Jason Ratcliff

Last updated
Jason Ratcliff
Jason Ratcliff 2018 (cropped).jpg
Ratcliff at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2018
Personal information
Birth nameJason Mederic Ratcliff
Nationality Flag of the United States.svg American
Born (1967-12-08) December 8, 1967 (age 56)
Sumter, South Carolina, U.S.
Sport
Country United States
Sport NASCAR Xfinity Series
Team54. Joe Gibbs Racing

Jason Mederic Ratcliff (born December 8, 1967) is an American NASCAR crew chief, who is employed by Joe Gibbs Racing as the crew chief for their No. 54 Toyota Supra in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driven by Taylor Gray. He has worked for JGR since 2005 and prior to that was a crew chief for Brewco Motorsports and a pit crew member with LAR Motorsports and Sadler Brothers Racing. He is the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship-winning crew chief, winning the championship with driver Kyle Busch.

Contents

Career

Early career

Crew member

He began his career in racing working on mini Sprint Cars in Texas, before he was hired for his first job in NASCAR in 1995, Sadler Brothers Racing, based in Nashville, Tennessee. While at SBR, he was a mechanic and rear tire changer for drivers Chuck Bown and Gary Bradberry in the Busch Series. He worked there for only two years before joining at Columbia, Tennessee-based LAR Motorsports as a chief mechanic for Casey Atwood and Jeff Purvis during the 1997 and 1998 seasons. [1]

1999–2004: Brewco Motorsports

In 1999, Ratcliff got his first crew chiefing job. He moved from LAR to Brewco Motorsports to become the crew chief for rookie Casey Atwood. After working as the crew chief for him two years, Atwood moved to the Cup Series with Evernham Motorsports, and was replaced by Jamie McMurray, who became Ratcliff's new driver. [1] During the 2003 and 2004 seasons, he became the crew chief for David Green. While together they won three races, achieved 11 top-fives, 21 top-10s and two pole positions, which resulted in a second place in the final standings, 14 points behind Brian Vickers. By the end of their relationship, they scored seven wins and seven pole positions.

2005–present: Joe Gibbs Racing

Ratcliff (right) talking to his driver Matt Kenseth as well as Greg Biffle at Talladega in October 2016 Greg Biffle Matt Kenseth Talladega 2016.jpg
Ratcliff (right) talking to his driver Matt Kenseth as well as Greg Biffle at Talladega in October 2016

In 2005, Ratcliff moved to Joe Gibbs Racing as the crew chief for J. J. Yeley. He remained the crew chief for Yeley until 2006. During the two years, Jason Ratcliff was able to achieve 13 top-fives and 34 top-10 finishes. During the next season, Ratcliff was the crew chief for three different drivers: Aric Almirola, Brad Coleman and Kevin Conway, in which they earned two poles, four top-fives and five top-10s. [1]

In 2008, he was the crew chief for Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin, which were both drivers of the No. 18. He was able to win five races total during the season, four with Busch and one with Hamlin. During 2009, Kyle Busch became the full-time driver of the 18. Ratcliff and Busch won the championship, with nine wins, 11 runner-up finishes, 25 top fives and 2,698 laps led. With their teamwork, Busch was able to lead in all the races except for three. They also led more than 50 percent of the laps in a race an twelve times. Busch led the series points standings after 30 of the 35 events, including the last 29 weeks of the season, leaving little room for doubt in the championship chase. [1]

After seven years being the crew chief for the No. 18 Nationwide Series car, Ratcliff was announced to replace Greg Zipadelli as the crew chief of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Sprint Cup Series car, driven by Joey Logano, on December 16, 2011. [2] In 2013, Ratcliff served as crew chief for Matt Kenseth, but was suspended for one race after the No. 20 engine failed postrace inspection following Kenseth's victory in the STP 400. [3]

On September 24, 2019, after two successful Xfinity Series seasons, Ratcliff and driver Christopher Bell were announced to move to the Leavine Family Racing No. 95 Toyota for the 2020 Cup season. [4] [5] LFR closed down at the end of the 2020 season, so in 2021, Ratcliff returned to his former job as crew chief of the No. 20 Xfinity Series team for JGR, now driven by Harrison Burton. [6]

On October 27, 2023, Ratcliff announced in an interview on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that he would be retiring as a crew chief after the 2023 season. He crew chiefed the No. 19 car for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2023. He spent the majority of his 24-year career in NASCAR with JGR crew chiefing in the Cup and Xfinity Series and became the winningest crew chief in Xfinity Series history. He also crew chiefed for Brewco Motorsports in the Xfinity Series early in his career. [7] Seth Chavka replaced him for the 2024 season on the 19 car.

