Carter meets Chase

Author’s note: this article is editorial in nature. All opinions expressed and media attached are the author’s own unless otherwise noted.

Carter Meets Chase

Meet Carter

When Carter was a toddler, he was obsessed with modes of transportation. Cars was his favorite movie, Thomas the Train was his favorite tv show, and NASCAR was his favorite sport. As long as a toy had wheels, he loved it. In fact, the first thing he did with every new toy was check the wheels to make sure they properly spun. 

We noticed as he grew up that Carter had a unique way about him. His attention to detail was amazing. He had several of the same Lighting McQueen car, but loved one specific one and would sleep with it gripped tightly in his hand. He wouldn’t sleep without it and you couldn’t convince him that another one that looked just like it was the one he wanted. He knew the one he wanted had a very specific scuff on the right rear quarter panel and would look for that before accepting it as his nighttime car. He would get his toy cars out and reenact the Cars movies line by line, never missing a single word or sound effect. He wouldn’t wear a Halloween costume and couldn’t stand tags in his shirts. He was quite particular about what foods he would and wouldn’t eat. If he wanted to do something, you couldn’t convince him not to. If he didn’t want to do something, you couldn’t convince him to do it. 

As Carter entered the school system, more things came to light. Notes from teachers said things like “extremely literal in interpreting instruction” and “difficulty transitioning between tasks.” He couldn’t focus on his reading book unless I had him read it held upside down. Barely a month into third grade, we got two phone calls and an email from his three teachers. Carter didn’t complete any tasks in math, he wasn’t able to correctly infer or make assumptions in reading, and his history teacher couldn’t read what he had written because he wrote over each letter several times. Our initial diagnosis was Attention Deficit Disorder, but the pediatrician said “I think there may be more going on so I’d like you to see this specialist for a second opinion.” Seven hours of questionnaires, teacher surveys, and observation later, we had an autism diagnosis. In early 2020, Carter was diagnosed with OCD and Bipolar 1 Disorder after a few incidents at school. While all of this poses challenges in our everyday lives, these diagnoses make Carter the loving, smart, artistic, NASCAR-loving young man he is today. We’ve learned to adapt and advocate and we’re proud of who he is.

Meet Chase

Chase Briscoe is currently running his sophomore season in the NASCAR Cup Series. The young man from Indiana with racing in his blood has spent many years behind the wheel, driving to success in the truck series, Xfinity series, and Cup series. He earned Rookie of the Year in all three series. He is a winner on dirt, concrete, and asphalt, still competing and winning this year in all three arenas. In 2020, Chase was already finding success in Xfinity and was a household favorite for many, including the Waldrops. When the Covid shutdown took the world in new directions, NASCAR worked to give everyone something to still watch and cheer for. Chase was one of the drivers providing us with something entertaining. 

But in the midst of all this, Chase and his wife Marissa faced tragedy of their own with the loss of their baby girl at just twelve weeks’ gestation. As a mother who faced the same loss with our first baby, my heart broke for the Briscoes. But as with all things, God was working it all for our good. What broke hearts also brought a special bond between people who had never met. Seeing Chase win at Darlington, stop and pray after the win, and thank God even through his tragic week endeared him to so many fans and was a true testament to his faith and character. Chase was permanently cemented as our family favorite driver and became the Xfinity driver we would cheer for. 

Carter meets Chase (virtually)

Once Covid restrictions were eased and drivers could return to actual tracks for races, NASCAR had become a prime source of entertainment for millions of people, including us. Because of work schedules for my husband and our daughter, it was often just Carter and me at home for the Xfinity races. I quickly learned his love of all things transportation was focusing on NASCAR and on one driver in particular. Carter kept himself updated on all things Chase Briscoe, researching past races and watching old film as if he were the offensive coach for a major football team. He was the loudest fan and spent the majority of every race standing in front of the TV cheering at the top of his lungs. 

Pocono 2020 – Chase Briscoe and Ross Chastain are battling for the win. Carter’s excitement could not be contained. Marissa (Chase’s wife) tweeted about how nervous she was watching him. To let her know she wasn’t alone, I captured a short video of Carter and sent it to her. His excitement was so great that I felt it should be shared with other fans, so I posted it on Twitter, too. Watch the video on Twitter here. Chase saw it and retweeted it and the video went semi-viral. Carter was just thrilled that Chase had liked it and now knew just how big a fan he is. It didn’t matter to him that over 21,000 people had watched him cheering Chase to victory at the Tricky Triangle, as long as Chase knew that Carter was his biggest fan. And so began a virtual friendship that has grown to include tweets back and forth, from congratulations and well wishes on different life events to words of encouragement when life has been not so kind. 

