“God Help You, Chase”: NASCAR Fans Warn Martin Truex Jr’s Successor of a Problematic Future With Joe Gibbs’ Insider

Martin Truex Jr and his current crew chief, James Small share an interesting relationship. After all the duo have known each other since their days at Furniture Row Motorsports, when the former won the now-defunct race team its only championship in 2017.

But in the background of MTJ’s full-time absence post-2024, Small may return to guide a new face behind the wheel of Joe Gibbs #19 Toyota Camry XSE. And if you paid attention to Christopher Bell’s comedic “announcement” at New Hampshire, you would know that the new face is assumably Chase Briscoe. However, the fans are throwing out some concerning claims before a potential union involving James Small and JGR’s new #19 team unfolds.

JGR hints at a return inside Martin Truex Jr’s #19 crew

The Aussie V8 Supercars import stepped in as MTJ’s former championship-winning crew chief, Cole Pearn’s successor in 2020. And ever since he has been subject to constant scrutiny from the public. Much of the reason can be attributed to the #19 crew’s continuous pit lane mess-ups, evident throughout the last 4 years, but more so, in what has been laid out as Truex Jr’s ‘farewell tour’ season.

As has been the trend so far this season, the #19 started the USA Today 301 inside the top 10, albeit a rain-canceled qualifying left the rolling grid positions up for anyone’s guess at New Hampshire. MTJ finished inside the top 10 in the first two stages, but then a problematic pit stop left him vulnerable in the middle of the pack at the beginning of Stage 3. About 20 laps after the green fell, the #19 crashed into the outer wall following contact with Brad Keselowski. A few laps later NASCAR called a stop to all on-track action, and what happened next was a two-hour rain delay.

Once the green fell again with 82 laps left to race, MTJ fought back to a commendable P9 spot on Goodyear’s Wet Weather Tires. That was not good enough for Truex fans online who were still livid at yet another contentious ‘James Small call’ following the incident with the #6 which brought out the 7th caution of the race. But those frustrations from the fan are somewhat understandable, considering that even Truex admitted to the media post-Loudon that “it has been a rough four weeks.“ His disappointments started with tire issues and a P34 at Gateway early in June, his first finish below the top 30 this season. 

Then came that notorious fuel imbalance at Sonoma, which led to MTJ falling out of contention for his first potential race win of the season. Falling only a lap short, when Small was asked what caused the #19 team’s unfortunate fuel-management fallout after the race, he told Frontretch that he had “no idea” about the probable reasons.  However, in no way can that negate James Small’s extensive expertise.

After stints as an engineer at Richard Childress Racing and Lead Engineer at Furniture Row Motorsports, Small assumed the same role at Joe Gibbs Racing when Truex joined the organization in 2019. Additionally, as a crew chief/driver pairing starting in 2020, Small and MTJ garnered 8 race wins and even the 2023 Regular Season Championship after the former’s promotion within the ranks of JGR.

Regardless, with a new driver set to enter the folds another time, and most speculating it to be Chase Briscoe, JGR has determined Thursday afternoon, the 26th, to be the official reveal date. Moreover, Bob Pockrass of FOX informed fans on Twitter that Joe Gibbs himself, the #19 crew chief, James Small, and JGR’s newest NASCAR Cup Series driver will be present for the statement, “which indicates that James Small will remain as the crew chief of the No. 19 team in 2025.” But it seems like the fans are not completely aligned with that idea.

Fans divided on James Small as crew chief for JGR’s new #19 driver

Although Cole Pearn accompanied Martin Truex Jr to the #19 car from Furniture Row following its shutdown in 2018, it is unlikely that Briscoe’s current crew chief at Stewart-Haas, Richard Boswell will find a place at JGR with someone as experienced as James Small already in the fray. Add to that the extensive records and resumes of all personnel currently working inside Coach Gibbs’ race shop, and most wouldn’t be able to deduce any better alternatives to guide Briscoe if he is indeed the “mystery driver” for JGR.

But the saga of James Small has proven to be barely that simple. Owing to the unpredictable nature of Small’s teams, one fan observed that “James Small and optimism do not go in the same sentence,” when making their views known about the whole situation on the NASCAR subreddit. On a thread that caught thousands of eyes, linking to the Twitter update by Pockrass, many others voiced their displeasure over this 2025 pairing waiting in the works, as the 2024 season awaits its next test in Nashville next weekend.

A certain reply issued a hilariously ominous update that read, “God help you, Chase. GOD. HELP. YOU.” That can be termed an overstatement, yet another fan lent a fair explanation to that sentiment rudely commenting: “Hope Chase is ready for a pit crew that still can’t figure out how to put wheels on a car.” 

Comment
byu/MisterH78 from discussion
inNASCAR

A few others held much more relaxed and balanced perspectives like this one who wrote, “This will show that either James isn’t that bad or that Truex is really that good. I think Briscoe is serviceable but I don’t know that he can carry a team like Truex, yet.” One Reddit user made quite an informed observation, stating, “Small strikes me as a great car chief but mediocre crew chief.”

It is common knowledge in the garage that “Small builds some of the best cars in the garage,” as emphasized by one diehard in between all the discussions. They also observed how “he has a notable weakness with strategy,” which is not completely false, based on Martin Truex Jr’s average outings since his last race win at New Hampshire, 36 races ago in the previous season. 

As for the Briscoe/Small pairing? That is only speculation still unless any official confirmations come forth on Tuesday. Regardless, many agree it is foolish to make any predictions for two entities who already know what it is like to win in NASCAR’s premier tier until they are officially up and performing for the #19 team,