Joe Gibbs Racing

Owners	Joe Gibbs Heather Gibbs Ty Gibbs[a] Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment[b] Arctos Partners
Principal	Dave Alpern (President)
Base	Huntersville, North Carolina
Series	NASCAR Cup Series NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series ARCA Menards Series
Race drivers	Cup Series: 11.Denny Hamlin 19.Chase Briscoe 20.Christopher Bell 54.Ty Gibbs O'Reilly Auto Parts Series: 18.William Sawalich 19.Gio Ruggiero,Brent Crews(R),Christopher Bell 20.Brandon Jones 54.Taylor Gray ARCA Menards Series: 18.Gio Ruggiero,Max Reaves
Manufacturer	Chevrolet(1992–1996, 2003–2007),Pontiac(1997–2002),Toyota(2008–Present)
Opened	1992
Website	joegibbsracing.com
Career
Debut	Cup Series: 1992Daytona 500 (Daytona) O'Reilly Auto Parts Series: 1997All Pro Bumper To Bumper 300 (Charlotte) Truck Series: 2000NAPA 250 (Martinsville) ARCA Menards Series: 1999Georgia Boot 400 (Atlanta)
Latest race	Cup Series: 2026Daytona 500 (Daytona) O'Reilly Auto Parts Series: 2026United Rentals 300 (Daytona) Truck Series: 2002Ford 200 (Homestead) ARCA Menards Series: 2026General Tire 200 (Daytona)
Races competed	Total: 2,312 Cup Series: 1,174 O'Reilly Auto Parts Series: 909 Truck Series: 60 ARCA Menards Series: 169
Drivers' Championships	Total: 10 NASCAR Cup Series: 5 2000,2002,2005,2015,2019 O'Reilly Auto Parts Series: 4 2009,2016,2021,2022 Truck Series: 0 ARCA Menards Series: 1 2021
Race victories	Total:494 Cup Series: 227 O'Reilly Auto Parts Series: 221 Truck Series: 0 ARCA Menards Series: 46
Pole positions	Total: 410 Cup Series: 167 O'Reilly Auto Parts Series: 198 Truck Series: 0 ARCA Menards Series: 45

Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professionalstock car racing organization founded byPro Football Hall of Fame coachJoe Gibbs. His son,J. D. Gibbs, ran the team with him until his death in 2019. Founded inHuntersville, North Carolina, in 1992, JGR has won fiveCup Series championships, fourXfinity Series championships and oneARCA Series championship.

For the team's first 16 seasons, Joe Gibbs Racing ran cars fromGeneral Motors, winning three championships: two inPontiac Grand Prixs and one in aChevrolet Monte Carlo. The team switched to Toyota beginning in the 2008 season, and in 2015 brought Toyota their first Premier series championship withKyle Busch's victory.^[1]

The team fields four full-time entries in theNASCAR Cup Series: the No. 11Toyota Camry forDenny Hamlin, the No. 19 Camry forChase Briscoe, the No. 20 Camry forChristopher Bell, and the No. 54 Camry forTy Gibbs. In theO'Reilly Auto Parts Series, the team fields four full-time entries: the No. 18Toyota GR Supra forWilliam Sawalich, the No. 19 Supra for multiple drivers, the No. 20 Supra forBrandon Jones, and the No. 54 Supra forTaylor Gray.

The team has adriver development program that groomed future Cup winnersJoey Logano andAric Almirola and won one championship in theCamping World East Series (now known as the ARCA Menards East Series) with Logano. The team won the 2021ARCA Menards Series championship withTy Gibbs. The organization teamed up with formerNFL playerReggie White in 2004 to create a diversity program,^[2][3] fielding drivers such as Almirola,Marc Davis, andBubba Wallace, and forming the basis for NASCAR'sDrive for Diversity program.

JGR formed a technical alliance with23XI Racing in 2021 and sold minority stakes toHarris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE) andArctos Partners in 2023.^[4][5]

Gibbs founded the team in 1991 after exploring opportunities withDon Meredith, who currently serves as the team's Executive Vice President.^[6] In 1997, Gibbs' sonJ. D. Gibbs was named team president.^[7][8] In 1998, the team began building its facility inHuntersville, North Carolina.^[8] The team expanded to a two-car operation in 1999 withTony Stewart's No. 20Home Depot-sponsored car, then in 2005 added the No. 11FedEx-sponsored car driven byDenny Hamlin and owned by Coy Gibbs.^[9] For the 2015 season, the team added the No. 19 car driven byCarl Edwards, who followed formerRoush Racing teammateMatt Kenseth to JGR.^[10]

