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Chase Briscoe reveals Tony Stewart reaction that Briscoe is heading to Joe Gibbs Racing

Nick Profile Picby:Nick Geddes•06/26/24•

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Chase Briscoe
Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports

Nearly four years ago, it was Tony Stewart and Stewart-Haas Racing who gave Chase Briscoe his first opportunity in the NASCAR Cup Series.

126 races and a playoff appearance later, it’s time for Briscoe to take on a new challenge, this time at one of NASCAR’s most storied teams, Joe Gibbs Racing. JGR formally announced Tuesday that Briscoe will replace the retiring Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 19 Toyota after he signed a multiyear deal with the team.

Briscoe met with JGR soon after SHR announced it would be shutting down operations after the 2024 season and signed his contract the week of the race at Sonoma. One of the first calls Briscoe made after signing was to Stewart, who believed in him enough back in 2020 to allow him to drive the No. 14 car he drove to a championship in 2011. Briscoe thanked him for the opportunity before announcing the big news, to which Stewart was “ecstatic” to hear.

Chase Briscoe on his conversation with Tony Stewart

“I called Tony, I think it was on the way to Sonoma — yeah because I signed that week — and I called him and just told him, ‘Hey, thanks for everything.’ Because the day he came and told us, he was so busy, he had people coming up to him and stuff, so I didn’t really get to talk to him,” Briscoe said, via FOX Sports. “I called him and just told him how much I appreciated the opportunity and how much it meant to me to drive the 14 car and he told me at the end, he said, ‘If there’s anything I can do to help you out, please don’t hesitate. I’ll call anybody.’

“I said, ‘Well, you don’t need to, I actually signed a deal yesterday.’ And he goes, ‘Oh, the Front Row deal?’ I said, ‘No, it’s not the Front Row deal.’ And he goes, ‘Oh, the Wood Brothers?’ I said, ‘No, not the Wood Brothers.’ And he said, ‘Well, what is it?’ And I said, ‘I’m gonna go to Gibbs,’ and he was ecstatic. It was really cool to see how excited he was for me, and I think he knows the opportunity that’s gonna be here for me. So yeah, it was cool to get to talk to Tony.”

Chase Briscoe: ‘My career is probably over’ if I don’t win at Joe Gibbs Racing

If anybody knows what it’s like to be part of a team like JGR, it’s obviously Stewart, who spent the first 10 seasons of his career piloting the No. 20 car. Stewart claimed two championships at JGR, something Briscoe would certainly love to obtain.

But before he can think about that, Briscoe simply needs to win. Thus far through his career, Briscoe has just one victory — Phoenix in 2022. This season, he sits 25 points behind Joey Logano for the 16th and final spot in the playoff field.

With expectations heightened replacing a future a Hall of Famer, Briscoe must perform, and he knows it.

“If I don’t win and the way I look at it as my career is probably over, because if I can’t perform at this caliber race team, then why would any other owner take a chance on me?” Briscoe said. “That’s just the way I feel about it.”