While NASCAR Cup racing on the track has managed to keep the community entertained, it’s the silly-season drama that has taken center stage in the past few weeks. And of course, Chase Briscoe‘s move to Joe Gibbs Racing as Martin Truex Jr’s replacement has caught everyone’s attention. Although the SHR driver was seen as the frontrunner to take the #19 seat, there were multiple challenges Joe Gibbs and his team had to overcome.

On one hand, they had to fend off other potential teams that could rival them in signing the driver. Meanwhile, they also had to secure and retain the financial muscle to keep the team up and running for next season. And going by Joe Gibb’s words, they were pretty much geared up and ready to get hold of Briscoe after MTJ made his choice to retire.

Joe Gibbs Racing struck a perfect deal in bagging their new driver

There was a lot of uncertainty revolving around Bass Pro Shops. There were rumors that they could take an exit door from its partnership with JGR by helping find Noah Gragson a seat at Richard Childress Racing. Like Truex Jr, Gragson is also backed by Bass Pro Shops as his primary sponsor. So, in theory, it could have secured the driver’s future with a new team, with the $8 billion company cutting its ties with JGR.

However, Joe Gibbs had everything planned in a scenario if Truex Jr chose to retire. And as soon as he got the go-ahead from his veteran driver, the JGR team started pulling the levers. “So we’ve been working on this for quite a while. What happened as we analyzed things and we kind of went through a big number of drivers. It became obvious; we settled on Chase. Our problem was, other people wanted Chase too. So once Martin told me, we immediately go to Chase, and I wanted to get that done quick.” Team owner Joe Gibbs said this in an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

He also thanked Bass Pro Shops for sticking by them despite the opportunity to work with a young driver and aid his new project. “So that was kind of the process, absolutely fantastic for us that Bass Pro, Johnny, does all he does for the sport. He’s not only with our car, but he’s huge in our sport, and Johnny Morrison, Bass Pro, just it’s fantastic that we get to continue with us. Really, we’ve been working on what I’m saying for a couple of months. Kind of analyzing everything so that when the decision was made, we were ready to go.”

Bass Pro Shops’ decision to stay at JGR just might have helped get the silly season back in motion. Especially, with Noah Gragson now unable to make that switch to RCR, he will have to tap into other potential options.

Where could Noah Gragson be headed after the 2024 season?

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The rumored plan for Gragson to secure his switch to RCR is now foiled. Even if everything fell into place for the driver, RCR didn’t have a seat ready for him, and for that, they would need to buy a new charter. Fortunately, all hopes are not lost for him just yet, given that multiple teams are on the hunt for a driver.

Front Row Motorsports now seems like a good option. It has to be noted that Michael McDowell will move to Spire next season, and they have bought an additional charter to expand to a three-car team. So, not one but two empty seats are up for grabs at FRM. The other option is to stay in-house with the Hass Factory Team, as Gene Haas has retained a charter for himself and is planning to continue racing in NASCAR.

However, he will have to rival the likes of Cole Custer and Josh Berry for these seats, who are also linked to HFT for now. Also, Briscoe’s confirmation of joining JGR could’ve opened the door for Gragson to make a move at Wood Brothers Racing. Before MTJ announced his retirement, WBR was heavily linked with SHR’s senior-most driver. But now that he has joined JGR, Gragson is a better alternative, both in terms of talent, and sponsorship support.

Again, all of this is just guesswork trying to connect the dots, but that’s what makes the silly season exciting. It will be interesting how the rest of the silly season puzzle shapes up in the coming weeks with drivers and teams making their moves.