Joe Gibbs announced he will be allowing his Joe Gibbs Racing drivers to begin competing at dirt events across the country.
Joe Gibbs via Davey Segal on X
Gibbs shared with The Athletic that he “always preferred (drivers’) focus remain on racing in NASCAR.” However, given three of his four drivers including Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs, and Chase Briscoe want to race on dirt Gibbs revealed he “felt it was fair to come up with a process to consider those opportunities.”
He added, “We sort of talked things over to come up with a process by which they can request to run certain races. If they get approval from everyone they need on our competition side, then they are free to run the race. That includes dirt, but also potentially other forms of racing.”
Christopher Bell via FloRacing.com
Christopher Bell shared that he was not expecting the new policy, but is happy about it, “I was definitely caught off guard by the change of policy. I was super shocked, but with Chase coming on board and Ty growing an interest in dirt racing, it’s nice we have the majority of our team aligned with it now.”
Briscoe shared that when he was in discussions to replace Martin Truex Jr., Gibbs was open to him competing in dirt races given he’s a team owner and has run a limited schedule in the past. He shared, “I could tell it wasn’t a hard ‘no,’ but it wasn’t something at the time they were super thrilled about. It didn’t feel like the door was shut completely; there was definitely a crack. But I didn’t know in my first year getting there, I would still be able to go do stuff if I wanted to.”
Chase Briscoe via FloRacing.com
According to Jeff Gluck at The Athletic, it’s likely that most requests will get approval unless it’s a high risk race “such as running at Eldora Speedway in a non-wing spring car, which offers less protection in the event of a flip.”
To that point, Bell said, “It’s refreshing knowing I’ll be able to do whatever I want to do. I’m super excited to reconnect with my dirt fan base and see everybody at a dirt track soon.”
He also believes this new policy could “improve my performance on Sundays.”
Christopher Bell via Bob Pockrass on X
The news comes in the wake of Kyle Busch announcing he will be competing in the prestigious Chili Bowl Midget Nationals, which Bell has won three times.
I’m not scared, @brextonbusch. 🌶️👀@FloRacing x @Lucas_Oil pic.twitter.com/kkaZ1XHwws
— Kyle Busch (@KyleBusch) November 14, 2024
What do you make of Gibbs changing his policy to allow his drivers to race on dirt and in other events outside of NASCAR?