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Saturday, June 27, 2026
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Joe Gibbs Racing

NASCAR Cup Team

Joe Gibbs Racing — Team Profile

Series: O'Reilly Auto Parts Series | Manufacturer: Toyota Base: Huntersville, North Carolina | Organization Tier: Elite

2026 O'Reilly Program

Joe Gibbs Racing fields four full-time O'Reilly cars in 2026 — the deepest program in the series by car count. The lineup spans three generations: a proven veteran in Brandon Jones, a recent race winner in William Sawalich, a speed-rich development driver in Taylor Gray, and an 18-year-old prospect in Brent Crews. No other organization in the series can claim that breadth of internal comparison.

Car Driver Crew Chief
No. 18 William Sawalich Jeff Meendering
No. 19 Brent Crews Seth Chavka
No. 20 Brandon Jones Sam McAulay
No. 54 Taylor Gray Jason Ratcliff

The Organization

Joe Gibbs Racing was founded in 1991 by Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs and is based in Huntersville, North Carolina. JGR is NASCAR's premier Toyota organization, fielding four cars at the Cup level while running parallel O'Reilly and Truck programs. The O'Reilly operation has produced multiple series champions and consistently ranks among the top development pipelines in the sport.

2026 Story

The JGR O'Reilly story in 2026 is an internal hierarchy: four cars with four different purposes, all working toward the organization's annual championship calculus. Jones provides the veteran stability and Dash 4 Cash eligibility the team wants. Sawalich won at Rockingham — his first national-series victory at 19 years old. Gray broke through at the Kansas Lottery 300 on April 18 for his first O'Reilly Series win, with crew chief Jason Ratcliff's short-pit call setting up the result. Crews, who turned 18 on March 30 and lifted his age-based eligibility restrictions, won the year's final $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus with a fourth at Texas on May 2, his first career D4C payout.

Two DNFs apiece for Sawalich and Gray earlier in the season are the primary obstacle between JGR and a deeper points grip. Clean races from both cars would push the organization's cumulative standings presence significantly higher.

Key Connections


Recent Race — Nashville, May 31, 2026 (Cracker Barrel 400)

JGR swept the Cup podium at Nashville Superspeedway, with Denny Hamlin beating his own teammates to the line for career win No. 62. The result underlined the organization's depth across its Toyota lineup heading into the summer. Read the recap.

Prior Race — Dover All-Star Race, May 17, 2026

JGR went 1-2 in the NASCAR All-Star Race at Dover Motor Speedway. Denny Hamlin (No. 11) won from the pole; teammate Chase Briscoe (No. 19) finished second by .887 sec. Hamlin's second All-Star victory makes him the third driver in NASCAR history to win the All-Star Race at multiple tracks. Erik Jones (No. 43 Legacy Motor Club, JGR alliance) finished third. Read the recap.

Coverage (9 articles)

Elliott Wins Texas Again. He Said He Didn't Like the Place.

John Speedway·

Chase Elliott won his second Texas Cup race Sunday by 0.407 seconds over Denny Hamlin, with a final-restart side-draft push from Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman clearing him through Turn 2. Bowman finished P3, Tyler Reddick took P4 on a two-tire stop, and Connor Zilisch quietly logged his best Cup oval finish (P16) in the JRM development car. Hendrick has now won four of the last six Cup races at Texas Motor Speedway.

Brent Crews Just Won the Last $100,000 Bonus of the Year. He's Eighteen.

John Speedway·

The 2026 Dash 4 Cash program closed Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway, and the season's final $100,000 bonus went to Brent Crews — eighteen years old, in his rookie season, driving the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota. Crews finished fourth in the race; none of the other three D4C-eligible drivers finished ahead of him. It was his first such bonus and the year's last one.

Hamlin Wins the Million From the Pole at Dover. The Million Goes to Mama.

John Speedway·

Denny Hamlin won the NASCAR All-Star Race from the pole at Dover Motor Speedway on Sunday, beat his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe in a side-by-side fight to the line, and became the third driver in the sport's history to win the All-Star at multiple tracks. Asked what he'd do with the $1 million check, he said he'd give it to his mother — a line that landed harder given his father's death in a December fire.

The Hungry Gator Got to Larson's Bumper. He Just Couldn't Get Around Him.

John Speedway·

Kyle Larson held the bottom for 17 green-flag laps and beat his JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier to the line by 0.293 seconds at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday. Allgaier — the points leader, three-time winner this year, sitting on the pole — got to Larson's bumper. He just couldn't get around him without contact, and he wasn't going to make contact. JR Motorsports went one-two. Allgaier extended his championship lead to 121 points anyway.

Dover Hosts the All-Star Race for the First Time. The Format Is the Story.

John Speedway·

Dover Motor Speedway hosts the NASCAR All-Star Race for the first time in the event's forty-one-year history this Sunday. The format is three segments, 75 / 75 / 200 laps, with no All-Star Open and a Pit Crew Challenge that doubles as Saturday qualifying. Seventeen drivers are already locked into the 26-driver final segment.

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