On December 2, 2024, Ratcliff was announced to be returning to the 54 car, driven by Taylor Gray, for the 2025 season.

Personal life

Ratcliff moved six times throughout his childhood, starting in Sumter, South Carolina, where he was born, [8] and ending in Westlake, Louisiana, where he graduated from Westlake High School and began his racing career working on mini Sprint Cars. After high school, he moved again to Texas, where he continued to work on mini Sprint Cars for the next nine years before his first job in NASCAR in 1995. The first two NASCAR teams he worked for were based in Tennessee, so he moved there from Texas. Ratcliff currently lives in Huntersville, North Carolina (in the Charlotte metropolitan area where most NASCAR teams are based) with his wife, Christi, and two children, Cade and Dakota.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casey Atwood</span> American former stock car racing driver

Casey Lee Atwood is an American former stock car racing driver. A former competitor in NASCAR competition, he is the youngest pole winner in Busch Series history, earning a pole start at the age of 17.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Gibbs Racing</span> NASCAR racing team

Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professional stock car racing organization founded by Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs. His son, J. D. Gibbs, ran the team with him until his death in 2019. Founded in Huntersville, North Carolina, in 1992, JGR has won five Cup Series championships, four Xfinity Series championships and one ARCA Series championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Addington</span> NASCAR crew chief

Steven J. Addington is an American NASCAR crew chief who works for RSS Racing as a crew chief in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. In 2024, he is primarily crew chiefing their No. 29 Ford Mustang driven by Blaine Perkins. He has won 20 NASCAR Cup Series races and 11 Xfinity Series races as a crew chief.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brad Coleman</span> American racing driver

Bradford Coleman is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He mostly ran full or part-time in what is now the NASCAR Xfinity Series, with his last start coming in 2010. Prior to that, Coleman drove part-time in the ARCA Re/Max Series. He also made one Cup Series start in 2008. During his career, Coleman was a development driver for Brewco Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing.

Since its introduction to motorsport in the early 1970s, Toyota has been involved in a number of motorsport activities, most notably in Formula One, NASCAR, IndyCar, sports car racing, various off-road rallies and the WRC. Currently, Toyota participates in the Toyota Racing Series, Super Formula, Formula Three, Formula Drift, NHRA, USAC, Super GT, NASCAR, the WRC and the WEC.

Braun Motorsports, formerly known as Braun Racing, was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The team is based in Mooresville, North Carolina. Best known as one of the top independent Xfinity Series teams from 2003 to 2010, the team also made several starts in the Sprint Cup Series. The team was owned by Todd Braun, son of Braun Corporation founder Ralph Braun. The team formerly had alliances with Chip Ganassi Racing and Dale Earnhardt, Inc., and the team's operations also included former entries from ppc Racing and Akins Motorsports.

David B. Rogers is an American NASCAR crew chief who works as the performance director for 23XI Racing. He previously worked as a crew chief for Joe Gibbs Racing in both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series as well as the technical director for JGR's Xfinity operations. He has over a decade of experience as a crew chief, all with JGR. Over the course of his career, he has worked in the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series with drivers Jason Leffler, Denny Hamlin, Aric Almirola, Tony Stewart, Travis Kittleson, J. J. Yeley, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Brad Coleman, Matt DiBenedetto, Michael McDowell, Carl Edwards, Daniel Suárez, Matt Tifft, Kyle Benjamin, Riley Herbst, and Daniel Hemric. Hemric and Rogers won the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erik Jones</span> American racing driver (born 1996)

Erik Benjamin Jones is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE for Legacy Motor Club. His nicknames are EJ, his initials, and That Jones Boy, given to him by announcer Ken Squier. Until 2021, Jones had spent his entire NASCAR and ARCA career with Toyota, and while in their driver development program, he won the 2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship. He would return to Toyota's NASCAR program in 2023 when Legacy Motor Club would switch their manufactural allegiance to them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series</span> 67th season of NASCAR stock-car racing

