'That's the Greatest Way to Announce Somebody Coming to a Team' Larson a Fan of Bell's Slip Up

While it hasn't been a very well-kept secret, prior to Christopher Bell's slip of the tongue during a Friday afternoon media availability at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Chase Briscoe joining Joe Gibbs Racing in 2025 was nothing more than a concrete-solid rumor.

But when answering a question about the leadership dynamic within Joe Gibbs Racing in 2025 with Martin Truex Jr. retiring at season's end, Bell accidentally revealed the first name of Truex's replacement for next year.

“I don’t think that there is really a leadership role in that aspect, and whenever Chase comes into the car,” Bell cut himself off, knowing what he had just done.

Bell smiled, and began to turn a brighter hue of red than the Rheem logo on his chest.

After realizing there was no recovery, Bell said, “Whenever someone else– I don’t even know what to say. Whenever we have a new driver into the 19 car, whoever that is, their experience level will dictate how much input they have in the team.”

It was an embarrassing moment for Bell, but it led to a viral moment on social media, and it was a moment that 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson relished as he mixed it up by quote posting a video of the moment and joking that Bell was talking about his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott.

"Man totally blind sided by this news! Wishing @chaseelliott the best on his new adventure at @JoeGibbsRacing," Larson posted on his X account. "Have enjoyed you as a teammate! Good Luck #di9"

In a media scrum session on Saturday morning, Larson addressed his funny quote post, how giddy he was to post it, and his thoughts on Bell's slip up in the Friday press conference.

"I was like really proud of it," Larson said of his post on X. "I was typing it so fast, I couldn't wait to get it out there."

With a smile on his face, Larson recalled, "No, I mean, I texted Bell and Briscoe, I think before I even sent that Tweet that I was dying laughing because it was hilarious."

While it was a funny moment, the hilarity in the situation helped push the news of Briscoe to Joe Gibbs Racing far-and-wide. Larson believes that the end result was a more efficient form of announcement than anything Joe Gibbs Racing or any other team could ever envision for signing a driver.

"That is the greatest way to announce somebody coming to a team, I think," Larson explained. "I'm sure PR departments have been planning this extravagant, very professional thing, but they got way more clicks for that then when they finally do announce it."

The question now though is; would Larson trust Bell with a secret afrter what he saw take place on Friday afternoon?

"I'm sure he'll be on much higher awareness now, so, yeah, I think you can trust him going forward," Larson laughed.

Photo Credit: Craig White, TobyChristie.com

How Does Chase Briscoe Feel About Bell's Mistake?

Photo Credit: Nigel Kinrade, NKP for Ford Performance

While Larson thought Bell's miscue was hilarious, how did the man who was at the center of it all -- Chase Briscoe -- feel about Bell revealing his news?

"I just kind of laughed at it. I thought it was pretty good. Typical Christopher," Briscoe chuckled.

Briscoe says that he wasn't mad at Bell's mess up seeing as just about everybody within the industry had their finger on the pulse of the move prior to Bell's flush-face-inducing moment.

"I mean, I feel like everybody kind of knows what's going on, right? So, I don't know," Briscoe said. "I think the official announcement, whenever that is hopefully we announce something official soon. But yeah, I wasn't really mad at it. It was kind of funny, I thought."

While Briscoe to the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 is just about as done as a deal gets without actually being 100% done in NASCAR, Briscoe did caution that until the contracts are all fully signed, sealed, and delivered, it's not officially done in his book. But he's feeling less and less anxious the further we get from the announcement of Stewart-Haas Racing's demise.

"Yeah, I mean, nothing is official until it's official, right? But yeah, it definitely -- I feel like really ever since the SHR thing went down, I feel like every single week has gotten better and better," Briscoe explained. "Like, I feel better and better about it. From week one to week two, week three. I think we're four weeks removed now, I've definitely felt better and better about it every time."