"They hit the nail on the head": NASCAR Insider agues Chase Briscoe has outperformed Martin Truex Jr. at JGR

Last year, Chase Briscoe was announced to be the new #19 driver as Martin Truex Jr. called time on his illustrious career. In his very first season with JGR, Briscoe has proved why he was the right choice to be Truex's successor.

His win at Darlington, his second Southern 500 in a row, ensured his place in the Round of 12 of the playoffs recently. Following that, Freddie Kraft, one of the hosts of the Door Bumper Clear podcast, claimed that Briscoe has outperformed his predecessor in the #19 car in his very first season.

Kraft mentioned that Chase Briscoe was one of the two drivers who had a point to prove ahead of this season as he elaborated:

"You look at the numbers this year for Chase, 6 polls, which was ridiculous... 2 wins, 11 top fives this year. I mean, you go back and look at Martin's last couple years. He had 14 top fives combined in the last two years. He had five last year, no wins, no polls. He's jumped in this thing and is actually outperforming Martin, who was a championship contender it seemed like year in and year out. So, obviously they hit the nail on the head with Chase." [33:53]

The spotter claimed that Chase Briscoe was in a lot of their final four predictions ahead of the playoffs. And one race into the playoffs, he's showing why that was the case.

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TJ Majors makes his case for Chase Briscoe being a championship contender

During the latest episode of the Door Bumper Clear podcast, guest TJ Majors explained why Chase Briscoe can be a considered a championship contender. Majors claimed that the #19 driver has had a lot of speed this year and has proven his consistency as well.

He recalled the unknowns regarding Briscoe to JGR announcement such as questions over him succeeding Martin Truex Jr. But with the #19 car being fast and Briscoe 'holding up his end of the deal', he has developed a lot and has taken advantage of it.

It's worth mentioning that in his last season with JGR, Truex had no wins and five finishes inside the top 5. Briscoe's first year at JGR in the same car so far has him going to the victory lane twice and nine top 5 finishes, almost double that of Truex.

"I feel like him and James and the crew are starting to really hit their stride. So I think Chase has a good shot at it. He just needs to, when that race comes around when he's going to be an eighth-place car, needs to try to run eighth and take his fifth or sixth-seventh like that and not try to force something and get himself in trouble," Majors described. [30:57]

He added that if Chase Briscoe can manage those situations, he'll have a 'deep run' in the playoffs as he has a good car under him.