Martin Truex Jr. officially confirmed in June 2025 that he would step away from full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition after the season. This closed the book on a 20-year career defined by consistency, grit, and one championship-winning run in 2017. Truex, 45, cited the demanding travel schedule and a desire to focus on life outside racing as key reasons for his decision, emphasizing that it wasn’t about performance.

His No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota remained a playoff-caliber car. Over his career, Truex earned 34 Cup victories and four Championship 4 appearances between 2017 and 2021, helping elevate Joe Gibbs Racing into a powerhouse while maintaining his reputation as one of NASCAR’s most respected and steady hands. Now, JGR crew chief James Small has opened up about how they filled his vacuum.

Small’s straight talk

When asked how the Joe Gibbs Racing camp handled Martin Truex Jr.’s departure and the complete rebuild of the No. 19 team, crew chief James Small offered an honest and reflective answer while talking with SiriusXM. “It was very new. You know, not only with Chase and me, but we had a new engineer in Kyle and a new car chief, JD, and some other new faces on the team.” Small admitted.

The 2025 season started from square one, with everyone, from mechanics to drivers, learning how to communicate and gel. “We were still just trying to work out our flow from week to week and get an understanding of what Chase was feeling in the car, and at that point, it was still very foreign to him. I think it took us about 10, 11 races for him to really feel comfortable.” Small said.

Martin Truex’s exit left behind not just a legacy, but a vacuum of chemistry and experience that took years to build. For Small, rebuilding that from scratch became both a challenge and a mission. As NASCAR.com reported, the team leaned into communication and patience, two elements that helped transform Chase Briscoe’s early-season struggles into growing consistency.

Small noted that even minute preferences, like how Briscoe wanted the brakes set up, had to be redefined. But as the weeks passed, that unfamiliarity turned into progress. “We’re in a much better place now. The team has done an unbelievable job this year,” he said.

Small was quick to highlight his crew’s resilience, particularly the impact of JD as car chief. “JD’s been a great hire,” Small said. “He does a great job managing all the mechanics and making sure that we have really well-prepared cars.”

That internal leadership, paired with JGR’s culture of precision and accountability, has helped the new lineup find stability. As Racing America pointed out, the No. 19 crew’s steady upward trajectory mirrors JGR’s long-standing strength in developing new chemistry under pressure, a formula that’s worked for years across the organization’s multiple teams.

Watching Briscoe adapt and the new engineers grow has given Small a sense of fulfillment he didn’t expect after Truex’s exit. “It’s been very fulfilling to watch Chase get better week to week, along with everybody else,” he said.

For a team that once defined dominance through experience, the 2025 season has become about growth and resilience. In many ways, Small and his restructured crew have done what Truex and company once did best: build something championship-caliber from the ground up.

Even Briscoe pointed out how his experience here has been different than what it was back at Stewart-Haas Racing. For instance, he commented on the difference in winning races, “It’s different I guess. Just because the expectation is there (in JGR), whereas at SHR, it honestly felt like you shocked the world when you won. Whereas here it doesn’t feel like that because they do win a lot.” SHR’s victories were rare and unexpected, but entering a giant like JGR forced him to get used to being at the top of his game.

Now, months after the veteran’s farewell, the No. 19 team’s evolution stands as a quiet tribute to Truex’s legacy and to Joe Gibbs Racing’s relentless ability to adapt. Even after a legend walks away, the heartbeat of teamwork, trust, and steady improvement continues to drive the garage forward.

Gibbs glows over Briscoe’s surprise surge

Small’s rebuild sets the stage for Joe Gibbs’s grin as Chase Briscoe storms Phoenix in the Championship 4, first JGR year.

Gibbs said, “Certainly you’re seeing somebody like Chase, who came up, sacrificed all that he sacrificed with his family and him, Marissa (Briscoe’s wife), everything that they’ve gone through to get to this level. It’s so exciting to see them have a year like they’ve had.”

Three wins, 15 top-fives, 19 top-10s in 35 races crown the shock. “None of us expected it,” Gibbs added. “I don’t think anybody did. I didn’t hear anybody in the press say that was going to happen. I think it took us all by surprise.” JGR’s last title hit was in 2019 with Kyle Busch. Six years later, Briscoe eyes the drought-buster.

He’s the dark horse of the bunch, the underdog, the only one to have a first-time experience of a Championship 4 race. His 2022 win over there gives him an added advantage over Hamlin and Larson, who haven’t won there since the Next Gen’s debut.

With Penske out, Hendrick looms. It’s JGR vs. the giants. Small’s chemistry with Briscoe sparks the fire Gibbs celebrates. Eyes lock on Phoenix Sunday, 312 laps, Peacock at 3:30 p.m. ET. Truex’s exit opened the door; Briscoe kicks it wide. Heartbeat races on.