Joe Gibbs Racing facts for kids
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| Owner(s) |
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|---|---|
| Base | Huntersville, North Carolina |
| Series | NASCAR Cup Series NASCAR Xfinity Series ARCA Menards Series |
| Race drivers | Cup Series: 11. Denny Hamlin, Ryan Truex 19. Chase Briscoe 20. Christopher Bell 54. Ty Gibbs Xfinity Series: 18. William Sawalich (R) 19. Justin Bonsignore, Aric Almirola, Riley Herbst, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, Ty Gibbs, Jack Perkins 20. Brandon Jones 54. Taylor Gray (R) ARCA Menards Series: 18. William Sawalich, Brent Crews, Gio Ruggiero, Max Reaves |
| Manufacturer | Chevrolet (1992–1996, 2003–2007), Pontiac (1997–2002), Toyota (2008–Present) |
| Opened | 1992 |
| Career | |
| Debut | Cup Series: 1992 Daytona 500 (Daytona) Xfinity Series: 1997 All Pro Bumper To Bumper 300 (Charlotte) Truck Series: 2000 NAPA 250 (Martinsville) ARCA Menards Series: 1999 Georgia Boot 400 (Atlanta) |
| Latest race | Cup Series: 2020 FanShield 500 (Phoenix) Xfinity Series: 2002 Ford 200 (Homestead) ARCA Menards Series: 2025 General Tire 150 (Dover) |
| Races competed | Total: 2,271 Cup Series: 1,160 Xfinity Series: 894 Truck Series: 60 ARCA Menards Series: 157 |
| Drivers' Championships | Total: 10 NASCAR Cup Series: 5 2000, 2002, 2005, 2015, 2019 Xfinity Series: 4 2009, 2016, 2021, 2022 Truck Series: 0 ARCA Menards Series: 1 2021 |
| Race victories | Total: 479 Cup Series: 221 Xfinity Series: 217 ARCA Menards Series: 41 |
| Pole positions | Total: 395 Cup Series: 160 Xfinity Series: 196 ARCA Menards Series: 39 |
Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is a top American professional stock car racing team. It was started by Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs. His son, J. D. Gibbs, helped run the team until he passed away in 2019. JGR was founded in Huntersville, North Carolina, in 1992. The team has won many championships in different NASCAR series. They have five Cup Series championships, four Xfinity Series championships, and one ARCA Series championship.
For its first 16 years, Joe Gibbs Racing used cars from General Motors. They won three championships with these cars. Two wins were with Pontiac Grand Prix cars, and one was with a Chevrolet Monte Carlo. In 2008, the team switched to using Toyota cars. In 2015, Kyle Busch won the first top-level championship for Toyota with JGR.
The team currently has four full-time cars in the NASCAR Cup Series. These include the No. 11 Toyota Camry for Denny Hamlin and Ryan Truex, the No. 19 Camry for Chase Briscoe, the No. 20 Camry for Christopher Bell, and the No. 54 Camry for Ty Gibbs. In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, JGR also has four full-time cars. These are the No. 18 Toyota GR Supra for William Sawalich, the No. 19 Supra for various drivers, the No. 20 Supra for Brandon Jones, and the No. 54 Supra for Taylor Gray.
JGR also has a special program to help young drivers develop their skills. This program helped future Cup winners like Joey Logano and Aric Almirola. Joey Logano also won a championship in the Camping World East Series (now ARCA Menards East Series) through this program. In 2021, Ty Gibbs won the ARCA Menards Series championship. The team also worked with former NFL player Reggie White in 2004. They created a program to support diverse drivers, which helped start NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program.
In 2021, JGR started working closely with 23XI Racing. In 2023, parts of JGR were sold to Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE) and Arctos Partners.
Contents
Team History and Growth
Joe Gibbs started his racing team in 1991. He explored this idea with Don Meredith, who is now a top executive at the team. In 1997, Joe's son, J. D. Gibbs, became the team president. The team began building its own special facility in Huntersville, North Carolina, in 1998.
JGR grew to have two cars in 1999 with Tony Stewart driving the No. 20 car. In 2005, they added the No. 11 car, driven by Denny Hamlin. This car was owned by Coy Gibbs. For the 2015 season, the team added a fourth car, the No. 19, driven by Carl Edwards.
After winning three Cup championships and over 70 NASCAR races with Chevrolet and Pontiac, JGR announced a big change in September 2007. They decided to switch to Toyota cars after their contract with General Motors ended. Joe Gibbs explained that Toyota offered the team more resources. He also mentioned that JGR felt less important compared to other GM teams like Hendrick Motorsports.
In 2012, JGR stopped building its own engines for the Sprint Cup Series. Instead, they joined with Toyota Racing Development (TRD) in California. TRD now provides engines for JGR and 23XI Racing. However, JGR still builds engines for its own Xfinity Series and ARCA Menards Series teams. JGR also had a partnership with Furniture Row Racing, a team that closed in 2018. In June 2023, JGR sold small parts of the company to Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE) and Arctos Partners. Joe Gibbs became a limited partner in HBSE.
NASCAR Cup Series
NASCAR Xfinity Series
NASCAR Truck Series
From 2000 to 2002, Joe Gibbs Racing had trucks in the Craftsman Truck Series. His sons, Coy and J. D. Gibbs, drove the No. 20 and No. 48 trucks. Coy raced in 12 events in 2000. He then competed in the full seasons of 2001 and 2002. He earned 21 top-10 finishes and placed 10th in points in those two years. J. D. only raced in 8 events over three seasons and did not get any top-10 finishes.
