Joe Gibbs Racing has announced its Xfinity Series lineup for the 2024 season, one that will feature four cars and eight drivers.
Sheldon Creed and Chandler Smith will both be full-time next season as they pursue an Xfinity championship. Creed will be in the No. 18 Toyota. Smith will be in the No. 81 Toyota.
The third car will feature two primary drivers, headlined by Aric Almirola. The veteran returns to Joe Gibbs Racing for the first time since 2007 as he takes on a part-time schedule. He and John Hunter Nemechek will share the No. 20 Toyota.
Nemechek will make 10 starts in Xfinity as he competes full-time in Cup for Legacy Motor Club. JGR has not announced Almirola’s schedule.
The fourth car will be the No. 19. Ryan Truex, William Sawalich, Joe Graf Jr. and Taylor Gray will share the entry. Gray will make his Xfinity debut when he climbs into the No. 19, as will Sawalich.
Joe Gibbs Racing has not revealed the full schedule for its lineup of drivers other than noting that Sawalich will make starts at Homestead, Martinsville and Phoenix after he turns 18 in October.
The four car team will feature one returning crew chief and three newcomers. Jeff Meendering will guide the No. 81 team after spending last season with Sammy Smith. Meendering is a veteran with 228 races and eight wins as a crew chief.
A new era.
— Joe Gibbs Racing (@JoeGibbsRacing) December 13, 2023
Our 2024 Xfinity team will field four Toyota GR Supras – two with full-time drivers and two with a rotating schedule of part-time drivers.
The lineup will be headlined by Sheldon Creed driving the No. 18 GR Supra and Chandler Smith piloting the No. 81 GR Supra.… pic.twitter.com/CRfzefPC9Q
Tyler Allen, a former lead race engineer for the No. 20 Cup team, will take over the No. 20 Xfinity program. Seth Chavka will lead the No. 19 team after serving as a lead race engineer for Erik Jones, Kyle Busch and Ty Gibbs.
Sam McAulay will lead the No. 18 team after spending the past eight years as the lead race engineer for the No. 11 Cup team.
Creed spent the past two seasons with Richard Childress Racing. He scored 28 top-10 finishes and 11 top fives. Creed made the playoffs last season and finished seventh in the championship standings.
Smith, who spent his Truck Series tenure with Kyle Busch Motorsports, drove for Kaulig Racing during his rookie Xfinity season. He scored a win at Richmond in the spring and posted 13 top-10 finishes and eight top fives. Smith ended the year ninth in the championship standings.
Truex has made 11 starts for Joe Gibbs Racing across the past two seasons. He scored his first career national series win in 2023 after leading 124 laps at Dover Motor Speedway.
Nemechek was the full-time driver of the No. 20 last season. He led the Xfinity Series with seven wins before finishing fourth in the championship standings.
Graf made 33 starts in Xfinity last season, six with Joe Gibbs Racing. He posted two top-10 finishes in the No. 19 Toyota.
Gray spent last season with Tricon Garage in the Truck Series. He made 20 starts after turning 18 and posted six top-10 finishes and three top fives. Gray will return to Tricon for the full season in 2024.
Sawalich competed full-time in the ARCA Menards Series East last season while driving for JGR. He won four races and the championship. He also made his Truck Series debut with six starts and three top-10 finishes.
Sawalich will compete in the ARCA Menards Series in 2024. Tanner Gray will join him as they pursue an owner’s title in the series.
Back where it all started… pic.twitter.com/m0u4jK3C0X
— Aric Almirola (@Aric_Almirola) December 13, 2023
“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, Joe Gibbs Racing’s EVP of Xfinity Series/Development, in a statement. “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.”