The 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 67th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 44th modern-era Cup season. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the Sprint Unlimited exhibition race, the Budweiser Duels, and the Daytona 500. The season ended with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Kyle Busch won the championship, despite missing the first third of the season due to severe leg injuries suffered in an Xfinity Series race at Daytona. Busch also became the first Toyota driver to win a Cup championship. Despite not running the full season, Brett Moffitt was named Rookie of the Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyler Allen (motorsport)</span> American NASCAR race engineer

Tyler Kristian Allen is an American NASCAR race engineer. He is employed at Joe Gibbs Racing as the crew chief for their No. 54 Toyota Supra in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driven by Taylor Gray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Bell (racing driver)</span> American racing driver

Christopher David Bell is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 20 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing, part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 20 Toyota GR Supra for JGR, and part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 1 Toyota Tundra for Tricon Garage. He is the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series</span> 35th season of second-tier NASCAR Xfinity Series

The 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series was the 35th season of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the second-tier professional stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season started at Daytona International Speedway on February 20 and ended at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 19. Daniel Suárez of Joe Gibbs Racing won the championship, becoming the first non-American to win a title in NASCAR's top 3 divisions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Stevens (NASCAR)</span> American NASCAR crew chief (born 1978)

Adam Gregory Stevens is a NASCAR Cup Series crew chief for Christopher Bell since 2021. In 2015, he became the first crew chief since Jeff Hammond in 1982 to win the championship in his rookie season as the crew chief for Kyle Busch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Wheeler (NASCAR)</span> NASCAR crew chief

Michael Carl Wheeler, also known by his nickname "Wheels", is a former American NASCAR Crew Chief and is the current Director of Competition for 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series</span> 40th season of second-tier NASCAR Xfinity Series

The 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series was the 40th season of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, a stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the Beef. It's What's for Dinner. 300 on February 13. The regular season ended with the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 17. The NASCAR playoffs ended with the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on November 6.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Gabehart</span> NASCAR crew chief

Christopher Allen Gabehart is an American NASCAR crew chief and former stock car racing driver. He currently works for Joe Gibbs Racing as the crew chief for Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 Toyota Camry in the NASCAR Cup Series, a position he has held since 2019. He's previously worked for Gibbs as a crew chief in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Brandon Jones, Erik Jones, Kyle Benjamin, and Ryan Preece. Before becoming an engineer and crew chief, Gabehart was a driver himself and won the CRA Super Series championship in 2007 and won the All American 400 in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Beshore</span> NASCAR crew chief

Benjamin Edwin Beshore is an American NASCAR crew chief at Legacy Motor Club. He is currently the crew chief for Erik Jones of the No. 43 Toyota Camry in the NASCAR Cup Series. He had previously been with Joe Gibbs Racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series</span> 42nd season of second-tier NASCAR Xfinity Series

The 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series was the 42nd season of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, a stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season started with the Beef. It's What's for Dinner. 300 on February 18 at Daytona International Speedway and ended with the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race on November 4 at Phoenix Raceway.

Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professional stock car racing organization founded by Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs. His son, J. D. Gibbs, ran the team with him until his death in 2019. Founded in Huntersville, North Carolina, in 1992. JGR has won five Cup Series championships.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Jason Ratcliff". Joe Gibbs Racing. Archived from the original on November 23, 2010. Retrieved December 9, 2010.
  2. ↑ "JGR names Ratcliff crew chief of No. 20 Cup car". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. December 16, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  3. ↑ Ryan, Nate (May 11, 2013). "Matt Kenseth tames Darlington for third win of year". The Journal News . Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Christopher Bell to compete in No. 95 with Leavine Family Racing in 2020". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. September 24, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  5. ↑ Page, Scott (September 24, 2019). "Christopher Bell joins Leavine Family Racing for 2020". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Joe Gibbs Racing announces crew chief changes". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 17, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  7. ↑ Srigley, Joseph (October 27, 2023). "Jason Ratcliff Retiring After 24 Seasons as NASCAR Crew Chief". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Crew Chief Jason Ratcliff Bio | Stock Car Racing Magazine Article at Automotive.com". Circletrack.automotive.com. 1967-12-08. Archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2010-12-09.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.