When Martin Truex Jr. hung up his firesuit in 2024, Joe Gibbs was not worried. The stellar Cup Series team owner roped in a worthy driver to fill in Truex\u2019s No. 19 Toyota seat. And within a year, that decision has churned out phenomenal results. Chase Briscoe has wheeled his car to two victories, 17 top tens, and 13 top fives already \u2013 posing a legitimate threat in the championship battle. Yet his dusty roots may be driving this excellence more than the present.<\/p>\n
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Chase Briscoe, although a highly successful Cup Series driver at present, has his roots in dirt racing. What is more, Joe Gibbs relaxed his team\u2019s rules about racing on dirt during weekdays after Briscoe\u2019s arrival. A racing legend with similar roots recently divulged the right way to learn stock car racing, especially at a time of Next-Gen struggles.<\/p>\n
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A \u2018dirty\u2019 path to NASCAR\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n After driving in the NASCAR Cup Series for 29 seasons, Ken Schrader has been a fan-favorite icon. The four-time Cup race winner has left his fans in awe by competing at a senior age \u2013 Schrader ran 64 races in 2024, at 69 years old. And behind Schrader\u2019s NASCAR journey lies a rich dirt racing background. Beginning his career on the dirt tracks of Missouri, the legend went on to achieve several crowns, like the 1982 USAC Silver Crown Series championship. Hence, in a recent interview with Frontstretch, Schrader said, \u201cYou learn a lot on the dirt.\u201d Yet it is far from easy, as Schrader continued, \u201ca lot of habits you gotta break to start going asphalt racing.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet Chase Briscoe<\/a>\u00a0achieved the same trajectory, as he started his racing career on the dirt tracks of Indiana. Like his family, he raced sprint cars on the rough and tumble bullrings of the Midwest. So Ken Schrader continued that he would have initiated his son, Sheldon, on the same path if he had been interested in racing. \u201cI think that if\u2026luckily, my son didn\u2019t like anything about it, and that was great. And if son did, and you\u2019re going on an unlimited budget, then you start him out on the asphalt, get him running on some dirt, get some laps, learn some different things there about car control and that.\u201d<\/p>\n ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Having a solid background in dirt helps Chase Briscoe navigate the difficulties of NASCAR\u2019s Next-Gen car. He successfully transitioned from Ford to Toyota<\/a>, although he keeps facing similar issues. Ken Schrader talked about Briscoe\u2019s views: \u201cI\u2019ve heard Chase Briscoe talking to Christopher Bell about how this stuff drove before when he was at Stewart-Haas\u2026Chase said, \u2018Oh no, this is gonna drive just as bad. It\u2019s not gonna drive good, you\u2019re just gonna go fast.\u2019 I\u2019m a pretty big fan of those guys. I know that they got their hands full.\u201d<\/p>\n NASCAR raced at Bristol\u2019s dirt track between 2021 and 2023. The Craftsman Truck Series also tore through the Eldora track from 2013 to 2019 during the Eldora Dirt Derby. In an interview in July, Chase Briscoe had expressed enthusiasm in bringing back that thrill: \u201cI definitely think we need a dirt track just because we run on every discipline. We have superspeedway, short track, intermediate, road course, and you know, growing up, you\u2019re either a road course guy, a short track racer, or a dirt racer.\u201d<\/p>\n