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 O'Reilly Auto Parts Series championships and one ARCA Series championship.
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.
The team fields four full-time entries in the NASCAR Cup Series: the No. 11 Toyota Camry for Denny Hamlin, the No. 19 Camry for Chase Briscoe, the No. 20 Camry for Christopher Bell, and the No. 54 Camry for Ty Gibbs. In the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, the team fields four full-time entries: the No. 18 Toyota GR Supra for William Sawalich, the No. 19 Supra for Brent Crews and other drivers, the No. 20 Supra for Brandon Jones, and the No. 54 Supra for Taylor Gray.
The team has a driver development program that groomed future Cup winners Joey Logano and Aric Almirola and won one championship in the Camping World East Series (now known as the ARCA Menards East Series) with Logano. The team won the 2021 ARCA Menards Series championship with Ty Gibbs. The organization teamed up with former NFL player Reggie White in 2004 to create a diversity program, fielding drivers such as Almirola, Marc Davis, and Bubba Wallace, and forming the basis for NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program.
JGR formed a technical alliance with 23XI Racing in 2021 and sold minority stakes to Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE) and Arctos Partners in 2023.
History
Gibbs founded the team in 1991 after exploring opportunities with Don Meredith, who currently serves as the team's Executive Vice President. In 1997, Gibbs' son J. D. Gibbs was named team president. In 1998, the team began building its facility in Huntersville, North Carolina. 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. 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.
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.
In 2012, JGR shuttered its in-house Sprint Cup Series engine program, merging with California-based Toyota Racing Development which provides engines to JGR and 23XI Racing. The team builds engines for its own Xfinity Series operations and ARCA Menards Series operations of Venturini Motorsports. The team had a technical alliance with Furniture Row Racing, a single-car team based in Denver, Colorado, which closed after the 2018 season. In June 2023, JGR sold minority stakes to Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE), founded and managed by Josh Harris and David Blitzer, and Arctos Partners. Gibbs became a limited partner of HBSE in the transaction.
In 2026, JGR shuttered its ARCA Menards Series program.
NASCAR Cup Series
NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series 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-tens and tenth-place points finishes in the latter two seasons. J. D. only ran a total of eight races over the three seasons, with no top 10 finishes.
From 2004 to 2006, JGR drivers drove in the Truck Series for Chevrolet-affiliated Morgan-Dollar Motorsports, fielding Bobby Labonte, Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, J. J. Yeley, Jason Leffler, and Aric Almirola in select races. In 2006, JGR contracted Spears Motorsports to field Almirola in their 75 truck for his rookie Truck season. Almirola had three top-tens (compared to two top-tens in four starts the previous year), finishing 18th in points.
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. The partnership ended following the 2022 season when Busch left the organization.
Truck No. 20 history In 2000 JGR made their debut in the Craftsman Truck Series, fielding of the No. 20 Chevrolet with Coy Gibbs and his brother J. D. sharing the driving duties. In 2001, he began racing a full-time schedule, posting two top-five finishes, and finishing tenth in points both in 2001 and 2002.
Truck No. 20 results Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Pts 2000 Coy Gibbs 20 Chevy DAY HOM PHO MMR MAR PIR GTY PPR EVG TEX KEN MLW NHA NZH IRP CIC RCH TEX CAL J. D. Gibbs MEM GLN MCH NSV DOV 2001 Coy Gibbs DAY HOM MMR MAR GTY DAR PPR DOV TEX MEM MLW KAN KEN NHA IRP NSH CIC NZH RCH SBO TEX LVS PHO CAL 2002 DAY DAR MAR GTY PPR DOV TEX MEM MLW KAN KEN NHA MCH IRP NSH RCH TEX SBO LVS CAL PHO HOM
Truck No. 48 history In 2000, JGR fielded the No. 48 Chevrolet part-time with Coy Gibbs and J. D. Gibbs sharing the driving duties.
In 2001 and 2002, J. D. continued to drive the No. 48 on part-time basis.
Truck No. 48 results Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Pts 2000 Coy Gibbs 48 Chevy DAY HOM PHO MMR MAR PIR GTY MEM PPR EVG TEX KEN GLN MLW NHA NZH MCH IRP NSV CIC J. D. Gibbs RCH DOV TEX CAL 2001 DAY HOM MMR MAR GTY DAR PPR DOV TEX MEM MLW KAN KEN NHA IRP NSH CIC NZH RCH SBO TEX LVS PHO CAL 2002 DAY DAR MAR GTY PPR DOV TEX MEM MLW KAN KEN NHA MCH IRP NSH RCH TEX SBO LVS CAL PHO HOM
ARCA
ARCA Menards Series
Car No. 2 history From 2004 to 2005, Joe Gibbs Racing partnered with Shaver Motorsports to field the No. 2 car for development drivers in the ARCA Racing Series. Denny Hamlin finished third in the 2004 season finale at Talladega. J. J. Yeley ran the 2005 season opener at Daytona, as part of his development deal with JGR. Aric Almirola ran the 2005 finale at Talladega.
