AVONDALE, Ariz. — Chase Briscoe has long proclaimed his love for his hometown of Mitchell, Indiana. The town is showing the love back with a massive watch party during championship weekend.
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Rumblings of this event began after Briscoe won his way into the Championship 4 at Talladega Superspeedway. Residents of the town and fans of Briscoe reached out to the American Legion Post 250 in Mitchell and asked if it would host a watch party. One person responded on Facebook and said that they would have a "pitch in" on championship Sunday.
The celebration has since grown. Now, the Lawrence County Tourism Board is hosting a large watch party at Mitchell High School.
Fans and residents will be able to hang out at the high school and watch the Cup Series championship race. They will be able to purchase food and beverages from some food trucks while enjoying the festivities. They can collectively root for Briscoe as he pursues his first Cup Series championship.
One person attending the event reached out to FanBuzz on Facebook and said that the Lawrence County Tourism Board could have a Jumbotron on site.
"My high school is actually opening up the whole gymnasium," Briscoe said during Championship 4 Media Day. "The Lawrence County Tourism Board rented an LED TV or whatever. I don't know how many people are going to show up. Might be a hundred people, might be 1,500, I don't know.
"Obviously the whole city has gotten behind me and this run. They were sending me videos today. They lined the entire Main Street up with checkered flags, running a 19 flag at City Hall. So yeah, it's pretty cool how into it my city is, for sure.
"There's not very many. There's only like 3,000 people there in the first place. All 3,000 are pretty excited about it."
Briscoe has lived in North Carolina for several years, but he goes back to Mitchell at least once a year. He visits his family and friends when the schedule takes him to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located roughly 90 miles away from Mitchell.
Hundreds of Mitchell residents make the trek to IMS annually so that they can cheer Briscoe on as he tries to win at the prestigious track. They cheer loudly during driver intros and give the veteran driver a feeling he can't get at any other track on the schedule.
Briscoe also tries to make trips to his hometown during the holidays so that he can see his family and enjoy some time away from the Charlotte area.
"I still go back," Briscoe told this author at Circuit of the Americas in February. "I love it. I would love to move back one day. It's just what home is to me."
Briscoe can not yet move back to his hometown. He still has more races to win and championships to pursue. But he can head into this weekend's season finale with the knowledge that the Mitchell residents are cheering him on during a big party.
