HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. -- Joe Gibbs Racing has made it official that Chase Briscoe will take over the No. 19 Toyota Camry XSE starting with the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season.
The deal will be for multiple years, something that Briscoe requested during a sitdown with the person who handles contracts for Joe Gibbs Racing. The Indiana native will have Bass Pro Shops as a primary partner for his inaugural season, starting with the Daytona 500 in February.
Why was a multi-year deal so crucial? There were multiple reasons. Among them was the fact that Briscoe is still an up-and-coming driver despite having 126 career starts at the top level of NASCAR. He is still learning.
"I said number one, I want a multi-year deal," Briscoe told AltDriver and other media members Tuesday at Joe Gibbs Racing headquarters. "I said just because my family, coming into a new situation.
"I said there's gonna be a lot for me to learn these first couple months. I don't want to just get one year and then I'm finally figuring it out in June and it's too late to do anything."
The multi-year deal was part of the plan from the beginning for Joe Gibbs, who channeled his football days during the recruitment process by reaching out to Briscoe numerous times.
Having multiple seasons to work with the No. 19 will be beneficial for Briscoe, especially considering that he won't be able to start truly building chemistry with his new team until the offseason. He won't have the opportunity to use the Toyota simulator or share information with crew chief James Small until after the checkered flag waves at Phoenix Raceway in November.
James Small told me that Chase Briscoe is a plug and play guy due to how similar he is to Martin Truex Jr.
Chase expanded upon that point. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/Ek6NY3nwed— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) June 25, 2024
Fortunately for Briscoe, his new crew chief doesn't anticipate facing a massive learning curve. Small, who has been the crew chief for Martin Truex Jr. since the 2020 season, told AltDriver that he actually expects Briscoe to be a natural fit considering that Briscoe and Truex seek the same things behind the wheel.
"We kind of just got along like a house on fire straight away," Small said, adding that the growth could be easier considering that Briscoe lives in the area.
"...I came away thinking, Oh, this might be a little plug and play, to be honest."
Briscoe still has to close out his final season with Stewart-Haas Racing, one in which he continues to pursue his second career Cup win and a return to the playoffs.
Once he makes the move to JGR, however, he will have several things working in his favor. He will have a multi-year deal, which provides security as he makes the transition to Toyota after several seasons at Ford. Briscoe will have a crew chief who believes they can win quickly, and he will be in control of a car that has visited victory lane numerous times over the years.
Of course, having the deal done now means that it's time for Briscoe to rise to the occasion and perform.
"The way I look at it is this is very similar to the Xfinity deal when I said I had to win eight to 10 races (in 2020)," Briscoe said. "I don't have to win eight to 10 -- it'd be great if I do -- but I have to win.
"There's no excuse to not win. You have to make the playoffs. If you don't make the playoffs then there's no reason I should be driving this race car."