For the team's first 16 seasons, Joe Gibbs Racing ran cars from General Motors, winning three championships: two in Pontiac Grand Prixs and one in a Chevrolet Monte Carlo. The team switched to Toyota beginning in the 2008 season, and in 2015 brought Toyota their first Premier series championship with Kyle Busch's victory.[1]
Gibbs founded the team in 1991 after exploring opportunities with Don Meredith, who currently serves as the team's Executive Vice President.[6] In 1997, Gibbs' son J. D. Gibbs was named team president.[7][8] In 1998, the team began building its facility in Huntersville, North Carolina.[8] The team expanded to a two-car operation in 1999 with Tony Stewart's No. 20 Home Depot-sponsored car, then in 2005 added the No. 11 FedEx-sponsored car driven by Denny Hamlin and owned by Coy Gibbs.[9] For the 2015 season, the team added the No. 19 car driven by Carl Edwards, who followed former Roush Racing teammate Matt Kenseth to JGR.[10]
After winning three Cup championships and more than 70 NASCAR races in Chevrolet and Pontiac equipment, team officials announced in September 2007 that they would switch to Toyota (who had just entered the Cup series that year) after their contract with General Motors ended at the end of the season. Joe Gibbs said Toyota offered the team resources and options they "were not going to be able to afford to do" if they remained at GM. It was also reported that JGR executives felt they were treated by GM as less important than other GM teams such as Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing.[11]
The No. 11 team began racing in 2011. JGR signed 22-year-old Brian Scott (former driver of the No. 11 with Braun Racing) to a two-year contract, with Kevin Kidd announced as the crew chief, and Scott bringing sponsorship from his family-owned Shore Lodge.[17][18] The new team was constantly hampered by bad luck during races, with 5 DNF's on the season. Scott earned a pole, two top 5s and seven top 10s, finishing 8th in points.[19] For 2012, Dollar General expanded its sponsorship deal with JGR, sponsoring the No. 11 car for the full season.[20] Despite showing speed, the team continued to struggle finishing races (7 DNF's), and had a best finish of 3rd at Dover, with Scott finishing 9th in points.[19]
In 2013, Scott was replaced by veteran Elliott Sadler, who finished second in the championship standings in the two prior seasons. Sadler brought sponsorship from OneMain Financial with him from Richard Childress Racing.[21] After winning four races in 2012, Sadler went winless in 2013, though he did score 20 top 10s en route to a fourth-place points finish. Sadler scored his first win for JGR at Talladega in 2014, leading a race high 40 laps.[22] On October 31, 2014, it was announced that Sadler would depart for Roush Fenway Racing's Nationwide program, taking the OneMain sponsorship with him.[23] The team's points and crew were moved to the No. 18 for the 2015 season, and the number was reassigned in 2016 to Kaulig Racing for Blake Koch.
Part-time with Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte (1998)
The current 18 car came under JGR control when owner Joe Gibbs purchased the No. 44 Shell Oil-sponsored Pontiac from his Cup Series driver Bobby Labonte, who had been operating the team under his control. The team made its debut under the Gibbs banner at the 1998 NAPA Auto Parts 300 with then-IndyCar driver Tony Stewart driving. Stewart, he qualified 9th but finished 31st after a crash. At the next week at Rockingham Speedway, Stewart qualified on the pole, led 60 laps, and finished 2nd. Stewart ran a total of 22 races that year, with five top-five finishes and winning two pole positions. Labonte ran five races that year in that car in 1998, winning the Diamond Hill Plywood 200.
Part-time (1999)
The team switched to No. 18 with sponsorship from MBNA for 1999. Labonte ran only one race before he suffered shoulder injuries in a qualifying crash at Darlington. Late in the year, Jason Leffler, like Stewart an accomplished open wheel racer, ran four races in the car that year, his best finish being a 20th at Memphis Motorsports Park.
Jason Leffler (2000)
Leffler ran the car full-time in 2000, winning a pole at Texas Motor Speedway, and posting three top-ten finishes. After that season, he left for the Cup Series with Chip Ganassi Racing, and Jeff Purvis took his place.
Jeff Purvis and Mike McLaughlin (2001)
Purvis started strong and was seventh in points but was released after the GNC Live Well 250 because of sponsorship issues. Mike McLaughlin replaced him, finishing seventh in points that season.
