![Christopher Bell]()
Well that cat's out of the bag.
Of course everybody expected Chase Briscoe to be named the replacement for Martin Truex Jr. in the #19 car at Joe Gibbs Racing.
Truex announced his retirement last week, which opened up yet another seat in what may be one of the wildest Silly Seasons that NASCAR has ever seen.
With the recent announcement that Stewart-Haas Racing would be shutting down at the end of 2024, that left four drivers - Chase Briscoe, Noah Gragson, Ryan Preece and Josh Berry - looking for Cup Series rides for next season. And of those four, it seemed like Briscoe was the hottest commodity.
Before Truex Jr. announced his retirement, Briscoe's name was being thrown around to replace Harrison Burton, who is expected to be let go from his ride in the #21 Ford for Wood Brothers Racing at the end of the season. But when the #19 car opened up, it was expected that Briscoe would instead be snatched up by JGR, since he's one of the most experienced drivers on the market.
No official announcement has been made yet, but it seems like one of Briscoe's future teammates accidentally spilled the beans a little early.
Christopher Bell, who drives the #20 car for Joe Gibbs Racing, was speaking to the media and asked about his leadership role increasing after the veteran Truex retires. And he ended up having a slip of the tongue and making the premature announcement:
"I don't think that there really is a leadership role in that aspect.
And whenever Chase comes into the car..."
Bell caught himself and tried to backtrack, but it was too late.
The media in the room began to crack up as Bell tried to save himself:
"Whenever we have a new driver..."
Wonder who that new driver could be?
https://twitter.com/bobpockrass/status/1804228643524055517
Of course it was an open secret at this point so it's not like he really gave too much away. Briscoe was one of the most experienced drivers available, so it's no surprise that he's getting his choice of rides.
Briscoe has driven the #14 car for Stewart-Haas Racing since 2021, and in that time has a win at Phoenix in 2022 when he went on to finish 9th in the final standings. But the bottom fell out for Stewart-Haas last year, and Briscoe finished a dismal 30th in the points.
I'm sure he's looking forward to getting into a top ride like he'll have at JGR - although I'm not sure how happy he'll be with his future teammate for breaking his news for him.
https://twitter.com/Toby_Christie/status/1804234259105808616
