Joe Gibbs is packing a punch for his opponents this season. In November 2024, the football-coach-turned-NASCAR-team-owner saw the value in dabbling in multiple series. He lifted the restrictions for dirt racing during weekdays for his Cup Series drivers after two whole years. This has allowed the drivers to not only hone their skills but also garner the maximum attention from fans.

That goes without doubt as Joe Gibbs’ army is a force to reckon with at NASCAR’s season-opening exhibition race. The Clash race will be moving to the Bowman Gray Stadium for the first time, marking a revival of the ‘Madhouse’. And JGR tops the predictions for this grand event.

Joe Gibbs’ drivers rank the highest 

The Clash race has been a prestigious picture on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule since 1971. And Joe Gibbs has captured a hefty portion of that prestige. Since 2001, his drivers have collected 12 victories in the Clash – Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Erik Jones, and Martin Truex Jr. The latest victory came in the hands of Denny Hamlin in 2024 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. However, now that Gibbs has opened the gates to dirt racing for his drivers, the focus has shifted from Hamlin.

His teammates are dirt racing enthusiasts – Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, and Ty Gibbs – and fans expect the most from them. On a recent episode of ‘The Teardown,’ NASCAR journalists Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi discussed fan votes for potential Clash winners. Chase Briscoe, who just joined Joe Gibbs Racing to take over the No. 19 Toyota, surprisingly ranks among the top leaders.

Gluck laid it down: “We looked up the odds of fan duel rep for this podcast…The top 12 drivers in the odds…So we’ve got Larson, Bell, and Briscoe – are tied for the votes at +800. Denny Hamlin (is) +850. Logano, Ty Gibbs, and Blaney are plus 1000. Byron, Busch – +1200. Chase Elliott – +1600. Bowman, Reddick are + 2000.”

Chase Briscoe’s career began on dirt tracks – since he was 13, he has been racing sprint cars in Midwest bullrings. Now he has more opportunity to shine under Joe Gibbs‘ relaxed rules. What is more, even Ty Gibbs ranks highly among drivers projected to win the Clash. Gluck expressed his surprise: “Very interesting…I’m not sure what are they looking at there. I guess they’re assuming that okay, Briscoe’s getting in the 19. We saw the 19 win a Clash before. Ty Gibbs is a good short-track racer – they’re kind of going heavy on JGR for sure.”

At the same time, Hendrick Motorsports continuing to explore its dominance in 2025 as well. Having won the Chili Bowl Nationals, the Bowman Gray might just be the next place for the young driver to visit the victory lane, unless Briscoe manages to cast some magic in his debut race.

Even Chase Briscoe is surprised about the vast new opportunities he has this season.

More flexible than it appears

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When Tony Stewart announced that he would shutter Stewart-Haas Racing after 2024, his employees were devastated. Some people wondered about their insecure futures – including Chase Briscoe. Although he was the top-scoring driver in the team, he was apprehensive. Yet not only did the speedster secure a job, but he also got it in a premier Cup Series team. Briscoe replaced 2017 Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. in his seat. Then when Joe Gibbs relaxed the rules around dirt racing ambitions, he was even more surprised.

Briscoe owns a dirt racing team himself, and he initially saw that JGR was a bit aversive towards his off-NASCAR interests. Prior incidents of drivers hurting themselves in sprint car accidents were fresh – Alex Bowmn broke his back in 2023. However, he did not expect Joe Gibbs to change his mind so drastically. “I could tell it wasn’t a hard ‘no,’ but it wasn’t something at the time they were super thrilled about. It didn’t feel like the door was shut completely; there was definitely a crack. But I didn’t know in my first year getting there, I would still be able to go do stuff if I wanted to.”

With Joe Gibbs Racing’s new atmosphere, the sky is the limit for the team’s drivers. The Clash is just around the corner, and we cannot wait to see JGR conjure its magic.