Christopher Bell was left in shock when Joe Gibbs Racing announced a significant rule alteration within the team. JGR, which previously had a strict rule mandating drivers' exclusive focus on NASCAR, has now lifted this restriction.

Unprecedented Shift in Joe Gibbs Racing's Driver Policies

Impact of Martin Truex Jr.'s Retirement

Times have indeed changed at Joe Gibbs Racing following Martin Truex Jr.'s departure after announcing his retirement from full-time racing at the end of the season. The team made a strategic move by bringing Chase Briscoe on board for 2025 and beyond. Briscoe, who began his career in dirt racing, is one of the drivers along with Bell who warmly welcomed this change in JGR restrictions, allowing drivers to participate in dirt racing after expressing their desire to do so.

Joe Gibbs himself explained to The Athletic, "Always preferred (drivers’) focus remain on racing in NASCAR but felt it was fair to come up with a process to consider those opportunities. 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."

Bell's Dirt Racing Background and Career Growth

Bell competed in dirt racing during the early stages of his career and achieved remarkable success, winning 26 dirt races in 2014. This success played a major part in his growth as a racer and ultimately led to him securing a Cup Series seat. The No. 20 car driver admitted to being surprised by the perspective change from the team but expressed his gratitude for the opportunity with new teammate Briscoe and Ty Gibbs also showing eagerness to return to the dirt.

"I was definitely caught off guard by the change of policy," an excited Bell said. "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." He added, "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."

Influence of Briscoe's Experience

The decision from Gibbs is said to have been influenced by Briscoe's move from Stewart-Haas Racing. Briscoe also gained experience from racing in the dirt. However, he admitted that as the new guy in the team, he wasn't pushing for the change but has greatly welcomed it.

"I could tell it wasn’t a hard ‘no,’ but it wasn’t something at the time they were super thrilled about," Briscoe said. "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."