Kyle Larson was amused when Christopher Bell revealed the identity of Joe Gibbs Racing’s newest signing, Chase Briscoe, at a media availability in New Hampshire on Friday.
According to the Hendrick Motorsports icon, that was the best method to break the important news. Earlier, when asked how the leadership dynamics play out behind the Joe Gibbs Racing garage, particularly with Martin Truex Jr. retiring at the end of the current season, Bell stated:
“I don’t think that there is really a leadership role in that aspect, and whenever Chase (Briscoe) comes into the car…”
When Christopher Bell realized his error, he quickly cut himself off and attempted to defuse the matter by saying,
“When someone else… I honestly don’t know what to say. When we get a new driver into the 19 car, whoever it is, their experience level will determine how much involvement they have on the team.”
Needless to say, there was no turning back afterwards. Larson found it amusing and quickly made a tweet tagging his buddy, Chase Elliott, confusing the latter’s name with Chase Briscoe and playfully congratulating Elliott on his new adventure.
“Man totally blind sided by this news! Wishing @chaseelliott the best on his new adventure at @JoeGibbsRacing. Have enjoyed you as a teammate! Good Luck.”
In a recent interview with journalist Bob Pockrass, Larson revealed that he was proud of the way Bell had leaked the secret. The episode was so funny to Larson that he could hardly wait to get it out in public through the post on X. Speaking of the same, the 2021 Cup Series champion said:
“I was really proud of it. I was typing it so fast, I couldn’t wait to get it out. I texted Bell and Briscoe. I think before I even sent that tweet that I was dying laughing because it was hilarious. That is the greatest way to announce somebody coming to a team, I think.”
“I’m sure PR departments have been planning this extravagant, very professional thing, but they got way more clicks for that than once they finally do announce it,” Larson added.
Briscoe hadn’t even watched the interview as he was busy running a sprint car race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Friday night. Nevertheless, he was not mad at Christopher Bell about it.
Chase Briscoe responds to Christopher Bell’s antics
Like Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, too, found the interview hilarious. Christopher Bell told him what had happened during the press conference. Briscoe wasn’t sure what Bell was talking about initially.
“Christopher texted me and was like, man, I messed up so bad,” Briscoe told reporters on Saturday at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “I was like, ‘What happened? What do you mean? He says, “Go look at Twitter.”
I ran a sprint car race yesterday night and had no signal.” “Couldn’t get a single text to come in or out. I couldn’t get any texts. So I could not get anything to load. “The last text I received was Christopher saying, ‘I messed up, go look at Twitter,'” Briscoe explained.
Chase Briscoe is in his final year at Stewart-Haas Racing and is switching teams and manufacturers for the upcoming season. Briscoe will most likely be seen driving a Toyota Camry XSE from 2025 onwards. However, there has been no official announcement regarding the same.
“Nothing’s official until it’s official,” he added, as reported by Yahoo Sports.
Meanwhile, the field prepares for the USA Today 301 on June 23, Sunday. The 301-lap event will air live on Peacock and the USA Network from 2:30 PM (ET) onwards. Radio updates will be available on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR radio.
Be the first to comment