Car No. 2 results YearDriverNo.Make1234567891011121314151617181920212223Pts2005 J. J. Yeley 2 Chevy DAY Denny Hamlin Pontiac NSH SLM KEN TOL LAN MIL POC MCH KAN KEN BLN POC GTW LER NSH MCH ISF TOL DSF CHI SLM Aric Almirola Chevy TAL
Car No. 18 history
In 1999, Joe Gibbs Racing fielded the No. 18 car for Jason Leffler for one race. Leffler finished fifth at Atlanta.
In 2000, Leffler returned at Charlotte, he started second 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. Matt Tifft ran the season opener at Daytona due to Herbst not being eligible to compete in the race.
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 ten 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 2023, the car returned to JGR, with Connor Mosack driving six races and William Sawalich driving 13 races.
During the 2024 season, the No. 18 was shared between Sawalich and Tanner Gray. Sawalich scored three wins and seven top-three finishes.
In 2025, Max Reaves, son of Jeremy Reaves, who is the co-owner of Cook Out, and franchise founder Morris Reaves would drive part-time for the 18. On January 8, JGR announced that Brent Crews would drive the No. 18 part-time in all 3 ARCA Series in 2025. That year, he won the ARCA and ARCA West combination race at Phoenix, the ARCA and ARCA East combination race at IRP, Springfield, the ARCA and ARCA East combination race at Bristol. Sawalich would run four races in the No. 18 car. Gio Ruggiero running two races in the No. 18 car. He ran at Michigan and the Kansas fall race, earning a second-place finish in the Kansas event.
Ruggiero will return to No. 18 car in 2026, running six races at tracks 1.5 miles (2.4 km) and longer, since the anchor driver of the car, Max Reaves, will be ineligible to race due to his age. Ruggiero won at Daytona, Kansas, a rain-shortened race at Michigan, and Pocono. Reaves won at Berlin, Elko, Springfield, and Salem. Sawalich would drive the No. 18 at Chicagoland.
Car No. 18 results YearDriverNo.Make123456789101112131415161718192021Pts 1999 Jason Leffler 18 Pontiac DAY ATL SLM AND CLT MCH POC TOL SBS BLN POC KIL FRS FLM ISF WIN DSF SLM CLT TAL ATL 87th 205 2000 DAY SLM AND CLT KIL FRS MCH POC TOL KEN BLN POC WIN ISF KEN DSF SLM CLT TAL ATL 124th 100 2017 Matt TifftToyota DAY 5th 4555Riley Herbst NSH SLM TAL TOL ELK POC MCH MAD IOW IRP POC WIN ISF ROA DSF SLM CHI KEN KAN 2018 DAY NSH SLM TAL TOL CLT POC MCH MAD GTW CHI IOW ELK POC ISF BLN DSF SLM IRP KAN 3rd 45952019 DAY TAL CLT POC MCH CHI DSF KAN 16th 1485 Ty Gibbs FIF SLM NSH TOL MAD GTW ELK IOW ISF SLM IRP 13th 2315 Todd Gilliland POC – –2020 Riley Herbst DAY TAL KAN MCH1st1411 Ty Gibbs PHO POC IRP KEN IOW TOL TOL DRC GTW L44 TOL BRI WIN MEM ISF KAN 2021 DAY PHO TAL KAN TOL CLT MOH POC ELK BLN IOW WIN GLN MCH ISF MLW DSF BRI SLM KAN 1st 997 2023 Connor Mosack DAY KAN CLT POC MCH KAN2nd1046 William Sawalich PHO BLN ELK MOH IOW IRP GLN ISF MLW DSF BRI SLM TOL Taylor Gray TAL2024 Tanner Gray DAY TAL KAN CLT MCH KAN1st1084 William Sawalich PHO DOVIOW MOH BLNIRP SLM ELK ISF MLW DSFGLN BRI TOL 2025 DAY TAL KAN CLT 2nd 1018 Brent Crews PHO LRP DOV IRP IOW GLN BRI Gio Ruggiero MCH KAN Max Reaves BER ELK ISF MAD DSF SLM TOL 2026 Gio Ruggiero DAY KAN TAL MCH POC KAN 1st 1018 Max Reaves PHO GLN TOL BER ELK LRP IRP IOW ISF MAD DSF SLM BRI William Sawalich CHI
Car No. 19 history 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 eighth.
Car No. 19 results YearDriverNo.Make1234567891011121314151617181920Pts 2018 Drew Herring 19 Toyota DAY NSH SLM TAL TOL CLT POC MCH MAD GTW CHI IOW ELK POC ISF BLN DSF SLM IRP KAN 75th 205
Car No. 81 history 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 2021, JGR fielded the No. 81 for Sammy Smith at Iowa, Milwaukee, and Bristol