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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Every December, the NASCAR industry gathers for its annual Champion's Week in Nashville, Tenn., where stock car racing's champions are honored after just enough offseason downtime to enjoy and process their accomplishments. Normally, the cars that competed are part of the attraction through public-facing events such as a burnout competition on the city streets. But without that, this year's Champion's Week effectively amounted to a corporate party and media event.

Thursday's media availabilities prior to the banquet in the evening marked a good opportunity for drivers to reflect on their 2022 seasons while also sharing some of what they've done in the offseason and looking ahead to 2023. Here are some notable quotes and insights from drivers at Champion's Week:

The Champion's Journal

In 2011, when his five-year reign as Cup Series champion ended, Jimmie Johnson began the tradition of the Champion's Journal, which is passed along to each NASCAR champion with a message from the previous year's champion to the next. For the second time, the Journal belongs to Joey Logano, who expressed his excitement to once again have the journal and be able to make yet another contribution to what has become a very exclusive item among the drivers.

"I can't wait to read it again ... It's so interesting," Logano said of the journal. "Some drivers are very detailed in what they write to the next champion, and some are just kind of quick and simple. But it's very interesting to read it, and it's cool because it's a real secret.

"It's kind of an unwritten rule you can't take pictures of it and post it. It's like a thing that only the championship drivers know and have read and seen and heard the stories in it. It's a cool thing."

Logano's first entry into the journal came as the 2018 champion, when he wrote a message to Kyle Busch after he won the 2019 championship. Interestingly, 2019 was also the first year that Champion's Week was moved to Nashville.

Fresh off the farm

No driver elevated their racing profile more in 2022 than Ross Chastain, who was vaulted from underdog turned promising up-and-comer to one of the biggest stars in all of NASCAR. As he's returned to his native Alva, Fla. and his family's watermelon farm during the offseason, that's manifested itself in some ways, but not others.

At the racetrack, things were certainly different for Chastain as he helped his brother Chad with a super late model -- Ross served as his brother's spotter, and in doing so had to tell eager fans and admirers that the middle of the race wasn't a good time to try and meet and talk. But outside of that, those who have known Chastain for a long time have treated him just like they did long before his star took off.

Just as things are changing and staying the same for Chastain, that's also happening for his Trackhouse Racing team, which has established itself as a major power player in NASCAR after disrupting the status quo in 2022. When asked if team owner Justin Marks had laid out a new vision for the team in 2023, Chastain told CBS Sports  "We wrote what we want Trackhouse to be and what does Trackhouse mean on paper and online, where we can see it in words. And then we lived by that for the race season, and we reiterated that to everybody ... We're not changing, we've arrived. That wasn't just come-and-go, this is our arrival and now the hard part is staying and maintaining that kind of performance at this level."

Ty talks

The last time Ty Gibbs spoke to the media prior to Thursday was Nov. 5, when he had just won the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship. Then, the greatest triumph of Gibbs' young life quickly turned into its greatest tragedy when his father, Joe Gibbs Racing COO and former NASCAR driver Coy Gibbs, died suddenly overnight in his sleep.

Gibbs was in good spirits on Thursday, expressing his appreciation for everyone's sentiments as he continues to mourn the loss of his father while also declining to discuss any family matters.

"I've been doing good," Gibbs said. "... For right now, I'm not gonna touch on any of that subject at all. I'm just gonna stick with all the racing questions and we'll go from there."

The preeminent racing matter at hand for Gibbs was the recent announcement that he will move to the Cup Series full-time in 2023, driving the newly-numbered No 54 Toyota for his family's team. Gibbs expressed his excitement to be moving up to NASCAR's highest level while also expressing gratitude toward 23XI Racing to allow him to gain experience as the substitute driver for Kurt Busch in 2022.

Kurt still in their corner

Once the calendar turns and the new year begins, Tyler Reddick will be able to begin the process of onboarding at 23XI Racing as he replaces Kurt Busch behind the wheel of the No. 45 Toyota. Busch stepped down from being the team's full-time driver after a concussion suffered in a crash at Pocono ended his 2022 season, but the ship on his getting back behind the wheel of a racecar has far from sailed.

Busch suggested in October that he would try to race part-time moving forward, and 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin told reporters Thursday that the team would have a car for Busch whenever he wanted to drive it. However, everything is contingent on Busch being medically cleared to return to the driver's seat.

Meanwhile, Busch will continue in his role as a team leader at 23XI, giving Reddick an asset that he is excited to have on his side.

"I'm really, really thankful that he's staying as involved with the team as he is," Reddick said of Busch. "He was already kind of in that role of trying to help Bubba and coach the team, members of the team and the direction that they want the cars to go and everything like that. For him to continue to remain in that position and be a part of the organization going forward is gonna be a huge, huge help for myself and Bubba (Wallace) as well."

A change for Chase

More than anyone at Stewart-Haas Racing, Chase Briscoe will have to adjust to the new dynamic of his team in 2023. SHR has hired Ryan Preece as the new driver of the No. 41 Ford, replacing Cole Custer, who rose up through the ranks to the Cup Series alongside Briscoe.

Briscoe shared that he was looking forward to having Preece as a teammate and get to know him better, but he also went to bat for Custer -- who has effectively been demoted to the Xfinity Series -- calling Custer a close teammate and one of his best friends while also touting the 2020 Rookie of the Year's abilities after two down years in Cup.

"He is in a good spot where he fell to, in a sense. He can still go show how good of a racecar driver he is -- and Cole's a really good racecar driver," Briscoe said. "I think he's a lot better than people give him credit for. ... It's, I think, a good spot for him to go back and get his confidence back up, because the last couple years I think has probably been hard for Cole. He won a Cup race two years ago, and people forget that."