Mike McLaughlin (2002)
McLaughlin returned for 2002, and despite going winless in 2002, he moved up to fourth place in points. However, owner Joe Gibbs wanted his son Coy in a full-time ride, leaving McLaughlin without a ride.
Coy Gibbs (2003)
In his rookie season, The now late Coy Gibbs drove the No. 18 full time in 2003. Gibbs had two Top 10 finishes and finished runner-up to David Stremme for Rookie of the Year.
Part-time (2004)
The team scaled back to a part-time schedule for 2004. In November 2003, JGR signed highly touted USAC Champion J. J. Yeley to a multi-year contract, beginning his stock car career with eight ARCA Menards Series events and 10-12 Busch Series races in the 2004 season.[24]The Home Depot's Vigoro Lawn and Garden Products would sponsor Yeley's efforts, making their BGN debut at Las Vegas in March.[25] In his first race, Yeley qualified a strong seventh, but finished 23rd and two laps down.[26] Yeley would end up running 17 races, garnering four Top 10 finishes and finishing fourth in Rookie of the Year standings behind future Cup drivers Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, and Paul Menard.[27] Bobby Labonte ran two races with a best finish of 7th, while Denny Hamlin finished a strong sixth at the fall race at Darlington.
J. J. Yeley (2005–2006)
Yeley ran the car full-time in 2005, finishing in the top-ten twelve times and finishing 11th in points. Yeley continued to run full-time in 2006, finishing 5th in the points standings with three poles, nine Top 5s, 22 Top 10s, and 27 Top 15s. Yeley announced in Daytona that he would be driving in the No. 1 Miccosukee Gaming and Resorts-sponsored Chevrolet for Phoenix Racing in the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series.
In January 2007, former Brewco Motorsports development driver and ARCA standout Brad Coleman signed to drive the No. 18 car for 17 of the 35 races, with Carino's Italian Grill sponsoring his efforts.[28]Kevin Conway was signed for eight races beginning at Bristol in March with Z-Line Designs sponsoring,[29] while Tony Stewart and development driver Aric Almirola filled out the schedule with Goody's Headache Powder and ConAgra Foods sponsorships. Almirola put the car on the pole at the season opener at Daytona, and had a best finish of 4th at Charlotte. Coleman earned his first career Busch Series pole at Talladega, and had three Top 5s and five Top 10s. Without sponsorship for a full-time ride with JGR, Coleman returned to the renamed Baker Curb Racing following the season and signed a development contract with Hall of Fame Racing.[30]
For 2008, the No. 18 was piloted by the team of Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch with sponsorship coming from Southern Farm Bureau, Interstate Batteries, and Z-Line Designs. Despite running a partial schedule, Busch won ten races in 2008, including eight in the No. 18, and would finish sixth in points while Hamlin scored a single victory in the No. 18 at Dover. 18-year-old JGR development driver Marc Davis made his one and only national series start for the team in October at Memphis Motorsports Park with DLP HDTV sponsoring.[31]
Kyle Busch (2009)
In 2009, Kyle Busch went full time in the Nationwide Series, driving the No. 18 Z-Line Designs / NOS Toyota. Busch won 9 races and won the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series Title.
In 2010, Kyle Busch ran most of the races that were paired with Sprint Cup Series races, while Brad Coleman returned to run the stand-alone races. For 2011, Busch drove the No. 18 for a majority of the season, splitting the ride with Michael McDowell, who ran both Iowa races, Lucas Oil Raceway, and the road courses Road America and Circuit Gilles Villeneuve with sponsorship from Pizza Ranch. McDowell won the pole at Road America and dominated until late-race contact with another car. Drivers Kelly Bires, Drew Herring, and Joey Logano also took turns in the No. 18. Bires ran at Richmond and Chicago with International Comfort Products Corporation, Herring drove at the second Nashville race with Sport Clips, and Logano drove the No. 18 at Chicago, Dover, Kansas, and Phoenix. For 2012, the No. 18 would have a similar lineup, featuring Hamlin, Logano, Herring, McDowell, and Ryan Truex. Logano would take seven victories with the No. 18 team, handing the team the Nationwide Owners' Championship. For 2013, the No. 18 and 20 teams swapped. Matt Kenseth drove the No. 18 for 16 races with sponsorship from Reser's Fine Foods and GameStop. He won the July race at Daytona and the October race at Kansas. The No. 18 car did not run in 2014.
