James Small Reveals How JGR’s Culture of “Perfection” Is a Shift for Chase Briscoe After Time at SHR

Chase Briscoe has finally delivered on the gamble that Joe Gibbs Racing took when they signed him from Stewart-Haas Racing for the No. 19 Toyota Camry XSE this season. The 30-year-old Indiana native won the Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway on Sunday and punched his way into the playoffs. But he is still far from where his crew chief, James Small, wants him to be.

It is no news that the Tony Stewart co-owned operation was in a rut for years before it shut its doors permanently at the end of 2024. Its operations were a failure, and the drivers were under no proper review or performance standards that pushed them to work harder.

So, when Briscoe joined the camp of Coach Gibbs, he had a tall order to fulfill. Small spoke about this in his post-race interview at Pocono and lauded the driver for living up to his expectations thus far. He said, “Where he came from, there wasn’t much accountability. Nobody was holding his feet to the fire. That’s probably been a big wake-up call for him.

“We expect a lot. We demand perfection. That’s the personalities on this race team. We are ready to go, and we will go kill our grandma to win the race. That’s probably a little different for him. He is a different personality type, especially to me and a couple of people on the team. So, it’s been a challenge. I won’t lie. But he has taken it in his stride.”

Small continued to explain that Briscoe was like a sponge and that he absorbs every bit of knowledge that’s imparted to him. He will only get better with every single lap he makes with the Toyota, considering the company he has got in impeccable drivers like Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell. Moreover, Small appears to be very serious about the goal he has set.

The chief continued, “We’re still a work in progress, and we’re far from being where we think we can be. But, at this point, he is meeting our expectations. I still expect a lot from him, and he’s only going to get better.” Briscoe and Small worked together at Pocono to overcome a tough fuel situation.

They had to maintain their lead against Hamlin and Ryan Blaney while conserving as much fuel as possible. They successfully executed this and crossed the checkered flag in first place with a narrow margin over Hamlin. Hopefully, the brewing chemistry between them will continue weaving the magic for Joe Gibbs Racing.