Many had been wondering what the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver lineup would look like in 2024. On Wednesday, Joe Gibbs Racing left nothing to speculation as they revealed their entire car, driver, and crew chief lineup for the upcoming year.
The organization will field four Toyota GR Supras full-time in 2024. The new fourth entry will be the No. 81, and it will join car numbers 18, 19, and 20, which will return from last season.
The team will have a mixture of driver championship contenders and owner championship contending all-star rosters in 2024. The end result came from months of hard work behind the scenes for JGR.
“Over the last couple of months, we’ve been working diligently to put together our 2024 Xfinity program which will include the addition of a fourth team,” said Steve DeSouza, EVP NASCAR Xfinity Series/Development at JGR. “Our 2024 roster has a great balance of experience, youth, wisdom, and talent. We believe the veteran drivers will continually benchmark our program, compliment, and challenge each other, as well as assist our younger drivers to further develop their skill set. We are also excited about our crew chiefs and the teams they have assembled. We take a lot of pride in not only our program’s on track success, but also in the opportunity to develop and promote our team members.”
Sheldon Creed will contest the full 2024 schedule in the No. 18 Toyota GR Supra. The 26-year-old moves to the team after a two-year stint with Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series ranks. Creed, who has been oh, so close to breaking through to victory lane, is still in search of his first Xfinity Series win.
Creed will be paired with first-year crew chief Sam McAulay.
Alongside Creed will be Chandler Smith, who returns to the Toyota family after a season running for Kaulig Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Smith, 21, will pilot the team's No. 81 machine.
Smith scored his first-career NASCAR Xfinity Series win at Richmond Raceway last year in his rookie season, and he wound up ninth in the final championship standings.
The native of Talking Rock, Georgia will be paired with veteran crew chief Jeff Meendering.
The No. 20 Toyota GR Supra will carry massive veteran leadership behind the wheel as Aric Almirola and John Hunter Nemechek will split driving duties for the entry.
Almirola exits the NASCAR Cup Series, where he had competed full-time for the last 12 seasons. The Tampa, Florida native has four career wins in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition, including a win at Sonoma Raceway last year for RSS Racing.
Nemechek, who moves to the NASCAR Cup Series full-time with LEGACY MOTOR CLUB in 2024, won a series-high seven races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series a season ago, and battled for the championship at Phoenix Raceway. Nemechek and Almirola should help keep the No. 20 entry very much in the conversation for the owner's championship.
Tyler Allen will serve as the crew chief for the No. 20 team.
The No. 19 entry will be shared by a slew of talented young racers. Ryan Truex, William Sawalich, Joe Graf Jr., and Taylor Gray will all get turns behind the wheel of the entry in 2024.
Truex snagged his first-career win last season at Dover Motor Speedway, and Graf scored a pair of top-10 finishes in six starts with JGR in 2023. They certainly showed the skills needed to return in 2024.
Gray and Sawalich will each make their NASCAR Xfinity Series debut in 2024. Sawalich, who doesn't turn 18 until October, will make his debut at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 26th. Additionally, Sawalich will run at Martinsville Speedway and Phoenix Raceway.
Seth Chavka will serve as the crew chief for the youth movement all-star roster of drivers.
Photo Credit: Craig White, Racing America