On August 19, 2014, JGR announced that Toyota Series and K&N Pro Series East driver Daniel Suárez would drive the No. 18 full-time in 2015 with a sponsorship from Arris, running for Rookie of the Year.[32] Suárez had a strong rookie season, earning eight top fives, 18 top tens, and three poles to finish fifth in points and beat out Darrell Wallace Jr. for Rookie of the Year.[33]
The team inherited the No. 54's points and equipment in 2016, fielding multiple drivers,[34] starting with former JGR driver Bobby Labonte at Daytona.[35]Kyle Busch drove a limited schedule, with former sponsor NOS Energy Drink (owned by Monster Beverage) funding both Busch and Labonte's efforts.[35]Matt Tifft was scheduled to drive 13 races for the team, but was replaced for several races as he recovered from a removal of a tumor in his brain.[36][37]Sam Hornish Jr. replaced Tifft for the June Xfinity race at Iowa, and won the race.[38][39]David Ragan ran the July Xfinity race at Daytona, and won the pole, and was in contention for the win, but crashed on the final lap of the race. Road course specialistOwen Kelly ran the road course races at Mid-Ohio and Road America, and Dakoda Armstrong ran the July Xfinity race at Iowa. The No. 18 car won 12 races in 2016, ten with Busch, one at Charlotte with Hamlin, and one with Hornish at Iowa.
For 2017, multiple drivers again raced in the No. 18. Daniel Suárez drove 12 races beginning at Daytona in February with sponsorship from Juniper. Kyle Busch drove 10 races with sponsor NOS Energy Drink beginning at Atlanta in March, winning 5 races at Atlanta, Kentucky, Loudon, Watkins Glen, and Bristol. Kyle Busch Motorsports driver Christopher Bell made his Xfinity Series debut with the No. 18 team at Charlotte, finishing 4th. Bell would also drive the car at Road America, Kansas, Texas, and Phoenix. Bell won the race at Kansas after catching and passing teammate Erik Jones for his first career Xfinity Series win in his 5th start. Bell had sponsorship from SiriusXM at Charlotte, Toyotacare at Road America, JBL at Kansas, and Safelite at Texas and Phoenix. ARCA driver Kyle Benjamin drove the No. 18 with sponsorship from Reser's Fine Foods and Sport Clips at both Iowa races and Kentucky in September with a best finish of 2nd at the July Iowa race to teammate Ryan Preece. Regan Smith returned to the Xfinity series in a one-race deal in the No. 18 at Mid-Ohio with sponsorship from Interstate Batteries. Denny Hamlin also drove one race in the No. 18, running a throwback scheme at Darlington with Sport Clips sponsoring, Hamlin won the race. Ryan Preece drove the No. 18 car at Homestead with Safelite as the sponsor and finished 5th in preparation for an expanded ten–race schedule with the team in 2018. Preece shared the car with JGR's cup series drivers Busch, Suárez, Hamlin, and Jones in 2018. Preece would go on to win at Bristol.
In 2019, Busch returned for seven races with Hamlin running the Darlington race. Jeffrey Earnhardt was signed to nine races while the rest of the schedule was filled out by development drivers Harrison Burton and Riley Herbst. On August 7, 2019, Earnhardt announced that he parted ways with sponsor and XCI affiliate iK9, as well as Joe Gibbs Racing.[40]Jack Hawksworth would drive the car at Mid-Ohio.[41]
For 2020, Riley Herbst will be driving this car full-time. Dave Rogers will serve as crew chief. He qualified for the playoffs but was eliminated following the first round and ultimately finished 12th in the standings.[42]
On November 12, 2020, it was confirmed that Daniel Hemric would replace Riley Herbst for the 2021 season. On September 25, 2021, it was confirmed that Hemric would not be returning to the team after the 2021 season, moving to Kaulig Racing's No. 11 in 2022 as the replacement for Justin Haley's Xfinity seat. Despite being winless during the regular season, Hemric used his consistency to advance to the Championship 4 at Phoenix where he finally won his first career Xfinity race as well as the Championship.
