If you look at the 2025 lineup of Joe Gibbs Racing…it’s basically three young drivers and a Denny Hamlin. The 44-year-old veteran is paired with Christopher Bell (30) Chase Briscoe (30) and Ty Gibbs (22). And other than youth, there is another thing in common between the three… the love for dirt racing. Denny isn’t much of a dirt racing fan, but the other three are crazy for it. And team owner Joe Gibbs had a strict rule: No racing outside NASCAR! But when it’s three against one, you probably could bend things.

Well, after the 2024 Cup Season concluded, Coach Gibbs lifted the ban! It must have been a difficult call, but he kind of had to! Especially since Chase Briscoe was taking over the #19 car. Who isn’t familiar with the legendary reputation of the Briscoe family name in Sprint Cars? And then you can’t keep someone like Christopher Bell locked in for much longer. Even Ty Gibbs tried his hand at some dirt racing. But still, Coach Gibbs doesn’t understand the idea of waiving this rule!

Joe Gibbs remains unconvinced by his own decision

Folks, for Chase Briscoe, sprint racing is in his blood. His grandfather, Richard Briscoe, is the legendary owner of Briscoe Racing. And over time, he’s fielded many known names, Chuck Amati, Dave Blaney, Dick Gaines… the list is long. Even Chase’s dad, Kevin Briscoe, has a two-decade-long sprint racing career – 150 feature wins, several titles, and whatnot. Chase’s first ride in a quarter midget felt natural. But he eventually wanted to be in stock car racing. Still, can’t keep away a man from his roots.

So when Gibbs picked Briscoe to replace Martin Truex Jr., this could have been a negotiation point in the contract. However, Joe Gibbs is unsure of how long he let his drivers race outside NASCAR.

In a recent interview, he said, “We have three of our guys heavily involved in dirt stuff coming up. And I felt like that.. the thing that I probably made the decision on they are really focused on racing. They love it and they talked about the off-season being able to you know, get a chance to race dirt stuff would help fill their time and get them excited about things. We’ll kind of see where it leads. But I made that decision and we’ll kind of see what happens with it.”

Coach Gibbs believes his drivers maintain responsibility towards their teams and everyone working in it. If some injury happens in these events (which is a possibility given their nature) many people’s careers are in jeopardy. And that’s something that Joe Gibbs did not want to let happen. But well, after constant nudging from Bell, who’s been with the team since 2021, Gibbs gave in.

And it must have been hard to convince Christopher Bell to stay indoors. He is a three-time Chili Bowl champion (2017, 2018, 2019). And the world of midget racing missed its champion since Bell joined JGR. Although the trade-off to pilot a car for the Cup Series’s top team seems fair, Bell still missed dirt racing! So the first opportunity he got, he jumped on it! And it seems to have actually helped his Cup Season.

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Dirt racing is a must for Christopher Bell

Christopher Bell is undoubtedly one of the best drivers in the Cup Series today. He finished 5th in 2024 after twice making the championship in 2023 and 2022. While he’s got the consistency, he has struggled to finish on crucial stages. Bell had three wins last season and was easily the top contender for the championship. However, he got knocked out after missing out in Martinsville.

This season we are seeing a different Bell. It’s only been three races and Bell’s already won one when he took the checkered flag at Atlanta. It could be because he never stopped the racing momentum. Even in the off-season, it was first the Tulsa shootout and then the 2025 Chili Bowl nationals. And his crew chief Adam Stevens actually believes Bell’s off-season runs are a risk worth taking.

He said, “He’s (Bell) a race car driver. For him to stay sharp, he needs to drive a race car. Cutting simulator laps just really doesn’t do that. You wouldn’t ask a professional golfer to lock his clubs in the closet for three months over the winter and show up at the first tournament. I bet he wouldn’t play very well. There is some risk that comes with that, but it’s to our benefit. It’s not only to our risk.”

And we have seen this formula working with Kyle Larson. He’s racing 24/7 and was the winningest driver (6) last season. And Larson’s already got a championship to his name (2021). Maybe this year it could be Bell winning it!

What do you think? Can Christopher Bell win a championship in 2025? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.