That didn’t take long. Only weeks after he was given his walking papers by Stewart-Haas Racing Chase Briscoe has found a new home for 2025.
The soon to be former driver of the No. 14 Ford for soon to be shuttered Stewart-Haas Racing was officially introduced as the driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota starting next season. He will replace outgoing driver Martin Truex Jr. who recently announced he will be stepping away from full time racing in the NASCAR Cup series after this year.
The rumors of the move began almost immediately after Truex revealed his intentions at Iowa Speedway. The rumors were confirmed, sort of, by JGR driver Christoper Bell who last Friday during a news conference at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Bell slipped and appeared to confirm that Truex’s replacement would be Chase Briscoe.
“It could be whoever has a good race that week – so I don’t think that there really is a leadership role in that aspect and whenever Chase comes into the car." Bell said before cutting himself off and glancing down with a red face and grin.
Only days before Truex announced his departure Briscoe had been told that his team was shutting down. As soon as team co-owner Tony Stewart delivered the news to the drivers, Briscoe sprang into action.
“That was the first thing I asked when Tony sat us all down and asked if we had any questions,” Briscoe said. “I said, ‘Yeah, what does this mean for us as far as being able to talk to other teams?’ And he said, ‘You guys are free to do whatever you want.’ So, literally while I was sitting in the room, I started texting people, letting them know, ‘Hey, I’m going to be available and need to find something.’”
It appears those text messages worked.
“I’m excited for this opportunity with Joe Gibbs Racing and Bass Pro Shops,” Briscoe said. “From a competition standpoint, JGR is the place to be if you want to go win races week in and week out and to race for the championship every year.”
The 29-year-old Indiana native has built an impressive resume in his NASCAR career dating back to 2017. He’s scored Rookie of the Year honors in all three of NASCAR’s national touring series and his first win in the Cup series in 2022
Whether it was timing, or something that was in process as part of the Truex news, Briscoe will now join one of the most successful organizations and teams in NASCAR. Founded in 1992, the team has amassed 424 wins across NASCAR’s top touring series, 214 of those in the top tier Cup series. The organization has 9 championships, 5 of those in the Cup series. Since taking over the 19 car in 2019 Truex has scored 15 wins in Cup.
In addition, as part of Tuesday’s announcement Bass Pro shops will stay with the team and be featured prominently on the No. 19 throughout the 2025 season.
“We have been honored to stand beside Martin Truex Jr. for the last 21 years and together with our friends at Joe Gibbs Racing over the last six years,” said Johnny Morris, noted conservationist and founder of Bass Pro Shops. “We are proud to represent sportsmen and women across North America as we extend this relationship with Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota and Chase Briscoe.”
Briscoe is currently ranked 16th in the points standings after a runner-up finish in Sunday’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
“I am blessed that Johnny Morris and Bass Pro are on board to help us carry on the legacy of the 19 car,” Briscoe said. “For me personally, being an avid outdoorsman, there’s a lot of pride in now being a part of the Bass Pro brand and I’m extremely grateful for this partnership. Getting to meet Johnny, I feel like I share a lot of the same values as him and Coach, and I’m ready to get to work and prove that they have made a great choice putting me in this car.”
Briscoe will be paired with crew chief James Small. Small has guided Martin Truex Jr. to eight victories since taking over crew chief responsibilities in 2020. He led the No. 19 team to a runner-up finish in the 2021 Championship 4 as well as the 2023 regular season championship.
“We are extremely excited about the future of our 19 team with Chase (Briscoe) behind the wheel and the partnership with Johnny, J.P. and everyone at Bass Pro Shops,” said Joe Gibbs, owner of Joe Gibbs Racing. “I talk about it often, but one of the great things about our sport is the relationships you have the opportunity to build around your teams and certainly we are just so thankful to have that with everyone at Bass Pro Shops. We obviously do a lot of research before selecting our drivers and through the process everything kept pointing us back to Chase. With James’ (Small) leadership, Chase behind the wheel, and the support from Bass Pro, and of course Toyota, we couldn’t be more excited about the future of our 19 team.”