JGR's official gets real on picking Chase Briscoe - "Our preference is not to have two drivers on the three-year clock"

Following Martin Truex Jr.'s retirement announcement, Joe Gibbs Racing opted to put Chase Briscoe in the #19 Toyota Camry, effectively choosing a free agent over the available talent pool within its Xfinity team and other TRD drivers.

JGR President Dave Alpern recently elaborated on the process of picking a new driver. Alpern explained that the decision heavily weighed on how the new driver would integrate into the team lineup featuring veteran driver Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and Ty Gibbs in his sophomore season.

Alpern explained that the team's driver selection process prioritizes both a driver's on-track performance and their cultural fit within the organization. He further highlighted that a Cup Series rookie usually takes three years to win consistently. With Ty Gibbs already in their lineup, the team preferred not to introduce another young driver.

"So the first two considerations when picking a new driver are performance and culture fit. We happen to be in a stage where next year Ty Gibbs will be in his third year. And it generally takes three years for a driver to be able to win consistently in the Cup Series," he said on Instagram.

"Our preference is not to have two drivers on the three-year clock at the same time. So in this case we looked for somebody that had more than three years of experience," he added.

Dave Alpern explained that Joe Gibbs Racing has a running list of young talent to consider; however, Stewart Haas Racing's shutdown put Chase Briscoe in leading contention for Martin Truex Jr.'s seat.

"With the situation at Stewart Haas, that opened up several drivers that would not normally have been our list and Chase Briscoe was at the top of that list for us," he stated.

The JGR president also highlighted Chase Briscoe's sportsmanship, which made him a great fit for the primary sponsor, Bass Pro Shops.

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Joe Gibbs explains the reason behind picking Chase Briscoe

Joe Gibbs Racing's owner explained that following veteran driver Martin Truex Jr.'s retirement, the team sought a replacement who had experience in the Cup Series but was still young. Free agent Chase Briscoe ticked all the boxes.

Joe Gibbs also emphasized Briscoe's 2020 Xfinity campaign, during which he won nine races. The team owner added that a driver with such results in the Xfinity Series is capable of replicating the success at the Cup level.

"We were kind of looking at somebody that had the experience, still young, is showed in his background," he told Bob Pockrass

"If you look at what he did in Xfinity, leading the laps, nine wins and all, that shows you, that's the part of our world, where you get the feeling somebody can do at the Cup level," he added.

Gibbs also reiterated that he didn't want to have two drivers on the 'three-year clock', and thus signed a driver with experience.