Surprise.
The next driver of the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 is Chase Briscoe.
The formal introduction of Briscoe, which took place on Tuesday at Joe Gibbs Racing in Huntersville, North Carolina, was made humorously by Christopher Bell.
“I get to finish it out today … it is my honor to finally announce the full name of our driver next year, Chase … Briscoe,” Bell said, playing off his gaffe over the weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Briscoe will take over for Martin Truex Jr., and will also retain both crew chief James Small, and continued sponsorship from Bass Pro Shops. Small currently has the No. 19 car in top-five of the championship standings and has guided Truex to eight victories and the 2021 championship runner-up since taking over responsibilities in 2020.
In his fourth year at the highest level, Briscoe is currently 16th in the championship standings driving for Stewart-Haas Racing, which will close at the end of the season. Briscoe has a win at Phoenix in 2022 and also advanced to the Round of 8 in the playoffs that season
In his Cup Series career, he has amassed 12 top-5 finishes, 27 top-10s and two poles. He was also the 2021 Cup Series rookie of the year. A graduate of dirt sprint cars, Briscoe has 11 Xfinity Series wins, including a series leading nine wins in 2020 and also has a pair of Truck Series victories. He won the ARCA championship in 2016.
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.