On December 6, 2022, Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Sammy Smith would drive the No. 18 full-time in 2023 with sponsorship from Pilot Flying J. During the season, Smith scored his first win at Phoenix; at age 18, he became the youngest Xfinity Series winner.[43]
The No. 19 team was to make its debut at the 2004 Michigan race driven by Bobby Labonte and sponsored by Banquet Foods, however, qualifying was rained out and the team with no owner's points missed the race. The team finally made its first start in 2005 CarQuest Auto Parts 300. Labonte ran seven races that year, with three top-tens. With Labonte moving to Petty Enterprises, JGR development driver Aric Almirola ran the car in seven races in 2006. Tony Stewart also drove the car at select races in 2006, using his NEXTEL Cup crew when he raced. The No. 19 team was disbanded after the 2006 season.
Daniel Suárez (2016)
Daniel Suárez won the 2016 Xfinity Series championship.
The No. 19 car was returned for 2016 with Daniel Suárez and sponsor Arris moving from the No. 18 team, maintaining the same sponsor-number combination used by Carl Edwards in the Cup Series.[34] Suárez got his first win at Michigan after a last lap pass to Kyle Busch.[46] Suárez scored three victories and won the 2016 championship, becoming the first foreign-born driver to win a NASCAR National championship.[47]
Matt Tifft (2017)
Tifft's No. 19 Xfinity Series car at Road America in 2017
It was announced that in 2017, Matt Tifft would drive full-time in the No. 19, with rookie crew chief Matt Beckham on the box.[48] Tifft struggled to repeat the success of Suárez failing to win any races and finishing 7th in points.
On November 15, 2017, JGR announced that Brandon Jones would replace Tifft in the No. 19 in 2018. Tifft would move to Richard Childress Racing in a driver swap. Chris Gabehart was announced as his crew chief, moving from the No. 20 Xfinity team and replacing Matt Beckham. From 2018 to 2022, Jones score five wins and made the top-10 in the playoffs. On September 14, 2022, Jones announced he would leave JGR at the end of the 2022 season and move to the JR Motorsports No. 9 in 2023.[49]
Denny Hamlin's No. 20 Busch car (right) battling Matt Kenseth (left) for position.
Early years (2000–2002)
After JGR purchased the team from Gary Bechtel in 2000, the team received sponsorship from Porter-Cable. Despite missing three races, driver Jeff Purvis had eleven Top 10s and one pole, finishing 11th in points. The team switched to No. 20 for 2001, and Mike McLaughlin was named the driver. Without a major sponsor, McLaughlin was able to win the Subway 300 and was sixth in points when Gibbs decided to shut down his team due to sponsorship problems. He moved to the No. 18 and finished seventh in points that year. Coy Gibbs ran five races in the No. 20 in 2002, with a sponsorship from ConAgra Foods.[53] His best finish was a 14th at Kentucky Speedway.
Mike Bliss (2003–2004)
After he moved to the 18, Gibbs was replaced by Mike Bliss and Rockwell Automation came aboard as a sponsor.[8] Bliss had fourteen Top 10s and finished 10th in points. In 2004, he pulled off a win at Lowe's Motor Speedway and had three poles.
Denny Hamlin (2005–2008)
In 2005, Denny Hamlin came aboard and posted eleven Top 10s and finished fifth points, the third-place finisher in rookie points. He ran the full schedule in the No. 20 in 2006, winning two races and finishing fourth in points.
Hamlin and developmental driver Aric Almirola split duties in the No. 20 in 2007 with sponsorship from Rockwell Automation, with Tony Stewart also piloting the No. 20 at Atlanta. With Hamlin running several non-companion races, Almirola would occasionally qualify the car that Hamlin would later drive. Hamlin took the car to victory lane in four races, including Darlington, Milwaukee, Michigan, and Dover. The win at Milwaukee was controversial, with Almirola putting the car on the pole and starting the race because Hamlin was delayed flying from Sonoma Raceway. Almirola started the car and led the first 43 laps but was still relieved by Hamlin during a caution due to obligations to his sponsorship from Rockwell. Almirola was credited as the winner for starting the race but did not participate in the victory celebration. He would leave JGR after the season.[54] The No. 20 finished 2nd in the owners points behind RCR's No. 29.
