With Joe Gibbs Racing Xfinity Series drivers Sammy Smith and John Hunter Nemechek moving on to other cars for the 2024 season, team owner Joe Gibbs found himself in need of filling two spots in his Xfinity Series cars.

In the coming season Joe Gibbs has decided that he will field four cars in the Xfinity Series with two of them being driven by a single driver and multiple drivers in the remaining two cars.

Sammy Smith has signed on with JR Motorsports to drive the number eight car which was driven by Josh Berry who is now moving on to the Cup Series and the number four car and taking over the driving duties after the retirement of Kevin Harvick.  With the number 18 open, JGR has signed on Sheldon Creed to drive full time.  Creed drove the number two car for Richard Childress Racing last season.

Speaking on his being signed on at JGR Creed said, “honestly, I’m just really excited to be here. JGR has been extremely good in both Xfinity and Cup, not just the last couple years but, you know, for a long time.  Excited to be here and excited to get rolling with my guys.”

JGR is fielding the number 81 car in 2024 with Chandler Smith behind the wheel.  The number 81 car was last seen on the track in 2021 at Road America.  Smith drove the Kaulig Racing number 16 car in the Xfinity Series last season.

Marking a return to Toyota for Smith, he spoke on driving for JGR saying, “Toyota, all the executives, everybody at TRD and Toyota, they were my family. They picked me up when I was 14 years old and gave me opportunities that I wouldn’t have been able to have without them.  So, to be able to come back and be with people that believe in me and put me in the best equipment to go win championships and trophies under their banner, that’s who I want to go to bat for every single weekend.”

John Hunter Nemechek is moving back up to the Cup Series to drive the number 42 car for Legacy Motor Club, but Nemechek fans can still root for their driver in the Xfinity Series.  He and recently retired from Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola will share the driving duties of the number 20 car.  Prior to moving to the Cup Series, Almirola debuted in the Xfinity Series with JGR.

Almirola has spent over 10 years in the Cup Series where he ran every race – 36 – every season; speaking on his decision to move to part time he said, “I feel like I still have a lot left to give to this sport.  I just needed to slow down. When you’re Cup racing, I felt like I was on the treadmill at like 15 miles per hour like as fast as it would go, and you are not allowed to stop it. Like you just had to keep running as fast as you could go, and I just got to the point where I felt my legs were going to give out and I was going to get spit off the back of the treadmill.”

He added, “It was out of nowhere.  I got a call from Coach [Joe Gibbs] in early September, and he said, ‘Hey, I heard you’re going to retire,’ and I said, ‘Yes, sir, I am.’ He said, ‘Well, if you are, I’d like for you to come back to Joe Gibbs Racing and retire from here.’ I was humbled, shocked, and I was excited. I wanted to stay involved in the sport and contribute somehow, someway. I just didn’t want to do it seven days a week for however long the Cup schedule is.”

Still a rather young man, Almirola will be the “elder statesman” at JGR and along with his driving duties is sure to be a mentor and guiding force for the young crop of drivers coming into the series.

JGR will continue to run multiple drivers in the number 19 car with Ryan Truex, Taylor Gray, William Sawalich, and Joe Graf Jr all sharing the driving duties.

Sawalich drove for JGR in the ARCA Menards Series in 2023 where he won East Series championship.  Just 17, Sawalich is not able to run on a track over a mile in length until he turns 18 in October.  He will make his Xfinity Series debut at Homestead-Miami.  He will also finish out the season at Martinsville and Phoenix.