Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, and others, often labeled as drivers who prize family above all else and rarely venture beyond NASCAR’s familiar tracks, can now count Chase Briscoe among their ranks.
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When Briscoe was named the new driver of the #19 Toyota, stepping in for Martin Truex Jr., Joe Gibbs unexpectedly lifted a long-standing ban on his drivers competing outside of NASCAR — a decision influenced partly by Briscoe’s dirt-track ambitions and Ty Gibbs’ desire to broaden his horizons.
Yet, it was Christopher Bell who ultimately reaped the most from this policy shift. Bell went toe-to-toe with Kyle Larson in off-season dirt and sprint car races, while Briscoe opted to remain on the sidelines, devoting his time to his family and three young children.
When recently asked if he plans to return to sprint car racing, Briscoe’s response left little ambiguity. He stated that his sights were firmly set on NASCAR, stating his priority was building his career within the series and dedicating his off-track time to his family.
As Briscoe put it, “Honestly, I’m retired, I think. I’m a little bit different than Bell, where obviously we grew up racing him all our life, right? But the last four or five years, like I’ve been able to go run them and I’ve been doing those things and Christopher hasn’t…”
“If I was single and didn’t have kids, like I would definitely be out running them. But especially now having 7-month-old twins at home and a 3.5-year-old.”
He further expanded on his decision, noting, “For me, the priorities are just different. If I have a Wednesday off or something, I would rather just be home with my kids than go run a sprint car race. So, I would watch the sprint car race at home with my kids, but I just would rather be home and spend time with them than be out doing, you know, those things.”
He didn’t entirely shut the door on a return to sprint cars but likened it to the allure of the Indy 500 — a thrill that no longer calls to him. “And if the desire is not there, I’m not going to go do it,” Briscoe concluded.
Briscoe’s transition into Joe Gibbs Racing has, anyway, been far from seamless, as he admitted to grappling with new management structures, complex paperwork, and technical challenges he never encountered at Stewart-Haas Racing.
With his hands already full trying to settle into the JGR fold, Briscoe might only revisit sprint car racing once he’s firmly established with his new team.
