“Not Really Focused on JGR,” Claims Chase Briscoe as He Shifts Attention Back to SHR & Ford Amidst Fresh Signing

Stewart-Haas Racing’s untimely shut-down left its drivers in the free agency market. Although vacancies opening up in several teams did make SHR drivers feel jittery about their unstable future, one of them has already gotten the golden ticket. Chase Briscoe, the top-performing racer in Tony Stewart’s fold, will officially enter Joe Gibbs Racing in 2025.

The news came days after Briscoe’s stellar run at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. However, the No. 14 Ford driver is not letting himself get carried away. He is gathering all his energy for a solid 2024 season, as the playoffs are only eight races away.

The present matters more for Chase Briscoe

After only one top-five and five top-ten finishes this season, Briscoe struck gold at New Hampshire. A two-hour rain delay after lap 219 shuffled the race field. While the damp conditions and wet-weather tires threw a wrench in some drivers’ plans, others came through seamlessly. One of them was Chase Briscoe, who moved up from running 23rd after the red flag and fetched a brilliant runner-up spot.

This marked his first P1 finish of the season. It also proved Briscoe’s remarkable efforts to improve his performance. And sure enough, it landed him the Cup Series’ upper echelon seat in JGR’s No. 19 car, which Martin Truex Jr will soon vacate. Do you know Coach Gibbs personally messaged Briscoe and asked him to talk over breakfast?

Briscoe mentioned it was one of his very first interactions with Gibbs. Yet despite the opportunity to compete for one of NASCAR’s winningest teams, Briscoe chooses to focus on his present, soon-to-shutter team. Talking to Frontstretch recently, Briscoe admitted to the relaxed situation: “Yeah, I mean there’s relief just to know you’re secure going forward.” Yet then he added some further candor: “To be honest with you, I’m not really focused on JGR right now.”

Instead, Chase Briscoe is diverting his energies to building on his runner-up performance and paying his dues to SHR and Ford. “Trying to get the 14 car in the playoffs…and you know everything that Stewart-Haas has done for me, and Ford Motor Companies. So for me right now that’s the main focus.” He will think about Joe Gibbs when the time is right. “Come November, we’ll start worrying about JGR and all the stuff over there.”

Chase Briscoe’s entry into JGR was a long-drawn-out speculation. Interestingly, one of JGR’s star drivers helped Briscoe’s ascension.

An old friendship is running strong

Chase Briscoe has a steadfast friend in the NASCAR Cup garage – JGR driver Christopher Bell. They had known each other since their adolescent years, racing together online and living together for a while. In 2015, C. Bell’s Roush Fenway contact landed Briscoe a spot at Cunningham Motorsports, which placed him in the ARCA Menards Series, which soon paved the way for his Cup career.

Briscoe tipped his hat to his old friend: “If it wasn’t for Christopher, I don’t know if I’d even be in NASCAR, period.” Bell accidentally slipped to the media about his buddy’s entry into JGR before the official announcement.

Indeed, he had also helped Briscoe with his Joe Gibbs Racing fortune. “Christopher texted me probably, I don’t know, I think it was the week of SHR shutting down and said, ‘Hey, I think Martin might not be coming back. You need to just be wearing them out over there,’ ” Briscoe said. “So I mean, he’s been a huge part of my career.”

It may not be surprising if Chase Briscoe wows Joe Gibbs next year. But for now, he is focused on offering a fitting farewell to his outgoing team, Stewart-Haas Racing.