From 2004 to 2006, JGR drivers also raced in the Truck Series for Chevrolet-linked Morgan-Dollar Motorsports. Drivers like Bobby Labonte, Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, J. J. Yeley, Jason Leffler, and Aric Almirola competed in some races. In 2006, JGR worked with Spears Motorsports to have Almirola race their No. 75 truck for his first Truck season. Almirola had three top-10 finishes that year.
From 2010 to 2022, JGR drivers also raced in the Truck Series through Kyle Busch Motorsports. This team was owned by Cup Series driver Kyle Busch. KBM used engines built by JGR. This partnership ended after the 2022 season when Kyle Busch left JGR.
ARCA Racing Series
ARCA Menards Series
Car No. 2 History
From 2004 to 2005, Joe Gibbs Racing teamed up with Shaver Motorsports. They raced the No. 2 car for their young development drivers in the ARCA Racing Series. Denny Hamlin finished third in the last race of the 2004 season at Talladega. J. J. Yeley raced in the first event of the 2005 season at Daytona. This was part of his development agreement with JGR. Aric Almirola competed in the 2005 season finale at Talladega.
Car No. 18 History
In 1999, Joe Gibbs Racing entered the No. 18 car for Jason Leffler in one race. Leffler finished 5th at Atlanta. In 2000, Leffler returned at Charlotte. He started 2nd and led one lap but crashed before the race finished.
In 2010, Joe Gibbs Racing planned to enter the No. 18 at Michigan for Max Gresham. However, they later withdrew from the race.
On December 15, 2016, JGR announced that Riley Herbst would race the No. 18 car full-time in 2017. Matt Tifft drove the first race of the season at Daytona because Herbst was not old enough to compete there.
Herbst returned for another full season in 2018. In 2019, Herbst drove the No. 18 in eight races. Ty Gibbs drove in 11 races, winning at Gateway and Salem. Todd Gilliland drove one race at Pocono.
In 2020, Gibbs raced in 16 events, winning six times. Herbst drove in the other four races. Even though he missed four races, Gibbs finished fifth in the driver standings. Gibbs also raced in the ARCA East series, winning at Toledo and finishing second overall. Gibbs raced full-time in 2021, winning 10 of the 20 races. He finished in the top three 17 times and won the series championship. Gibbs also won two other ARCA races that year. For 2022, the No. 18 was raced by Kyle Busch Motorsports.
In 2023, the car returned to JGR. Connor Mosack drove six races, and William Sawalich drove 13 races. During the 2024 season, the No. 18 was shared by Sawalich and Tanner Gray. Sawalich earned three wins and seven top-three finishes. For 2025, Max Reaves will drive the No. 18 part-time.
Car No. 19 History
In 2018, Drew Herring drove the No. 19 Toyota at the last race of the season at Kansas. He won the pole position and finished 8th.
Car No. 81 History
In 2017, Riley Herbst was entered in the team's second car, the No. 81, for the Daytona season opener. However, he was not allowed to race. Herbst and Zane Smith were both too young to compete at Daytona, but ARCA allowed them to practice.
In 2022, JGR brought back the No. 81 for Brandon Jones in five races. He won three times at Charlotte, Iowa, and Watkins Glen.
ARCA Menards Series East
Car No. 18 History
In 2021, the No. 18 and No. 81 cars were driven by Sammy Smith. Smith won the East Championship with these cars. After the 2023 Bristol race, Sawalich won the 2023 ARCA Menards Series East championship. In 2024, he won his second championship in a row. In 2025, Max Reaves will drive the No. 18 part-time.
Car No. 81 History
In 2021, the No. 18 and No. 81 cars were driven by Sammy Smith. Smith won the East Championship with those cars.
ARCA Menards Series West
Car No. 18 History
In 2023, Sawalich had two top-five finishes before winning at Phoenix. In 2024, Sawalich started the season with wins at Phoenix and Portland.
Motocross Team
In 2008, Joe Gibbs expanded into motorcycle racing. He created the JGRMX team to compete in AMA motocross and Supercross championships. The team is also based in Huntersville, North Carolina. Joe Gibbs' son, Coy Gibbs, manages the team.
On January 5, 2008, the Muscle Milk/Toyota/JGRMX Team raced for the first time. This was at the first round of the 2008 Supercross Series in Anaheim, California. Josh Hansen and Josh Summey were the riders. Josh Grant and Cody Cooper rode for the team in 2009. Grant won the first Supercross race at Anaheim. Grant and Justin Brayton rode for the team in 2010. Davi Millsaps joined the team in 2011, replacing Grant. James Stewart replaced Brayton in 2012. Stewart won the Oakland and Daytona Supercrosses, and Millsaps finished second in points. On May 6, 2012, Stewart and the team went their separate ways.
Grant and Brayton returned as the team's riders in 2013. Phil Nicoletti joined them in 2014. Justin Barcia and Weston Peick replaced Grant and Brayton in 2015. Barcia won two national races that year. In 2017, the team switched from Yamaha to Suzuki. They also added a 250cc racing effort with Nicoletti and Matt Bisceglia. For 2018, JGRMX Suzuki became the official factory Suzuki team. Riders included Peick and Justin Bogle (450cc), and Justin Hill, Nicoletti, Jimmy Decotis, and Kyle Peters (250cc). Hill won a race in San Diego. Bogle missed most of the season due to injuries, and Malcolm Stewart filled in for him. The 2019 team included two-time Supercross champion Chad Reed, Peick, Hill (450cc), Decotis, Peters, Alex Martin, and Enzo Lopes (250cc). Peick had serious facial injuries in a crash in October 2018.
J. D. Gibbs' Health and Passing
On March 25, 2015, it was announced that J. D. Gibbs was getting treatment for brain function issues. These issues affected his speech and how he processed information. Sadly, on January 11, 2019, J. D. Gibbs passed away. This was due to problems from a degenerative neurological disease. A special memorial service was held for him on January 25, 2019.
