The 2024 season has been a rollercoaster for Chase Briscoe. From being announced as the new front-runner for Stewart-Haas Racing to the uncertainty of having to sit out the 2025 season, luck hasn’t seemed to be on the 29-year-old’s side lately.
That was until Christopher Bell made a surprising gaffe while speaking with the media at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
With JGR saying goodbye to Martin Truex Jr. at the end of the 2024 season, many expected one of the four drivers in Tony Stewart’s camp to take the spot. So when Christopher Bell accidentally revealed Chase Briscoe’s imminent arrival, the former SHR driver had no choice but to come clean to the NASCAR community. Still, Brisco took the time to reflect on his time at SHR.
Chase Briscoe has nothing but praise for Tony Stewart as he prepares for Coach Gibbs’ side
After Tony Stewart announced SHR’s plans to disband the team at the end of the 2024 season, Chase Briscoe was searching for a full-time seat.
With a seemingly explosive explosion of options on the driver market these days, Briscoe found himself in a race against time to secure his future in the Cup Series. Luckily, the 29-year-old had already proven himself good enough during his time with SHR that some big names were calling.
When asked if Tony Stewart was heavily involved in getting his former driver a new seat, the answer was again rather unexpected. The former #14 driver told FrontStretch: I talked to Tony a little bit. I just called him and told him how grateful I am for everything he’s done for me over the last seven years of my career. So that means a lot to me. ”
At the same time, Chase Briscoe also emphasized that he, like many of us, has always been a die-hard smoking fan. Since his time with the Stewart & Haas-led team, Briscoe nevertheless let it be known that Stewart has little involvement in free agency.
But at the same time, the 29-year-old also hinted that Smoak pulled some strings to get him a start at Joe Gibbs Racing. The soon-to-be former SHR driver said, “He was adamant that he would do anything he could to help me and that he’d definitely give good advice to anyone that he had to call.
So I don’t know if Coach (Gibbs) called him or Tony called him or what happened, but obviously it all worked out in the end.” It’s fair to say that Tony Stewart wasn’t as involved as many insiders and veterans would have liked, but Smoak could have definitely put in a good word for Briscoe at JGR.