In 2008, the No. 20 was shared by Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and Stewart for nine races before defending NASCAR Camping World East Series champion Joey Logano was named the driver of the No. 20 for the rest of the season's races except for Loudon (which Stewart won in the No. 20), Daytona (which Hamlin won in the No. 20), and Chicago (which Busch won in the No. 18). All four drivers of the No. 20 won races driving it in 2008. For 2009, 20-year-old Brad Coleman returned to JGR for a part-time schedule, sharing the ride with Logano and Hamlin.[30] In 2010, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, and Matt DiBenedetto shared the No. 20 car, with Hamlin winning at Darlington and Logano winning at Kentucky and Kansas. For 2011, Logano returned to the No. 20 with sponsorships from GameStop and Sport Clips. Logano ran the first 10 races but picked up last-minute sponsorship from Harvest Investments to run Nashville. Due to a lack of sponsorship, the No. 20 was unable to run a full schedule for the owner's championship. In the 20, Logano grabbed his first superspeedway win at the July Daytona race with help from Kyle Busch. The No. 20 was also driven by Denny Hamlin at Las Vegas, Richmond, and Darlington, with Hamlin winning at Richmond. Drew Herring drove the No. 20 with Sport Clips at both Iowa races, where Herring won the pole for the May race, and Lucas Oil Raceway. Ryan Truex stepped into the No. 20 late in the season for six races, finishing second to Logano at Dover after dominating the race.
The No. 20 team returned in 2012 to run most of the season. Its primary driver lineup consisted of Logano, Hamlin, Truex, and JGR development driver Darrell Wallace Jr.Michael Waltrip Racing driver Clint Bowyer also drove the No. 20 at Daytona when Hamlin was sidelined from the race by back problems.
Starting in the 2013 season, 2003 Busch Series Champion Brian Vickers joined the team driving the No. 20 for the full season with sponsorship from Dollar General, in addition to a partial Sprint Cup Series schedule in Michael Waltrip Racing's 55 car. Dollar General had sponsored Vickers in the past with Braun Racing, and like teammate Elliott Sadler, Vickers was attempting to reclaim his career in the second-tier series.[55] After 30 starts, Vickers was sidelined with a second incidence of blood clots, replaced by Denny Hamlin and Drew Herring in the final three races of the season.[56] Though he went winless, Vickers scored 13 top 5s and 18 top 10s to finish 10th in points. He would leave for a full-time ride at MWR at the end of the year.
Erik Jones was scheduled to run a limited schedule in the No. 20 car in 2015, with Kenny Habul and SunEnergy1 also returning for the three road courses.[62][63] Jones, whose schedule was expanded due to Kyle Busch's injury,[64] scored his first Xfinity win in his 9th career start at Texas in April, leading a race-high 79 laps.[64][65][66]Ross Kenseth, son of Sprint Cup Series champion Matt Kenseth, made his Xfinity Series debut at Chicagoland Speedway on June 20.[67]David Ragan made a single start at Daytona in July with Interstate Batteries sponsorship.[65]Kenny Wallace made his final career start in the No. 20 car at Iowa Speedway in August, with longtime sponsor U.S. Cellular.[65] Wallace started seventh and finished 15th. Matt Tifft made his Xfinity Series debut at Kentucky in September, finishing 10th.[68]Denny Hamlin drove a total of six races in the 20; two with SunEnergy 1 sponsorship, three with Hisense, and running a throwback scheme at Darlington in September with Sport Clips sponsoring.[69] Hamlin scored three wins, all of which were from the pole starting position.[65]Matt Kenseth ran five races with Reser's Fine Foods, scoring four-second-place finishes.[65]
Erik Jones drove the car full-time in 2016, with Gamestop, Reser's, Hisense, Interstate Batteries and Dewalt as the sponsors.[70] Jones won 4 times but finished 4th in points after getting trapped behind the slow car of Cole Whitt on the last restart of the final race at Homestead.
In 2017, the No. 20 was driven by a variety of different drivers. Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones, Kyle Benjamin, Christopher Bell, Daniel Suarez, James Davison and Ryan Preece are among them. Jones drove the car for 18 races starting at Daytona, sweeping the Texas races as well as winning the Bristol spring race. Hamlin drove the car for three races and won at Michigan. Suárez drove the No. 20 for two races at Las Vegas and the Bristol fall race, finishing 3rd and 2nd respectively. Benjamin drove the car for two races at the spring Richmond race and the first Pocono race, winning the pole in the latter. Bell drove the No. 20 for three races starting at the June Iowa race, where Bell won stage one, led the most laps, but finished 16th after being collected in a crash between the lapped cars of Brennan Poole and Ryan Reed while leading. Ryan Preece drove the car at Loudon, the July Iowa race, and the September Kentucky race. Preece finished 2nd to his teammate Kyle Busch at Loudon. In his next race at Iowa, Preece led the most laps and won the race, then finished 4th at Kentucky. James Davison drove the No. 20 at Mid Ohio and Road America, leading the most laps at Road America before getting collected in a wreck.
