Joe Gibbs Racing has been having an interesting 2024 season so far. With just eight races left in the regular season, all four of their teams look in a good position to qualify for the playoffs. However, the retirement of their superstar driver, Martin Truex Jr, at the end of the season, looms large. As a remedy, the team has moved swiftly to secure a talented replacement in Chase Briscoe, who will take the reins of the #19 car in 2025. Now, what’s interesting is how the current #19 driver was involved in finalizing his successor.

Martin Truex Jr discloses his role in helping Joe Gibbs Racing find his replacement

There is no doubt that replacing Martin Truex Jr wouldn’t be an easy job. After all, his tenure with Joe Gibbs Racing was nothing less than impressive. In his inaugural season with Joe Gibbs Racing, he made a remarkable debut, advancing to the Championship 4. He showed exceptional skills, leading an impressive 103 laps, only to narrowly miss the title, which was claimed by Kyle Busch. While the ultimate title proved to be evasive, his outstanding performance set the tone for a promising future with the team.

Truex Jr’s consistency on the track was truly remarkable, with 15 wins, 59 top-five finishes, and 107 top-ten finishes in 198 races. His absence will undoubtedly be felt, but Chase Briscoe has been tapped to carry the torch as his successor. And everyone in the racing arena has nothing but high hopes!

After the announcement of Stewart-Haas Racing shutting down its operation at the end of the season, Briscoe made himself available in the market. While Joe Gibbs Racing had some decent options to replace Truex Jr, the current #14 driver secured the job. Naturally, Joe Gibbs and his team must have weighed plenty before going ahead with Briscoe. Interestingly, the role Martin Truex Jr played in the outcome remains a fascinating one.

Speaking to the media before the race at Nashville, he explained his inputs in the selection of his successor. He said, “I pretty much knew what they [Joe Gibbs Racing] were going to do and the direction they were going. I didn’t really tell them one thing or another, just they asked me questions about certain people through the process and I gave my opinion and they landed on who they wanted, so that’s great for them.”

Another notable event amidst this selection has been the sponsor Bass Pro Shops. It is no secret how Johnny Morris, the founder of Bass Pro Shops, enjoyed a long and healthy relationship with Martin Truex Jr. However, despite Truex Jr’s departure, Morris decided to continue with Chase Briscoe, extending his support in the best possible manner.

Speaking about it, Truex Jr said, “I’m happy that Johnny’s staying on board with Bass Pro and that’s a big deal for the company. So hopefully, they can continue to do good things with the #19 team.” Indeed, it is great news. Now it all comes down to how the combination of Toyota, Chase Briscoe, Bass Pro Shops, and crew chief James Small handle the #19 team.

Fortunately for Briscoe, JGR owner Joe Gibbs has a lot of faith in him to take the place of Truex Jr successfully.

Joe Gibbs explains the dynamics behind the signing of Chase Briscoe as Martin Truex Jr’s replacement

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There is no doubt that Chase Briscoe possesses an impressive resume. While the Indiana-born driver needed the next step in his career to make it large, there couldn’t have been a better place than Joe Gibbs Racing. That said, signing him wasn’t an easy job as Briscoe attracted multiple suitors.

Speaking on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Joe Gibbs explained the dynamics of signing Briscoe. He said, “We’ve been thinking about this [Martin Truex Jr’s replacement] and working on it for two months because I kind of felt like Martin last year, it was close. And we were able to get everything done and Martin comes back.”

It was then that he stated the difficulty in signing Briscoe. Gibbs said, “So this year, you’re kind of looking at saying this could happen. And so we’ve been working on this for quite a while. But what happened as we analyzed things and we kind of went through a big number of drivers, it became obvious when we kind of settled on Chase, our problem was other people wanted Chase too.”

Luckily, JGR was ready with its analysis and acted quickly to secure Briscoe’s signature. Now, it remains to be seen what he’s able to achieve with the #19 car’s next campaign.