NASCAR: Joe Gibbs Racing announce new driver for No. 19 car

As rumored last month, Trevor Bayne is set to drive the No. 19 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing in select upcoming NASCAR Xfinity Series races.

Trevor Bayne returned to NASCAR as a driver for the first time since 2018 last year, and he did so with Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series behind the wheel of the No. 18 Toyota. The No. 18 Toyota was designated as the team’s “star car” at the time.

Bayne had not previously competed in the Xfinity Series since 2016, and he had not competed in more than one race in a season since 2014, when he competed full-time for Roush Fenway Racing.

The 32-year-old Knoxville, Tennessee native made nine starts last season and recorded five top five finishes, including two runner-up finishes. His results played a key role in the No. 18 team advancing to the round of 8 of the owner playoffs, even without a full-time driver.

Now the 2011 Daytona 500 champion is set to return for another stint behind the wheel of Joe Gibbs Racing’s “star car”, which is the No. 19 Toyota this season.

Bayne, who has been linked to another part-time ride with the team for quite some time, is set to make his season debut in this Friday night’s Wawa 250 at Daytona International Speedway.

He is set to return at Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City 300 on Friday, September 15, and he is also set to compete in the Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 23.

Interestingly, none of these tracks are tracks where Trevor Bayne competed during the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.

The confirmation of the veteran for these three races leaves just two races for which Joe Gibbs Racing still need to confirm a driver for the No. 19 Toyota this season.

These two races are the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 at Darlington Raceway, a race in which Denny Hamlin usually competes for the team, on Saturday, September 2, and the Contender Boats 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, October 21.

Bayne is set to become the sixth different driver to drive the No. 19 Toyota this season. Ty Gibbs, Ryan Truex, Myatt Snider, Joe Graf Jr., and Connor Mosack have all spent time behind the wheel already in 2023.

The team’s two full-time drivers are Sammy Smith (No. 18 Toyota) and John Hunter Nemechek (No. 20 Toyota). Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don’t miss any upcoming Xfinity Series action on NBC and USA Network!