When the history books are written, I don’t think there will be a bigger signing in 2024 than Joe Gibbs Racing tapping Chase Briscoe to replace the retiring Martin Truex Jr. in the 19 car.

I’ve had my doubts about Chase Briscoe over the years. I famously debated on the podcast as to whether there was more upside to signing Josh Berry than Chase Briscoe as Stewart-Haas Racing sold off.

There is no debate.

Josh Berry is a great driver. He’s an excellent short track racer and will win races in the NASCAR Cup Series, I have no doubt.

But Chase Briscoe is going to win a championship. Or many.

Chase Briscoe is a wheelman, and he proved it Sunday night in the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Not only did he get a walk-off victory that qualified him for the playoffs in the final regular season race, but he beat arguably two of the best ever in our sport to do it.

Briscoe first out-dueled Kyle Larson to take the lead late in the race, a driver who dominated the race, leading 263 laps of a 367-lap race, more than 70% of the event. But then he held off two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, who is hungrier than ever to get back to victory lane.

Briscoe has had his share of poor performances. He’s made his mistakes, most notably during the Bristol Dirt Race, when he dive-bombed Tyler Reddick on the final lap, wrecking them both and giving the victory to Kyle Busch.

He also hasn’t performed well lately. But SHR has been on its way out for a few years now. Even Kevin Harvick struggled in an SHR car in the final years of his career. But Briscoe has had strong runs mixed in there, and Sunday night showed that he has the ability to strap the car to his back and get the most out of it, without making a mistake doing it.

Next year he will get behind the wheel of a car at one of the two best organizations in NASCAR. It’s not a sure thing that he will win there, but expectations should be high that he will. And often.

Chase Briscoe to JGR could be as big of a move in the history of NASCAR as Kyle Larson to Hendrick, Joey Logano to Penske, Kyle Busch to JGR. This could be a moment in history that we look back on as a turning point in a career.

Chase Briscoe will be a force to be reckoned with in 2025 and beyond.

In fact, now that he’s in the playoffs, he could be a force to be reckoned with in 2024, too.