The 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series (now O'Reilly Auto Parts Series) season saw Joe Gibbs Racing run three cars for full-time drivers, plus another car, the No. 19 Toyota, as the "star car", which was shared by a number of drivers.
It was the No. 19 team which ultimately won the 2025 owner championship, and that was primarily thanks to the success of Aric Almirola, who drove it in 17 of 33 races and collected three victories, including two in the playoffs.
Even though he was personally not championship eligible, he clinched his team's spot in the Championship 4 with his round of 8 win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and he sealed the title in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway with a second place finish.
However, Almirola is not part of the team's driver lineup at all in 2026.
William Sawalich is back behind the wheel of the No. 18 Toyota, Brandon Jones is back behind the wheel of the No. 20 Toyota, and Taylor Gray is back behind the wheel of the No. 54 Toyota. The No. 19 Toyota, however, is now being driven full-time by Brent Crews.
The thing about Crews it that his 18th birthday is not until Monday, March 30, so he was ineligible to compete in the season's first two races at Daytona International Speedway and EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway).
And after running the races at Circuit of the Americas and Phoenix Raceway, he isn't eligible to compete at Las Vegas this weekend or Darlington Raceway next weekend either.
Full-time Joe Gibbs Racing Cup Series driver Christopher Bell was named the driver of the No. 19 Toyota for the race at Darlington, just as he was a year ago, and now the No. 19 entry's full schedule for 2026 has officially been solidified. Fellow full-time Joe Gibbs Racing Cup Series driver Chase Briscoe is set to drive it this weekend at Las Vegas.
It means that Almirola is not a part of the team's plans after winning them the 2025 owner championship.
Crews is set to take over behind the wheel of the No. 19 car for the remainder of the year starting with the race at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, March 28.
No, he's not yet set to have turned 18 years old by then, but he is still allowed to compete at the "Paperclip", since it is a short track oval measuring only 0.526 miles in length.
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