Toyota giants Joe Gibbs Racing is known for their no-nonsense approach when it comes to racing and their drivers. They have some serious policy in line for the drivers, to make sure they remain healthy and safe before every race. One such recent policy implementation was the ban on dirt racing, owing to the possibility of injuries.
The ones that were hurt the most with the policy change was star driver Christopher Bell. The No:22 Toyota driver is one of the most talented dirt racers in the state and has deep passion towards the sport. With addition of another dirt racing talent Chase Briscoe to the team for 2025, JGR had to make a decision on the policy.
See you guys at a dirt track soon đ https://t.co/gvjAzznmvf
â Christopher Bell (@CBellRacing) November 18, 2024
Joe Gibbs and fellow JGR leaders had a strong discussion about the policy and made some changes to process spot approving the request from the drivers. Gibbs had revealed that the racer are free to race in any non-NASCAR events, including dirt races, if they get the clearance from the teamâs competition side.
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.
Joe Gibbs said via The Athletic.
Christopher Bell was caught off guard by the policy change
The JGR star driver Christopher Bell was caught off guard by the change in policy and was shocked to see NASCAR making the change. He pointed out that with Chase Briscoe coming in and Ty Gibbsâ growing interest in dirt racing might have persuaded the change.
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, itâs nice we have the majority of our team aligned with it now.
Christopher Bell said.
The comments from Bell suggest that he wasnât looking into any dirt racing opportunities for the 2025 season before the policy changes. But now with the changes, he will be looking forward to having more time on the dirt track and enjoy that part of his life again.
