The task of replacing a former NASCAR Cup Series champion and 34-time race winner, Martin Truex Jr., will have been a daunting one for Joe Gibbs Racing after he announced his plan to retire in the summer of 2024. 

However, in Chase Briscoe, JGR appears to have hit a home run, with the 30-year-old taking to his new surroundings like a duck to water, finishing the regular season having won at Pocono along with a further nine top fives and two top 10s. 

Fast forward to the Playoff-opening Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, and after qualifying in second, Briscoe went on to dominate, leading 309 laps en route to victory lane.

Following Briscoe’s win, Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs gave an insight into how the team landed on Briscoe as Truex’s successor, how he has settled into the team, and how high their expectations are for the former Stewart-Haas Racing star.

“When we make those decisions, it’s all of us sitting at the table, and we have extensive discussions, arguments, when it comes to picking drivers and picking crew chiefs. It’s just a huge deal, and so no one person here does this,” Gibbs told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

“We all sit and talk about it, and in the end, we went through a lot when we were talking about who’s going to replace Martin, and when it came down to…we kind of felt like Chase was the person we wanted to go with.”

Gibbs brought up how well Briscoe has fit in with the No. 19 Toyota’s sponsor, Bass Pro Shops, noting that he hunts and fishes in his spare time. Following this trend, the 84-year-old mentioned how Briscoe and crew chief James Small have meshed so quickly – something Briscoe also discussed in a recent interview with Kevin Harvick.

“I think for all of us that have been in the sport, to see kind of what has happened with James and Chase, their chemistry in a very short period of time, that’s what I…gosh, this is exciting, because we always talk about speed. If there’s one thing the 19 has, it’s speed,” Gibbs said.

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“They’ve been, I think six poles, more top fives, and our starting average for us is first. That car has showed speed. Now, if we can keep that going, then I think we got something that could make our time with Bass Pro and our sport something special for the 19 car going forward.”

Briscoe now enters World Wide Technology Raceway and the Enjoy Illinois 300, leading the way in the Playoff standings with his spot in the Round of 12 already secured. With this in mind, he admitted on ‘Harvick’s Happy Hour’ that his focus is already on the second round opener at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, a track which he said “worries” him.

“It’s just been a place that I’ve always felt very lost at, and just always been a huge struggle for me and Trucks, Xfinity, everything,” he said. “So that would be the one I would say, probably definitely gonna put more effort into now that we’re locked in already.”