“He was ecstatic”: Chase Briscoe reveals Tony Stewart’s reaction on hearing his JGR signing news

Chase Briscoe recently shared how Tony Stewart reacted to his upcoming move to Joe Gibbs Racing. Speaking with the media, Briscoe recounted that Stewart was over the moon when he heard the news.

Earlier this month, Stewart-Haas Racing announced it would be winding down operations after 2024. On the other side, Martin Truex Jr. announced his retirement plans. Since then, speculations about Briscoe joining Joe Gibbs Racing have been doing rounds. Although Christopher Bell unintentionally let slip Briscoe's potential move during a pre-race media session at New Hampshire, Joe Gibbs Racing held off on any official confirmation until just yesterday.

Joe Gibbs expressed his enthusiasm about Chase Briscoe joining the #19 team, saying in a press release (via Nascar):

“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.”

Before the news broke, Briscoe had already shared his plans with Tony Stewart, who was thrilled about the move. Briscoe recalled the conversation (via Bob Pockrass' X Handle):

"I called Tony. I think it's on the way to Sonoma. Yeah, because I signed that week. [...] 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 Front Row.' He goes, 'Oh, the Wood Brothers?' I said, 'No, not the Wood Brothers.' He said, 'Well, what is it?' And I said, 'I'm gonna go to Joe Gibbs.' And he was ecstatic."

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Did Chase Briscoe land his Joe Gibbs Racing deal with help from Christopher Bell?

In 2021, Chase Briscoe stepped into the #14 Ford at Stewart-Haas Racing, previously driven by Clint Bowyer, and clinched his first Cup race win in Phoenix the next year. However, with Tony Stewart announcing the closure of SHR, Briscoe received a helping hand from Christopher Bell.

“Christopher texted me I think the week SHR (was informed of the closing) and said, ‘Hey, I think Martin might not be coming back. You need to be wearing them out over there,’” Chase Briscoe said (via Autoweek.com).

Chase Briscoe acted on the tip and met with JGR executives. After an initial discussion with JGR president Dave Alpern on May 30, Joe Gibbs texted him by June 3 to set up another meeting, speeding up the negotiation process.

The #14 SHR driver shared that out of respect for other teams, he met with Team Penske and Wood Brothers before making his decision:

“I left that meeting [Wood Brother] and drove straight here [Joe Gibbs Racing] and signed. So, from the first time meeting them (Gibbs officials) was on a Thursday and I was signed on Wednesday. It happened super, super fast, and that’s crazy looking back on it for sure,” Briscoe explained in an interview with Racer.com.

“Out of all the teams I met with, Joe was the only team that never said, ‘What can you bring?' They just wanted me for me. That meant a lot to me personally,” Briscoe said [via Autoweek.com]

Chase Briscoe's next race will be at the Nashville Raceway for the Ally 400, where he's looking to improve on his average finish of 32.0 after three appearances.