Joe Gibbs Insider Reveals Why JGR Swayed Away From Their Xfinity Program to Replace Martin Truex Jr

Time isn’t linear, it keeps changing, and what better example in the NASCAR world to show than Chase Briscoe? From looking for answers about his current team and their future in Reddit forums, to now joining one of the most prominent NASCAR teams—time sure did change in a few months for him.

It’s now official that Chase Briscoe is set to join Joe Gibbs Racing. He will be replacing Martin Truex Jr in the No.19 car. But sure, the journey wasn’t easy, and initially, he didn’t even get the go-ahead to talk to other teams, but when he did, he leaped for the opportunity. In fact, did you know an insider from Joe Gibbs Racing actually gave him a little tip that Martin Truex Jr might be leaving? This made him approach JGR! Because as far as JGR goes, Briscoe was not actually on the list at all for filling up Martin Truex Jr’s seat if and when he retired. Also,  let’s not forget the elephant in the room—why not Ty Gibbs? Or why not anyone else from their Xfinity Series? And how did he land the job so quickly?

Christopher Bell tipped Chase Briscoe to take the first step

Chase Briscoe’s shift to JGR and replacing Martin Truex Jr all happened in a span of a few weeks. But Briscoe was on the hunt. In fact, when Tony Stewart announced it to the team Briscoe said his first question was, “What does this mean about us being able to talk to other people?” And he said, literally in the conference he started texting people. And thanks to that, the news did reach the JGR room. Although Briscoe did get help from Christopher Bell!

Christopher Bell texted Briscoe about Martin Truex Jr.’s apparent leaving and well essentially asked him to take dips. In an interview with Autoweek.co, Chase Briscoe said, “Christopher texted me I think the week SHR (was informed of the closing) and said, ‘Hey, I think Martin might not be coming back. You need to be wearing them out over there.”

This tip was a blessing because recently JGR president, Dave Alpern, mentioned that Chase Briscoe was never on their list, as he was on contract. He said, “He was not on our list because he was under contract next year, but when the SHR announcement came out and he freed up he quickly moved up our board.”

But let’s just talk about the elephant in the room—why wasn’t Ty Gibbs in the picture? Typically, Xfinity drivers are considered to fill Cup seats, but Alpern gave a straightforward answer to clear up the confusion.

He explained that experience was the key factor in bringing in Chase Briscoe instead of Ty Gibbs. Gibbs is only in his second year, so the team decided to wait on him. In a podcast with SiriusXM, Alpern said, “You know, in a perfect world we really talked about bringing a guy who could bring with him sort of that first 100 races under his belt. And what I mean by that is three years or a hundred races before most cup drivers can win on a regular basis. And even though Ty is ahead of the curve, next year will be year three for him so I think one of the things for us was the choice would be – get somebody who already has 100 races under their belt and they hopefully can win right away. And Chase kinda fell in the perfect timing because he is in his fourth season this year.”

Everything suddenly seems to be working in favor of Chase Briscoe. On the career front, he is 16th in point standings and has had a great finish in New Hampshire just trailing behind his soon-to-be teammate Christopher Bell. Additionally, he is soon expecting twins coming in and it looks like an exceptional year for him moving ahead. As far as the hot news goes, apart from Bell, another person knew of it. In fact, Briscoe had shared the news of him joining the Joe Gibbs army way ahead!

Chase Briscoe shared the news of his JGR shift with his soon-to-be ex-boss!

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Martin Truex Jr retiring and SHR disbanding happened nearly around the same time. And talks about who is taking the coveted seat started doing the rounds. And although Briscoe’s name was thrown around a lot without an official statement, one never knows. But then Christopher Bell had a slip-up and gave away a major portion of the intrigue. And while the rest of the world didn’t know anything, it seemed like Briscoe had shared one of the most important news of his life with someone important- Tony Stewart!

Briscoe recently talked to Bob Pockrass and recalled the conversation he had with Tony Stewart. He said, “I called Tony. I think it’s on the way to Sonoma. Yeah, because I signed that week. […] And he told me at the end, he said, ‘If there’s anything I can do to help you out. Please don’t hesitate. I’ll call anybody.’ I said, ‘Well, you don’t need to. I actually signed a deal yesterday.’ And he goes, ‘Oh, the Front Row deal?’ I said, ‘No, it’s not Front Row.’ He goes, ‘Oh, the Wood Brothers?’ I said, ‘No, not the Wood Brothers.’ He said, ‘Well, what is it?’ And I said, ‘I’m gonna go to Joe Gibbs.’ And he was ecstatic.”

As far as the JGR team is concerned, they are thrilled too to have Briscoe on the team. And Joe Gibbs has a stellar eye for picking out gems. Look at how Kyle Busch shined when on their team. Gibbs has never been afraid to find drivers that he thinks and feels are best for the team. And he signed Briscoe swiftly after SHR’s news of disbandment came through so surely he sees potential.

From Kyle Busch in 2008, who dominated the track, to Matt Kenseth in 2013, who showcased unmatched consistency, and Carl Edwards in 2015, who brought a fiery determination, Gibbs seems to possess the secret formula for selecting the crème de la crème from a pool of drivers. And Chase Briscoe will likely make noise out of the gate immediately after joining the team next year. What do you think? Let us know.