable with these cars and making fewer mistakes.”
Penske takes a hands-on approach to running race strategy for Briscoe’s team, communicating directly with the driver through his in-car radio.
“Roger’s the one who helps me a bit more in the car,” Briscoe says. “He’ll be like, ‘Just relax, you’re good where you are.’ Or, ‘You need to push.’ The way it’s going, if I don’t win, there’s a pretty high chance one of those guys (Dixon or Franchitti) are probably going to win. So we’ve really got to go out there and try to win the races.”
Briscoe likes his chances going into the final two races, which will be held in Japan on Sept. 19 and Homestead-Miami Speedway on Oct. 10. Both are 1.5-mile ovals, the style of track Briscoe has shown the most improvement on this season.
“I think I’ve improved, and certainly gained some confidence going into a race weekend on these types of tracks,” Briscoe said. “We’ve had great runs at all of them this year — Kansas, Texas, Kentucky (and Chicago) — so I feel really good about closing out the season.”
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