It’s not been the greatest of starts for Chase Briscoe at Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR). Following the L2-level penalty he received in the opening weekend, he finished 21st in Atlanta and 14th in COTA. So JGR may not be too thrilled with him at the moment — but the reverse is not true.
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In fact, despite his lack of results on the track, Briscoe has been finding Joe Gibbs a far more efficient team owner than his previous employers, Tony Stewart and Gene Haas.
In an interview before the Daytona 500, he noted that Gibbs’ engagement with the team was the key differentiator. Briscoe also revealed that he did not have such dynamics earlier at Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR).
He said, “Honestly, the biggest difference is just Coach. Nothing against Gene [Haas] or Tony [Stewart], but they ran other businesses…Coach, this is his business. This is what he eats, sleeps, and breathes every single day. He’s there every single day.”
This constant presence also means that certain uncomfortable situations cannot be avoided. He continued, “I was even telling my wife that the other day that if we run bad one weekend, it’s going to be weird seeing the boss on Monday be like, ‘Why did we run so bad?’”
The intensive data analytics that Joe Gibbs Racing uses have been eye-opening for him. The team has detailed numbers on aspects such as passing grades and restart grades on every driver on the race track. Briscoe said that they had information on things that no other team even paid attention to.
But Briscoe reveals the one thing SHR is better at
It’s been a challenging start for Briscoe at JGR. Including an unexpected one: the parking situation at the Joe Gibbs Racing shop , which he found challenging. He said, “At SHR, the parking was like 10 feet from the door no matter where you parked. At JGR, the parking is not as ideal.”
The Joe Gibbs Racing shop is like a maze, according to him, and he has not yet been able to figure his way through the layout. Stewart-Haas Racing was just one giant building without such complex structures. Perhaps more time in the new venue will get him accustomed to things.
He told reporter Claire B. Lang that the cultural transition was hard to adapt to. In his words, “It’s really opened my eyes up there. This is how vastly different it is. It’s kind of crazy to think that’s what I’ve raced against my entire career or so.”
Briscoe will be next seen piloting the No. 19 Toyota Camry XSE at the Phoenix Raceway.