For 2018, Christopher Bell drove the No. 20 full-time, competing for Rookie of the Year honors. Jason Ratcliff was his crew chief, moving from the No. 20 cup series team. Bell won seven races in 2018, breaking the record for a rookie in the series previously held by Greg Biffle and Kyle Busch. He made it to the Championship 4 but had a tire go down at Homestead and finished 13th in the race and 4th among the championship contenders. He returned for the full 2019 season.
In 2020 and 2021, Harrison Burton drove for Joe Gibbs Racing full-time in their No. 20 Toyota, replacing Christopher Bell, who moved up to the NASCAR Cup Series while also competing for Rookie of the Year honors. Ben Beshore served as crew chief, moving from the No. 18 Xfinity Series team. During the 2020 season, Burton won his first four races at Fontana, Homestead, Texas, and Martinsville and finished eighth in the final standings. On July 15, 2021, it was announced that Burton would leave JGR to drive the Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 in the Cup Series for Wood Brothers in 2022. Despite not winning a race throughout 2021, Burton once again made the playoffs with his consistency and finished 8th in the final standings. Following the end of the 2021 season, JGR shut down the No. 20 team and downsized its Xfinity program to three teams: The Nos. 18, 19, and 54.
For 2024, Nemechek shared the No. 20 with Almirola, Ryan Truex, Ty Gibbs, and Bell. Nemecheck started the season with a seventh place finish at Daytona. Two weeks later, he scored a win at Las Vegas.[79] Almirola won at Martinsville and took home the bonus US$100,000 for winning the first Dash 4 Cash race of the season.[80] Truex brought the No. 20 to victory lane at Dover.[81] A couple of days before the Charlotte race, Almirola and Bubba Wallace got into a physical altercation during a weekly competition meeting that included both the drivers of JGR and 23XI Racing. The exact reason for the dispute is unknown, but the team viewed Almirola as the instigator, causing the team to indefinitely suspend him and replace him with Ty Gibbs. JGR said it was a team decision.[82][83] Bell took the No. 20 to victory lane at New Hampshire.[84] Nemechek won again at Nashville a week later.[85] Truex scored his second win of the season at the Daytona summer race.[86] Bell won again at Darlington.[87] During the playoffs, Almirola scored wins at Kansas and Martinsville.[88][89]
In 2012, Kyle Busch fielded the No. 54 & After running the 54 for his team in 2012 with only one win (by his brother Kurt), Kyle Busch returned to JGR's strong Nationwide program with the No. 54 as a fourth JGR car, running 26 races and bringing sponsor Monster Energy with him. Parker Kligerman would take over the newly renumbered 77 for KBM. Busch didn't take long to get to victory lane. He won the pole, lead the most laps, and won the race in only the second race of the 2013 season at Phoenix International Raceway. He then scored victories at Bristol (4th race) and at Fontana (5th race). During the 2013 season, he won a total of 12 races.[90]Joey Coulter, Owen Kelly, and Drew Herring also ran in the 54, which finished 2nd in the owner's championship to the Team Penske No. 22 by one point.[91]
For the 2014 season, Kyle Busch ran part-time the No. 54 car, running all Sprint Cup Series companion races except Talladega and Daytona in July. Former IRL champion Sam Hornish Jr., who was not re-signed by Team Penske after scoring a win and finishing 2nd in Nationwide points in 2013, ran 7 races to help compete for the owner's championship.[90] At Iowa in May, Hornish won the Get To Know Newton 250, beating Ryan Blaney's 22 for his third career win.[92] The 54 once again finished 2nd in owners points to the Penske 22.
In 2015, Kyle Busch suffered injuries during the season-opening race at Daytona. He broke his leg after hitting the inside wall that had no SAFER barrier installed. His replacements were announced to be Erik Jones (at least 3 races), Cup series teammate Denny Hamlin (5 races), and road course veteran Boris Said (7 races).[93] Busch returned to the Xfinity Series at Michigan in June and scored his first win of the season. Jones scored a win the following race at Chicagoland, his second of the season.[70]
Part-time (2020)
For the 2020 season Kyle Busch (5 races) and Denny Hamlin (1 race) will race in the No. 54 car (previously used in 2012–15).
