DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—Chase Briscoe likes big bass, and he cannot lie.
While the 30-year-old racer loves to fish, he has yet to learn the secret to stocking his pond with a prime catch. During his introduction to outdoor retail magnate Johnny Morris last year, Briscoe suffered from bass envy after witnessing the fish in the tanks at Bass Pro Shops headquarters in Springfield, Mo.
Following a few fish tales, the sponsor and driver quickly hit it off.
“It’s been super cool getting to know Johnny and J.P. (son John Paul Morris) and everybody at Bass Pro,” Briscoe said. “Honestly, when I met him the first time my question was, ‘What do I have to do to get bass the size of what’s in your aquarium?’ I’ve been on this journey for about the last year-and-a-half. We have a pond at our house and I’ve been trying to get trophy bass in there.
“Johnny told me, ‘If you think racing is expensive try stocking a pond!’ So we really talked about pond or lake management, trying to figure out what I needed to do. He learned quickly that I was into it, which helped.
“We talked fishing—and everything else. It’s was cool to go out there and meet him. Obviously, I had heard a ton about him, seen him around in places but never had the opportunity to meet. But it went really well.”
It went so well that Bass Pro Shops continued its association with the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team and Briscoe following last season’s departure of Martin Truex, Jr.—a spokesman custom-tailored for the outdoor brand.
Briscoe hopes to develop a similar relationship with Morris over time. The best path to securing a sponsor’s trust is with results.
The third-generation driver went a long way to establishing that foundation by winning the pole for the Great American Race on Wednesday—a first for Toyota in the Daytona 500. Briscoe topped the chart with a lap of 182.745 miles per hour.
At Joe Gibbs Racing, Briscoe has all the tools necessary to excel—including Truex’s former crew chief James Small.
Before the season started, Briscoe promised to do whatever it takes to succeed. Small suggested the driver maintain a strict diet, and Briscoe dropped eight pounds before the start of the season.
“This environment at JGR is way more intense, the expectations are way higher, that truthfully, James doesn’t have to be that aggressive one me,” Briscoe said. “It’s been really good so far. James and I get along really well.
“I feel personality-wise, I’m kind of similar to Martin, but Martin and I are at two different points of our career. I think that’s been good for James. I’ve really enjoyed working with him so far.”
While Briscoe still has a way to go, he insists that Small hold him accountable throughout their journey. After calling the shots for the No. 19 team the last five seasons, Small expects his new driver to be all-in.
“I love accountability,” Small said. “To his credit, he’s doing everything we ask of him. It’s a very different situation for our team, going from a championship-winning driver like Martin to someone like Chase who is young and hungry and still has a lot to prove.
“So far, we’re jelling really well—the whole team is—and I couldn’t be happier. It’s a great start we just have to keep it rolling now. It’s been a weird few years. We had some great times with Martin, but it’s hard to plan and do things when it’s a year-by-year thing and you don’t know when the end is coming.
“We won a lot of races and had a hell of a time and I’ll never forget all of that. But it’s great to have a new start. It’s very different and I feel very grateful to work with somebody like Chase.”
In eight starts on the 2.5-mile track, Briscoe has two top 10s, including a career-best of third in the 2022 Daytona 500. Although the pole winner hasn’t won the race since Dale Jarrett in 2000, a victory in the Bass Pro Shops Toyota might just expedite Briscoe’s wish for a seat on Morris’ bass boat.
“Excited to get to know him better,” Briscoe said of Morris. “Hopefully, I can go fishing with him soon. That’s definitely one of the things on the bucket list. To be able to fish with a guy like that would be really, really cool.
“Hopefully, we can do that, and hopefully, we can have a good run for him this weekend. I think he will be here this weekend, so it should be a lot of fun.”
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