After winning three Cup championships and more than 70NASCAR races inChevrolet andPontiac equipment, team officials announced in September 2007 that they would switch toToyota (who had just entered the Cup series that year) after their contract withGeneral 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 asHendrick Motorsports andRichard Childress Racing.^[11]

In 2012, JGR shuttered its in-houseSprint Cup Series engine program, merging with California-basedToyota Racing Development which provides engines to JGR and23XI Racing.^[12][13] The team builds engines for its ownXfinity Series operations andARCA Menards Series operations ofVenturini Motorsports. The team had a technical alliance withFurniture Row Racing, a single-car team based inDenver,Colorado, which closed after the 2018 season.^[14][15][16] In June 2023, JGR sold minority stakes toHarris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE), founded and managed byJosh Harris andDavid Blitzer, andArctos Partners. Gibbs became a limited partner of HBSE in the transaction.^[5]

From 2000 to 2002, Joe Gibbs fielded trucks numbered 20 and 48 in theCraftsman Truck Series for his sonsCoy andJ. 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.^{[7][17][18][19][20]}

From 2004 to 2006, JGR drivers drove in the Truck Series forChevrolet-affiliatedMorgan-Dollar Motorsports, fieldingBobby Labonte,Tony Stewart,Denny Hamlin,J. J. Yeley,Jason Leffler, andAric Almirola in select races.^[21] In 2006, JGR contractedSpears Motorsports to field Almirola in their 75 truck for his rookie Truck season.^[22] Almirola had three top-tens (compared to two top-tens in four starts the previous year), finishing 18th in points.^[23]

From 2010 through 2022, JGR drivers competed in the Truck Series throughKyle Busch Motorsports, owned by Cup Series driverKyle Busch. KBM used JGR-built engines in competition.^[24] The partnership ended following the 2022 season when Busch left the organization.

In 2000 JGR made their debut in theCraftsman Truck Series, fielding of the No. 20Chevrolet withCoy Gibbs and his brotherJ. 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.^[25]

In 2000, JGR fielded the No. 48Chevrolet part-time withCoy Gibbs andJ. D. Gibbs sharing the driving duties.

In 2001 and 2002, J. D. continued to drive the No. 48 on part-time basis.

From 2004 to 2005, Joe Gibbs Racing partnered withShaver Motorsports to field the No. 2 car for development drivers in theARCA Racing Series.^[26]Denny Hamlin finished third in the 2004 season finale at Talladega.^[27]J. J. Yeley ran the 2005 season opener at Daytona, as part of his development deal with JGR.^[28][27]Aric Almirola ran the 2005 finale at Talladega.^[26]

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 forMax Gresham which was also entered again asBrennan 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 forRiley Herbst full-time in the 2017 season.^[29]Matt Tifft ran the season opener at Daytona due to Herbst not being eligible to compete in the race.^[30]

In 2018, Herbst returned for another full-time season. In 2019, Herbst drove the No. 18 for eight races, whileTy Gibbs drove for 11 races, winning atGateway andSalem.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 theARCA 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 byKyle Busch Motorsports.

In 2023, the car returned to JGR, withConnor Mosack driving six races andWilliam Sawalich driving 13 races.

During the2024 season, the No. 18 was shared between Sawalich andTanner Gray. Sawalich scored three wins and seven top-three finishes.

In 2025,Max Reaves, son of Jeremy Reaves, who is the co-owner ofCook Out, and franchise founder Morris Reaves^[31] would drive part-time for the 18. On January 8, JGR announced thatBrent Crews would drive the No. 18 part-time in all 3 ARCA Series in 2025.^[32] That year, he won the ARCA and ARCA West combination race atPhoenix, the ARCA and ARCA East combination race atIRP,Springfield, the ARCA and ARCA East combination race atBristol.^[33][34][35]Gio Ruggiero running two races in the No. 18 car.^[36] He ran atMichigan and theKansas 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.^[37]

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.

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 andZane 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 forSammy Smith atIowa,Milwaukee, andBristol

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 2020,Ty Gibbs drove the No. 18 full-time. Gibbs would win one of the series' six races on the schedule (Toledo Speedway in June) and finish runner-up toSam Mayer in the standings, who won all other races that year. Gibbs led 104 laps atDover in theGeneral Tire 125 before crashing out late, marking his only DNF in the series and only finish outside the top four in any year.

In 2021, the No. 18 was run byTy Gibbs andSammy Smith. Smith would eventually win the East Championship.