Multiple drivers (2021)
On January 27, 2021, it was confirmed that Ty Gibbs, Ty Dillon, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex Jr. would drive the 54 car in select races for the 2021 season. Ty Gibbs won in his series debut at the Daytona Road Course while Busch won by 11 seconds at COTA. Following Busch's win, Gibbs won again the next week at Charlotte holding off Austin Cindric for the second time. In the series’ return to Nashville Superspeedway, Busch made history by winning his 100th race. On July 3, Busch battled back from adversity to win the Henry 180 at Road America.
Ty Gibbs (2021–2022)
Ty Gibbs returned to the No. 54 in 2022 on a full-time basis. He won at Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Richmond. At the Martinsville spring race on April 8, Gibbs finished eighth after Sam Mayer did a bump and run on him on the final lap. After the race, Gibbs attempted to spin Mayer out during the cool-down laps before both drivers engaged in a fistfight on pit road.[94] In addition to this incident, Gibbs was fined US$15,000 for hitting Mayer's car on pit road after the race.[95] Gibbs scored his fourth win at Road America by passing Kyle Larson on the final lap.[96] He claimed his fifth win of the season at Michigan.[97] At Watkins Glen, Gibbs fiercely battled William Byron for the lead throughout most of the race until they both spun off-course during the final restart, resulting in Gibbs finishing 27th.[98] At the Martinsville playoff race, Gibbs dumped Jones to the outside wall on the final overtime lap to win and make the Championship 4.[99] After the race, he compared himself to Jesus in an interview on the SiriusXM NASCAR channel.[100] Gibbs dominated at Phoenix to become the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion.[101]
Taylor Gray (2025)
On October 16, 2024, JGR announced that the 54 car will return and will be driven by Taylor Gray.[102]
The No. 81 car made its debut in 2021 as the fifth JGR entry at Road America. It was driven by Ty Gibbs while Kyle Busch occupied Gibbs' usual No. 54.
The No. 81 returned full-time in 2024 with Chandler Smith behind the wheel. Smith started the season with a fifth place finish at Daytona. He later scored wins at Phoenix and Richmond.[103][104] At the end of the season, Smith parted ways with JGR.[105]
Car No. TBA History
Brandon Jones returns to JGR for the 2025 season after leaving for 2 seasons at JR Motorsports, the car numbers and sponsors have not been announced at this time.[106]
From 2000 to 2002, Joe Gibbs fielded trucks numbered 20 and 48 in the Craftsman Truck Series for his sons Coy and J. D. Gibbs. Coy ran 12 races in 2000, then the full 2001 and 2002 seasons, with 21 top 10s and 10th-place points finishes in the latter two seasons. J. D. only ran a total of 8 races over the three seasons, with no top 10 finishes.[7][107][108][109][110]
From 2010 through 2022, JGR drivers competed in the Truck Series through Kyle Busch Motorsports, owned by Cup Series driver Kyle Busch. KBM used JGR-built engines in competition.[114] The partnership ended following the 2022 season when Busch left the organization.
In 1999, Joe Gibbs Racing fielded the No. 18 car for Jason Leffler for one race. Leffler finish 5th at Atlanta.
In 2000, Leffler returned at Charlotte, he started 2nd and led one lap, however, he crashed with 55 of 67 laps completed.
In 2010, Joe Gibbs Racing entered the No. 18 at Michigan for Max Gresham which was also entered again as Brennan Poole due to Gresham having a contractual obligation for another team that day of the race although the team would later withdraw their entry from the race entirely.
On December 15, 2016, it was announced that JGR would field a car for Riley Herbst full-time in the 2017 season.[117]Matt Tifft ran the season opener at Daytona due to Herbst not being eligible to compete in the race.[118]
In 2018, Herbst returned for another full-time season. In 2019, Herbst drove the No. 18 for eight races, while Ty Gibbs drove for 11 races, winning at Gateway and Salem. Todd Gilliland drove one race at Pocono.
