Christopher Bell is really good at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and has a very real chance at winning both the NASCAR Cup and NASCAR Xfinity Series events at the 1.058-mile speedway this weekend. And he may need to win both races to distract from an embarrassing slip-up on Friday afternoon during his media availability ahead of Sunday’s USA Today 301.
Bell was asked about replacing the leadership role of the retiring Martin Truex Jr. within the Joe Gibbs Racing team, and whether he will need to step up his role within the team, Bell accidentally revealed the news of Chase Briscoe joining the Joe Gibbs Racing team, which has been rumored since Truex announced his retirement.
“I don’t think that there is really a leadership role in that aspect, and whenever Chase comes into the car,” Bell stopped as he realized his mistake, and his face became noticeably flush. “Whenever someone else– I don’t even know what to say. Whenever we have a new driver into the 19 car, whoever that is, their experience level will dictate how much input they have in the team.”
Yikes, what a severe flub for Bell, but it at least led to a lot of laughter within the Media Center at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
While the official announcement of the Briscoe addition hasn’t come from Joe Gibbs Racing just yet, industry chatter has definitely suggested that Briscoe is the leading candidate for the vacant JGR car in 2025.
Briscoe, who has one win in 125 NASCAR Cup Series starts with the Stewart-Haas Racing team, is seen as a bit of a diamond in the rough by many within the NASCAR Cup Series garage. His current SHR team, which will close its doors at season’s end has been seen as a bit of a sinking ship over the last few years.
Prior to his move to the NASCAR Cup Series, Briscoe lit up the stats sheet in the NASCAR Xfinity Series ranks.
The Mitchell, Indiana native racked up 11 wins over 83 starts between the 2018 and 2020. And many expect that with a championship-caliber team he can turn in similar performance at the NASCAR Cup Series level. If Christopher Bell isn’t lying, and I don’t think his reaction to his slip-up suggests that he was lying, Briscoe will get that opportunity next season at Joe Gibbs Racing.
