Sometimes, it’s hard to figure out where Chase Briscoe ends and Christopher Bell begins. The Joe Gibbs Racing teammates have been like twins, some might say peas in a pod, since they both came to NASCAR racing.
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They used to crash on the same couch of a friend early on. Even though they were on separate teams, they were like BFFs, constantly helping and even privately cheering for their friendly rival.
With Stewart Haas Racing having folded after last season, Briscoe became a free agent. Fortunately, timing was on his side, as when he started looking for a new team, he learned that Martin Truex Jr. would be retiring from driving the No. 19 at the end of last season.
Briscoe and JGR came to an agreement, with some good words of recommendation from Bell, and now the two friends are united on the same team.
However, they also find themselves in a unique position where even though they are close friends, they also could potentially be fighting against each other, as well as fellow JGR teammate Denny Hamlin, if they all reach the Championship 4 finale in Phoenix in early November.
As The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck said on this week’s edition of The Teardown podcast, “All these years later, you’ve not only both made it to the Cup Series, you both ended up on the same team, you’re both championship contenders now.
“You guys could be racing each other for the championship. I mean, you’re two of the favorites. It’s really remarkable the journey that you guys have had. It’s pretty cool.”
Bell agreed and said, “Yeah, it’s crazy. I mean, Chase and I, we used to be best friends back in the day. And it’s wild how it’s come full circle. He’s been a great addition to Joe Gibbs Racing for real and I’m glad to have him on here.”
Bell’s friendship with Briscoe has stood the test of time
While Bell and Briscoe battled somewhat in last season’s playoffs as rivals, Briscoe at SHR and Bell at JGR, their racing each other as teammates is an unusual dynamic.
“I mean, a little bit,” Bell said. “Honestly, our lives have gone in such different directions. Like, he’s living really far away (Briscoe still lives in his native Indiana), so we don’t really get to see each other that much.
“He’s got a big family with lots of kids. So our lives have just kind of separated. We’re friendly and we talk but we’re in different stages of our life.
“So he’s a teammate and someone that I respect tremendously. He’s been a great addition but our relationship hasn’t really changed from him being at SHR to Joe Gibbs.”
Bell chuckled when he was reminded that Briscoe helped him a number of times during the early stages of his career, including being a PR person, a spotter, a “travel buddy” and more.
“He wasn’t a very good one (PR guy). He wasn’t a very good spotter either,” Bell laughed about Briscoe’s impact on his career. “We won an Eldora Silver Crown race (with Briscoe as Bell’s spotter). But yeah, he picked the right career (as a driver).”