In 2020, Gibbs ran 16 races, winning six times, while Herbst ran the other four races. Despite missing four races, Gibbs finished fifth in the driver's standings. Gibbs also raced in the ARCA East series, winning at Toledo and finishing second in the standings of the six-race season. Gibbs ran full-time in 2021, winning 10 of the 20 races and finishing in the top three 17 times en route to the series championship. Gibbs also ran a standalone ARCA West event at Phoenix in March and a standalone ARCA East event at Dover in May, winning both races. For 2022, the No. 18 was fielded by Kyle Busch Motorsports.
In 2018, Drew Herring drove the No. 19 NOS Energy Drink/ORCA Coolers/Advance Auto Parts Toyota at the season finale at Kansas, winning the pole and finishing 8th.
In 2017, Riley Herbst was entered at the season opener in Daytona in the team's second car (No. 81), but he was ineligible to race. Herbst and Zane Smith were both ineligible to run the season opener at Daytona, though ARCA allowed both to participate in practice.
In 2022, JGR would bring back the No. 81 for Brandon Jones in five races with sponsorship from Menards. He would win three times: Charlotte, Iowa, and Watkins Glen.
In 2023, Sawalich had two top-five finished before he would pick up a win at Phoenix. In 2024, Sawalich started the season with wins at Phoenix and Portland.
Following the 2008 Chicagoland race, NASCAR made a regulation change specifically to Toyota, which mandated them to run a smaller restrictor plate to cut horsepower by an estimated 15 to 20 horsepower (15kW) from their engines. After the August 16, 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Michigan International Speedway, NASCAR used a dynamometer to test the horsepower of several cars from all competing manufacturers. While testing the two Joe Gibbs Racing cars, officials found that the throttle pedal on both cars had been manipulated using magnets a quarter-inch thick to prevent the accelerator from going 100 percent wide open. Joe Gibbs issued a statement saying "we will take full responsibility and accept any penalties NASCAR levied against us" and "we will also investigate internally how this incident took place and who was involved and make whatever decisions are necessary to ensure that this kind of situation never happens again."[134] Seven crew members were suspended indefinitely and two drivers and the team were penalized 150 points apiece.[135]
Additionally, JGR has been at the center of controversy regarding the closure of smaller teams who formed a technical alliance with them and TRD. Examples of this are the closure of Furniture Row Racing in 2018[136] and Leavine Family Racing in 2020.[137]
On January 5, 2008 the Muscle Milk/Toyota/JGRMX Team made its racing debut in the first round of the 2008 Supercross Series in Anaheim, CA with riders Josh Hansen and Josh Summey.[140] Josh Grant and Cody Cooper rode for the team in 2009,[141] with Grant winning the opening round of Supercross at Anaheim. Grant and Justin Brayton rode for the team in 2010,[142] and Davi Millsaps replaced Grant in 2011.[143]James Stewart replaced Brayton in 2012,[144] and won the Oakland and Daytona Supercrosses, while Millsaps finished second in points. On May 6, 2012, Stewart and the team officially parted ways.[145]
Grant and Brayton returned as the team's two riders in 2013[146] and were joined by Phil Nicoletti in 2014. Justin Barcia and Weston Peick replaced Grant and Brayton on the team in 2015,[147] with Barcia winning two nationals (Budds Creek and RedBud). In 2017, the team switched from Yamaha to Suzuki and added a 250cc effort, with Nicoletti and Matt Bisceglia.[148] For 2018, JGRMX/Autotrader/Yoshimura Suzuki became the official factory Suzuki program, with riders Peick and Justin Bogle (450) and 2017 250SX West Champion Justin Hill, Nicoletti, Jimmy Decotis, and Kyle Peters (250).[149] Hill scored a win at San Diego while Bogle missed most of the season with injuries as Malcolm Stewart filled in for him.[150] The 2019 team consists of two-time Supercross champion Chad Reed, Peick, Hill (450), Decotis, Peters, Alex Martin, Enzo Lopes (250).[151] Peick suffered serious facial injuries in a crash at the Paris Supercross in October 2018.[152]
J. D. Gibbs health complications and passing
It was reported on March 25, 2015, that J. D. Gibbs had begun treatment for symptoms impacting areas of brain function, including speech and processing issues.[153] It was later announced on January 11, 2019, that J. D. Gibbs had died following complications of degenerative neurological disease. A memorial service was held on January 25, 2019.[154]
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