Top Prospects Returning to Joe Gibbs Racing for 2026 Season
What’s Happening?
Taylor Gray and William Sawalich are set to return for their sophomore seasons in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series with Joe Gibbs Racing, per a new report.
Most rumors suggested these two would return to JGR for the 2026 season, though, with only a few weeks left until Daytona, questions remained about why the team hadn’t announced their returns.
Now, a new report from Dustin Albino of Jayski confirms that the two will return to their respective JGR cars for 2026.
Gray and Sawalich were members of last year’s stacked NASCAR Xfinity Series Rookie class. Each had success at lower levels, with Gray, a former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series playoff driver, and Sawalich, a 13-time winner in the ARCA Menards Series.
Ultimately, Gray would have the best season of the two, making the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs on points en route to a seventh-place finish in points and third in Rookie of the Year standings. His highlight of the year was his win in the penultimate race of the season at Martinsville.
Sawalich, on the other hand, struggled for the majority of the year, sitting as low as 28th in the standings at one point. Fortunately, things picked up late in the year, with the young driver scoring a 13.1 average finish in his final 15 races of the year.
His season ended abruptly following an injury he suffered at Talladega.
With Gray back in the No. 54, Sawalich in the No. 18, and Brandon Jones in the No. 20, the team is somewhat lined out for 2026. The only question left is who will drive the No. 19 in the four races that rookie Brent Crews will miss ahead of his 18th birthday in March.
The Complete 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Driver Roster (So Far)
What’s Happening? The 2026 NASCAR Season is fast approaching, and teams are setting their lineups for the coming season. This article…
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