The 2010s saw Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) undergo a huge transformation, with three of its legends – Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. – retiring from racing. The team replaced them with young drivers who have now grown into highly skilled masters of the game. As the crop continues to flourish it appears to have set an example for the likes of Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR).
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Much like how HMS did over the last decade, JGR is now replacing its experienced hands with young drivers. The latest such move is the signing of 29-year-old Chase Briscoe to replace 43-year-old Martin Truex Jr. in 2025. Briscoe will be taking over the #19 Toyota Camry XSE from Truex after six long years.
Heading into next season, Briscoe, Christopher Bell, and Ty Gibbs – the team’s youngest three drivers – will have fewer than 400 combined starts. This presents a monumental change for an outfit that had Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, and Kyle Busch – four of the most tenured drivers at the time – as its men behind the wheel in 2016.
The sole veteran on the team’s 2025 roster will be Denny Hamlin. With these developments, it is not hard to see JGR and HMS exchanging the Cup Series title amidst themselves in the near future. With Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, William Byron, and Chase Elliott, HMS has already bloomed into a powerhouse. JGR is only but a few steps behind.
Kyle Larson compares the talent at Joe Gibbs Racing to Hendrick Motorsports
HMS star Kyle Larson opinionated on this, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, it is (a solid, young foundation for the future at JGR). And then you got one old guy [Hamlin] that’s probably leaving in a few years, so yeah. I think they have a good lineup for sure.” What this means is that the two giants of NASCAR are pretty set for many years to come.
Larson continued to boast that his team was still the stronger arm and noted that his teammates and himself were all in their early 30s or late 20s. William Byron, 26, is the youngest on his side. “So yeah, it’s cool to see where the sport is at, right now,” he quipped. HMS vs JGR has always been one of the toughest fights in NASCAR. Fascinatingly, it seems it will continue to be so over the next decade.
