Bob Pockrass credits Joe Gibbs Racing for letting drivers compete outside of NASCAR

This year, Joe Gibbs Racing has lifted their ban on their NASCAR drivers competing in dirt races outside of the sport. Sprint cars can be dangerous, just like any form of motorsports, and recent injuries in the Cup Series have led many drivers and teams putting those extracurriculars to the side.

However, in a change of heart, Joe Gibbs Racing has reversed course. Now, they are letting Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs, and Chase Briscoe compete in sprint cars if they would like. Denny Hamlin could too, but I’m not sure that’s his cup of tea at 44 years old.

Looking at the joy that Bell and Gibbs experienced at the Chili Bowl and Tulsa Shootout, Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports likes what he sees. He believes that JGR has made the right move to keep their drivers in peak shape.

After all, Cup Series drivers don’t get the practice and test sessions they used to get. Honing their craft, even in another form of racing, is still important. That’s why you see guys like Kyle Busch picking up dirt racing late in their careers.

“Bell and Gibbs will likely enter the 2025 season with a little more pep in their step, a little bit more joy as they walk in the garage just because their most recent memory of racing is a good one,” Pockrass wrote in a recent article. “It wasn’t the end of last season; it was having fun on the dirt at the beginning of this one.

“That can go a long way when, for Cup drivers, they see a 38-race weekend schedule looming ahead. As Joe Gibbs will likely realize, the reward, just like the risk, reaches well beyond the specific open-wheel race.”

People act like Kyle Larson is winning races because he was ordained by God to win races. He wins races because he is always racing. My old cross country and track coach used to tell us, there is no secret to running. Just run. It appears, on face value, the same is true about motorsports.

Larson is not just competing 38 weeks a year in the Cup Series. He also does a handful of Xfinity Series races. On top of that, he will end up running another couple of dozen races in his sprint car. Fresh off his third Chili Bowl Nationals win, Larson looks ready to have a standout season once again in NASCAR.

Good news for Joe Gibbs Racing, Christopher Bell is right there with him, and at least Ty Gibbs appeared to be relaxed during his Chili Bowl debut. Drivers are athletes. Athletes have to keep themselves sharp to perform at a high level.

While the NASCAR offseason is short and the actual season incredibly long and time consuming, there is always something more that drivers can do. Will we see a generation of driver come into NASCAR soon that is just used to racing all the time across disciplines?

It appears to work for Larson, Bell, and others. Young guys like Brent Crews are showing it works for developing drivers. So, why not race anything, any time, any where?