Martin Truex Jr’s retirement signals a shifting of the old guard at Joe Gibbs Racing. With Chase Briscoe stepping in, only one-fourth of their Cup Series lineup is now over 40. And call it life, but that sole veteran is none other than the newly minted 44-year-old Denny Hamlin.
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Essentially, that would make the #11 veteran the de facto leader at Coach Gibbs’ glorious race team. But each one of his drivers will fight for their own come next season. Hence, making inferences this early serves no true purpose in the bigger picture. Still, there’s no denying that change is sweeping through Joe Gibbs Racing, with some fresh policies getting implemented that align seamlessly with NASCAR’s evolving landscape. These changes have undoubtedly put a smile on the face of their #20 driver, Christopher Bell. After all, who wouldn’t jump at the chance to reconnect with their roots, especially when they’ve received the green light from their very employers?
Coach Gibbs embraces dirt with a game-changing policy shift at JGR
The Athletic made it official on November 18th, but news has been circulating in the garages for most of this year that Joe Gibbs Racing would finally let its drivers race on dirt outside of NASCAR. Coach Gibbs’ 22-year-old trailblazer grandson, Ty Gibbs, has shown an interest in racing dirt earlier. And now, it seems like his teammates will all have their own chance as well. After JGR officially named Chase Briscoe (and no, we’re not talking about Christopher Bell’s accidental revelation at Loudon) as the driver to replace Martin Truex Jr in the #19 Toyota, Joe Gibbs addressed the issue to Lee Spencer of SiriusXM NASCAR.
See you guys at a dirt track soon…” wrote the 29-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing wheelman.
Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, and Ty Gibbs eye dirt-track dominance
Regardless, Christopher Bell was definitely ‘caught off guard’ by the change of policy. However, “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.” Bell concluded with a brighter note on the extra benefits of this fundamental shift within the garages of Joe Gibbs Racing, “It’s refreshing knowing I’ll be able to do whatever I want to do… I’m super excited to reconnect with my dirt fan base and see everybody at a dirt track soon.”
New teammate Chase Briscoe concurred with that notion. “I could tell it wasn’t a hard ‘no,’ but it wasn’t something at the time they were super thrilled about,” explained the #19 driver. “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.” If nothing else, Joe Gibbs lifting the restrictions has brought in a new air of optimism among JGR’s dirt track racers plying their trade at the highest level of stock car racing. And if things go all well, this could only benefit the organization’s trophy cabinet in the long run.