NASCAR: Joe Gibbs Racing confirm new driver for 2022

Joe Gibbs Racing have named their second driver for the “star car” throughout the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, confirming him for four races.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s driver lineup throughout the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season is slowly coming together after several drivers left the team following the 2021 campaign.

Among their three full-time drivers in 2021, only Brandon Jones is staying with the team in the #19 Toyota for 2022, with 2021 champion Daniel Hemric leaving the #18 Toyota for Kaulig Racing and Harrison Burton leaving the #20 Toyota and moving to the Cup Series with Wood Brothers Racing.

Joe Gibbs Racing downsized their Xfinity Series program from four cars to three for 2022, including two for full-time drivers as well as the “star car”.

As expected, Ty Gibbs, the primary driver of the “star car”, then the #54 Toyota, in 2021, is set to become the team’s second full-time driver, still behind the wheel of the #54 Toyota.

Trevor Bayne was the first new driver named for the “star car”, now the #18 Toyota, for 2022, with the team confirming him for seven of the 33 races on the schedule, and now they have named a second.

Drew Dollar is set to pilot the #18 Toyota in the four superspeedway races on the schedule this year.

Dollar is set to make his Xfinity Series debut in this Saturday night’s season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway. He is also set to compete in the races at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, April 23 and Saturday, October 1 as well as the regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway on Friday, August 26.

Here is what Dollar had to say about this opportunity in a team release.

"“I’m really excited to make my NASCAR Xfinity Series debut in Daytona with Joe Gibbs Racing. This will be a great opportunity for me to continue my development with an organization that has a long history of success in this series and to learn from a crew chief like Jason Ratcliff.”"

Dollar competed in both the Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series in 2021. In seven Truck Series starts with Kyle Busch Motorsports, he recorded a best finish of 10th place in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway.

In 11 ARCA Menard Series starts with Venturini Motorsports following a full season in 2020, he recorded a pair of second place finishes, a pair of third place finishes and a pair of fourth place finishes.

In 2020, he earned a victory at Talladega Superspeedway en route to a fourth place finish in the championship standings. He earned that victory with support from primary partners Lynx Capital and Dollar Concrete, who are both set to support him in the 2022 Xfinity Series season.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s confirmation of Dollar leaves the #18 Toyota open for 22 of the 2022 season’s 33 races.

Tune in to Fox Sports 1 this Saturday, February 19 at 5:00 p.m. ET for the live broadcast of the 2022 season-opening Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. 300 from Daytona International Speedway. If you have not started your free trial of FuboTV, now would be a great time to do so!