On December 9, 2022, it was announced thatWilliam Sawalich would drive the No. 18 full-time in the2023 ARCA Menards Series East.^[38] In his first start atFive Flags Speedway, Sawalich won the pole and led every lap to earn his first career ARCA win.^[39] AtNashville, Sawalich was in contention to win his second race, until the caution came out on the final lap. He would spin his tires on the final restart, ultimately giving the win toLuke Fenhaus.^[40] He earned his second win of the season at ARCA's return toFlat Rock Speedway, leading the final fifty laps of the race.^[41] Following theBristol race, Sawalich clinched the ARCA Menards Series East championship.^[42]

On December 13, 2023, it was announced that Sawalich would return full-time in theARCA Menards Series East.^[43] In the first race of the season, Sawalich would lead the most laps atFive Flags, but he would end up finishing second toGio Ruggiero.^[44] AtDover, Sawalich won the pole and once again led the most laps,^[45] before being involved in a late race incident, unable to complete the race and finished seventeenth, the first DNF in his career.^[46] In the followingrace at Nashville, Sawalich rebounded and led 145 of the 150 lap race to score the dominating win.^[47] Overall, Sawalich scored three wins and seven top-three finishes to clinch his second consecutive ARCA East championship.^[48]

In 2025,Max Reaves, son of Jeremy Reaves, who is the co-owner ofCook Out, and franchise founder Morris Reaves^[31] would drive part-time in the No. 18. He would share the ride with Sawalich andBrent Crews.

In 2021, the No. 81 were run bySammy Smith whileTy Gibbs drove the No. 18. Smith would eventually win the East Championship with those cars.

In 2022,Brandon Jones drove the No. 81 for two races atIowa andBristol. He won the race at Iowa.

In 2025,Brent Crews drove the No. 81 to victory atRockingham.

In 2020,Ty Gibbs drove the No. 18 atPhoenix. He led the most laps in the event but finished second after being passed byDavid Gilliland on the final lap.

In2021, Gibbs ran both races atPhoenix, starting on the pole and winning both events. The first event in March was a companion event with the mainARCA Menards Series, while the second race in November was the West Series season finale.

In 2023,William Sawalich had two top-five finished before he would pick up a win atPhoenix.

In 2024, Sawalich started the season with wins atPhoenix andPortland.

In 2025,Brent Crews won both of the Phoenix races while Sawalich wonSonoma andPortland.

Following the2008 Chicagoland race, NASCAR made a regulation change specifically to Toyota, which mandated them to run a smallerrestrictor plate to cut horsepower by an estimated 15 to 20 horsepower (15 kW) from their engines. After the August 16, 2008NASCAR Nationwide Series race atMichigan International Speedway, NASCAR used adynamometer 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 usingmagnets 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."^[62] Seven crew members were suspended indefinitely and two drivers and the team were penalized 150 points apiece.^[63]

Additionally, JGR has been at the center of controversy regarding the closure of smaller teams who formed a technical alliance with them andTRD. Examples of this are the closure ofFurniture Row Racing in2018^[64] andLeavine Family Racing in2020.^[65]

In 2008, Gibbs branched out intomotorcycle racing, forming the JGRMX team competing in theAMAmotocross andSupercross championships.^[66][67] The team is based in Huntersville, North Carolina and is managed by Gibbs' son,Coy Gibbs.^[66]

On January 5, 2008, theMuscle Milk/Toyota/JGRMX Team made its racing debut in the first round of the 2008Supercross Series inAnaheim, CA with riders Josh Hansen and Josh Summey.^[68] Josh Grant and Cody Cooper rode for the team in 2009,^[69] with Grant winning the opening round of Supercross at Anaheim. Grant and Justin Brayton rode for the team in 2010,^[70] andDavi Millsaps replaced Grant in 2011.^[71]James Stewart replaced Brayton in 2012,^[72] and won theOakland andDaytona Supercrosses, while Millsaps finished second in points. On May 6, 2012, Stewart and the team officially parted ways.^[73]

Grant and Brayton returned as the team's two riders in 2013^[74] and were joined by Phil Nicoletti in 2014.^[75] Justin Barcia and Weston Peick replaced Grant and Brayton on the team in 2015,^[76] with Barcia winning twonationalsBudds Creek andRedBud). In 2017, the team switched fromYamaha toSuzuki and added a 250cc effort, with Nicoletti and Matt Bisceglia.^[77] 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).^[78] Hill scored a win atSan Diego while Bogle missed most of the season with injuries asMalcolm Stewart filled in for him.^[79] The 2019 team consists of two-time Supercross championChad Reed, Peick, Hill (450), Decotis, Peters, Alex Martin, Enzo Lopes (250).^[80] Peick suffered serious facial injuries in a crash at the Paris Supercross in October 2018.^[81]

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.^[82] 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.^[83]