Joe Gibbs Racing has had a surprising change of policy for 2025. The team’s owner has lifted restrictions on dirt racing after more than two years, allowing drivers to participate in events such as the Tulsa Shootout and the Chili Bowl Nationals. The news is being well received at the team’s headquarters in Huntersville, North Carolina, with Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, and Ty Gibbs renewing their interest in the motorsports discipline during the off-season.

However, none of this would have been possible without Ty Gibbs’ new teammate Chase Briscoe. The former Stewart-Haas Racing driver comes from a dirt background, which may have prompted the football-coach-turned-NASCAR-team-owner to largely lift the restrictions on drivers’ extracurricular activities.

Ty Gibbs enjoying his newfound interest in dirt racing

Ty Gibbs’ grandfather once said that he “always preferred (drivers’) focus remain on racing in NASCAR.” However, with three out of four drivers at Joe Gibbs Racing expressing their interest in competing on dirt tracks, the team owner was forced to reconsider his decision. Ultimately, the majority won, resulting in a change of policy that was not just limited to dirt racing but other motorsports formats as well. It was a welcome development for all JGR drivers except for Denny Hamlin, as they had expressed interest in pursuing other disciplines during the off-season.

Sharing his thoughts on the matter, Ty Gibbs gave credit where it was due in an interview with Frontstretch and went on to say, “You know, I think we have to credit all of turnaround in dirt to Christopher [Bell] he’s been fighting for a long time. Now [Chase] Briscoe has come in to be our teammate and he of course runs dirt so it’s helpful to have that.”

Chase Briscoe, who is a third-generation racer started his career by racing on dirt tracks in and around his home state of Indiana. The 30-year-old also owns a Wing/Non-Wing Sprint Car and Midget Race Team called ‘Chase Briscoe Racing’ which competes in the World of Outlaws. Given his stature within the dirt racing community, it’s not surprising that his new boss Joe Gibbs chose to reconsider his decision to change the team’s policy, with Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell benefitting from it as well.

Christopher Bell also thanked Joe Gibbs after his return to dirt racing at the Tulsa Shootout. The JGR star narrowly beat Hendrick Motorsports rival Kyle Larson to a Golden Driller in the Non-Winged Outlaw category. After a photo finish, Bell was interviewed and the first thing he said was, “I’ve got four words. Thank you, Joe Gibbs.”

Christopher Bell is an elite dirt racer who is one of only three drivers to have won the Chili Bowl Nationals thrice. The Oklahoman has not been able to participate in the competition since 2022, even though he did compete in two micro-sprints in May. The No. 20 Toyota driver expressed his thoughts about the situation by saying, “I was super shocked, but with Chase coming on board and Ty growing an interest in dirt racing, it’s nice we have the majority of our team aligned with it now.”

Briscoe opts out of Chili Bowl Nationals despite JGR approval

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Chase Briscoe has competed at the Chili Bowl Nationals for 10 consecutive years. However, despite Joe Gibbs Racing’s change in policy, the 30-year-old has opted out of the 2025 iteration for personal reasons. Talks were held about the prospect of dirt racing when he joined the team, with the former Stewart-Haas Racing driver saying, “I could tell it wasn’t a hard ‘no,’ but it wasn’t something at the time they were super thrilled about.” However, everything changed last month, when Joe Gibbs called his drivers for a meeting and shared the approval process.

Despite the policy change, Chase Briscoe will not be participating in the 2025 Chili Bowl Nationals, despite his teammates Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell competing. The racer announced his decision on X, writing, “First Chili Bowl I haven’t competed at in over 10 years. Feels weird but for sure gonna be tuned in on@FloRacing.” When asked for a reason by a fan, the Indiana native said, “Couple different reasons, biggest thing is with the newborn twins it’s hard to leave my wife alone for 8 days with 3 kids under 3.”

Marissa and Chase Briscoe recently welcomed daughter Collins and son Cooper in late 2024, which is the primary reason for him opting out of the event. Racing outside NASCAR has been a controversial topic for teams, especially after Alex Bowman broke his back in a sprint car race in 2023, forcing him to miss four Cup Series races for Hendrick Motorsports and subsequently missing out on the playoffs. With Chase Briscoe becoming a father, will his dirt race participation reduce because of his new responsibilities? Time will tell.