What happens when you put two blue collar short trackers in sports cars for the Roar Before the 24?

Surprisingly, in the case of Chase Briscoe and Ty Majeski, it wasn’t total bedlam.

The two NASCAR young guns will share the Roush Fenway Racing No. 60 in the Xfinity Series this season with fellow prospect Austin Cindric but all three will pilot Multimatic Motorsport Ford GT4s in the Continental Tire Challenge Race before the Rolex 24 on February 26.

Even though Briscoe and Majeski have virtually no road racing experience, they have quickly taken to the discipline over the first two days of testing in advance of the four-hour marathon preliminary. Briscoe will share the No. 22 with Cindric with Majeski, Cole Custer and Scott Maxwell racing the No. 15.

To those that have followed the career of Briscoe from underfunded dirt racer, ARCA Racing Series champion and NASCAR Truck Series winner, it shouldn’t come to any surprise that he impressed his teammates after just a few laps.

"I'm really pumped for Chase," Cindric said. "He was really impressive. We were teammates in the Truck Series last season so I don't think we should be surprised. So I think we have a good shot at a podium."

For Briscoe, who said he only went off the track once for a botched pass, the culture shock will be the biggest adjustment he will have to make during the Roar Before the 24.

"Surprisingly, I feel fairly comfortable," Briscoe said. "I don’t feel very comfortable in the garage, or the paddock or whatever it’s called on this side. It’s a different lifestyle than the NASCAR side or the sprint car side."

For Briscoe, the biggest challenge is learning which sector of the track is slowing him down the most.

"I just don't fully know what I'm doing on a road course," he said. "I feel lost, sometimes, because I'll give a lap everything I have and you're still almost three seconds off. So I just don't know where I'm losing or gaining time.

"The cars just drive totally different. The paddle shift, and everything that goes on with the road course stuff is so opposite of what we have in the stock car world. It’s going to be nice to get road course experience, that’s going to be big. Learning how to race, hitting your lines, that’s going to be big."

Both Cindric and Briscoe drove for Brad Keselowski Racing in 2017, each winning and making the Camping World Truck Series Playoffs. Briscoe captured both rookie of the year and most popular driver awards.

Briscoe was there for Cindric when the Truck Series went dirt racing at Eldora Speedway and the favor was repaid a few weeks later when the series tackled the road course at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.

"I think it’s a role reversal," Cindric said. "We had a role-reversal when we went to Canada ... I think it’s a lot of fun that we get to learn from each other in a completely different environment, and obviously it's relationship building between us as well."

Cindric has only one concern for Briscoe, given how quickly he has taken to the car.

"I’m just afraid I’m teaching him too much and it’s going to come back to bite me someday," he said.

That’s pretty high praise from the best young road course racer of the group. But it’s a slightly different story for Majeski.

This is only the second time that the Seymour, Wisconsin native has ever competed in something other than a pavement oval stock car. The 23-year-old has been one of the most successful Super Late Model racers in the country over the past five years and made his Xfinity Series debut back in 2017.

But he expects this to challenge him like nothing else in racing has thus far.

"No, I'm not even close to looking or feeling like a sports car driver," Majeski said with a laugh. "Not even close. I didn’t get as much seat time as I wanted to the first day and a half -- only about six laps.

"We’ve had a couple of minor mechanical issues on the car preventing me from getting the seat time I wanted. It’s only my second time ever on a road course in my entire life. I spent some time on the Ford simulator so I got used to the track, which helped the learning curve this weekend."

But ultimately, this is a good experience for all three prospects. Combined, they will chase the NASCAR Xfinity owner’s championship for Jack Roush as a team. But they’re getting a head start on building chemistry this weekend and in a few weeks during the race itself.

"I think we would all like to be full-time this year," Briscoe admitted. "But for Ford to give us this opportunity at seat time and improve our overall race craft together, I think that is going to be huge. I would like to think that we, as a team, will look back in 10 years and think this made us all better."

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