Dale Earnhardt Jr. weighs in on Chase Briscoe to Joe Gibbs Racing: 'I think there's a level of risk'

Following the announcement of Martin Truex Jr.’s retirement, the speculation about who will fill his seat has hit fever pitch. And Chase Briscoe seems to be the popular pick to do just that.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. seemed to have mixed feelings on the possible replacement on the Dale Jr. Download podcast.

“I’m not sure. Chase Briscoe I think’s a really good racecar driver and more often than not since (Kevin) Harvick‘s peak, Chase has kind of been the car that runs the best and has the best position in points,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “So he’s the more consistent producer at Stewart-Haas Racing.”

That seems to make him qualified for a major position at Joe Gibbs Racing. But how well such a replacement would be viewed may not be determined until much further down the road.

More than anything, Earnhardt jr. harped on the idea that Truex Jr. is a really, really good driver.

“I think that the 19 car is a championship car, a top-five car. Martin is a really, really good racecar driver, so we’ll see just how much of that he was doing to keep that car up front, right?” Earnhardt Jr. said. “When that car switches drivers and the performance changes for the better or worse, it acknowledges the ability of the previous driver, right? Either for the better or for worse in public opinion, at least.

“We’ll find out what I think, and that’s that Martin was very good. And when I went, I forget what was happening over at Hendrick, maybe Mark (Martin) was leaving or Mark was going away. I was begging Rick (Hendrick) to hire Martin Truex Jr. to come there, because I thought, ‘Man, Martin Truex Jr., me and him in the same building together would have been awesome,’ and I thought Rick would have loved what Martin could do over there. So that’s how much I think of the guy’s ability.”

At the end of the day, someone will take Truex’s seat. If it’s Chase Briscoe, he’s certainly got the credentials.

Briscoe was the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year. Briscoe has claimed one win in the Cup Series, while he has posted 26 top-10 finishes.

Currently Briscoe is sitting just below the NASCAR Cup Series playoff cutoff, on 370 points. Bubba Wallace is the last racer inside the cutoff, sitting on 414 points.

Regardless, Earnhardt Jr. seems to think things would be OK if Chase Briscoe is Truex Jr.’s replacement.

“I think this is gonna work out, but I think there’s a level of risk, as well, for Joe Gibbs Racing,” Earnhardt Jr. said.