Any process that modulates the rate, frequency, or extent of the process in which a chondroblast acquires specialized structural and/or functional features of a chondrocyte that will contribute to the growth of a bone. A chondrocyte is a polymorphic cell that forms cartilage. [ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23212449 GOC:TermGenie http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/go/references/0000058 ]