My one wish as Carter’s mom was for him to eventually meet Chase in real life. Covid restrictions made this much more difficult to coordinate. Our plans to meet at Bristol in 2020 were thwarted due to pits and garages not being open. We tried again at Pocono in 2021 (thanks to my friends at GasnGo Podcast) but weren’t able to coordinate the timing there. Talladega in April of 2022 also didn’t work out thanks to traffic conditions on the drive in making us very late. Bristol in September of 2022 was our next shot, but with garages and pits still closed to minors, and Carter turning 14 on October 7th, it wasn’t looking good. That is, until Huffy Bicycles and Academy Sports planned a meet-and-greet for Bristol weekend.

Carter meets Chase (in real life)

When word went out that Chase Briscoe was scheduled for a meet-and-greet during Bristol weekend, we immediately scrapped whatever plans we thought we had for that day and adjusted everything to ensure we would be there. Carter packed 5 of his Chase Briscoe shirts, 3 of his hats, his sketchbook so he could draw something to give Chase, his autograph book, 2 types of Sharpies for autographs, and his wallet so he could buy more Chase Briscoe merchandise at the track. (He packed a bigger suitcase than my 18-year-old daughter!) The morning of the meet-and-greet, Carter woke up at 6:30 in the morning, got ready, and sat there (impatiently) waiting for the rest of us to get up and get ready. We made it to Academy in Johnson City 45 minutes before Chase’s scheduled appearance and took our place in line. Carter isn’t one to talk to people he doesn’t know well, unless it’s about a favorite topic, and then he could talk for hours. A lovely couple in line behind us struck up a conversation with Carter and kept him entertained talking “all things Chase Briscoe and NASCAR” until Chase’s arrival. (This was a true blessing for me as I had been struggling with keeping him occupied and not constantly watching the clock and counting the minutes.) Carter enjoyed chatting with his new friend Terrington (who sent Chase’s dad a text and photo of Carter) and posing for a picture with his drawing he planned to give Chase.

When Chase got there, Carter was so excited! I felt it important to set his expectations at a reasonable level, so I told him that Chase has a lot of Twitter friends & he would most likely need to introduce himself. (I’m sure we all like to think that the celebrity we chat with on social media would recognize us anywhere, but the reality of that being true must be pretty slim.) As Carter walked up and introduced himself with a simple “hey I’m Carter,” Chase immediately smiled even bigger and said he’d been waiting to meet him. As a mom, seeing your child meet their hero and have it be such a pleasant experience is one of the most amazing feelings. The two of them interacted like old friends. Carter gave Chase a picture he drew (which Chase later posted on Twitter), Chase autographed all the things Carter brought and gave him a Huffy hat and shirt he had signed, and they had a great conversation. I was in such awe at how well Carter was doing and how amazing it was to finally accomplish this goal we’ve been working towards for two years that I didn’t really say anything. I just stood there watching my son talking with his hero and marveled at how genuine Chase truly was throughout the time they spent together.

Carter wrapped up his visit and we moved on to allow others in line their moment with Chase. I went back through at the end with my daughter so she could meet Chase too. He was just as polite with her as he had been with Carter. We got in the car and went back to Bristol to get ready for the race. As soon as we got in our hotel room, Carter called his grandparents to tell them all about finally getting to meet Chase. There were so many amazing moments that he spent a good 45 minutes detailing every aspect of the meet-and-greet. He talked about it all day up until driver introductions. When the truck Chase was riding in came by our section, Carter stood up and waved and cheered. Chase gave a thumbs up, which Carter took to mean that Chase saw him. As amazing as he’s been, I wouldn’t doubt that he did. Every lap of the race, Carter would wave to Chase as his car went by. He cheered through every moment of the race, threatened other drivers if they got too close with a “don’t you do it! Don’t you get too close to my driver!”, and shouted encouragement through every pit stop.

On the way home Sunday, Carter would randomly say “I just can’t believe I finally got to meet Chase Briscoe! Did you know he said…” and then detail something Chase had said during their time together. At school drop-off Monday morning, Carter got out of the car yelling to his teachers, “I got to meet him!!!” This is definitely an experience none of us will ever forget. 

Words from Mom

Since I couldn’t seem to find the words then, I’d like to share them now. What I wanted to say to Chase at the meet-and-greet was this: Thank you for being kind to my son. Thank you for being a good role model for him. Thank you for being a tangible representation of living like Jesus wants us to. Thank you for going out of your way to make Carter feel special. Thank you for being genuine and for taking time out of your busy life to notice Carter and do something to make him feel noticed and to feel like he matters. Thank you for all the little things and the big things you’ve done along the way that make a difference to us. 

What I want the parents reading this to know is this: Let your kids meet their heroes. Don’t be afraid of how the interaction will go. A smile, an autograph, and a quick pose for a photo can make their day. If your child’s hero is someone like Chase Briscoe, and your child is someone like Carter, then the interaction between them will be even sweeter. Your child will come away feeling like their hero is also truly their friend. You’ll come away with your heart overflowing.