Instead of using the No. 19 Toyota as a "star car" with multiple drivers, including several full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers, sharing the seat throughout the year like they did a year ago, Joe Gibbs Racing opted to sign a fourth full-time driver for the 2026 O'Reilly Auto Parts Series season.
They announced Brent Crews as the driver of the No. 19 car for 2026, joining a lineup that consists of returning drivers William Sawalich in the No. 18 Toyota, Brandon Jones in the No. 20 Toyota, and Taylor Gray in the No. 54 Toyota.
The only problem was that Crews' 18th birthday is not until Monday, March 30, meaning that he is not allowed to compete on oval tracks that measure over 1.25 miles in length.
Brent Crews set for NASCAR O'Reilly Series debut at COTA
Gio Ruggiero, who competes full-time for Toyota's TRICON Garage in the Craftsman Truck Series, drove the No. 19 Toyota in the season's first two races at Daytona International Speedway and EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway). He was knocked out in an early wreck at Daytona and placed 24th at Atlanta, leaving the No. 19 team 36th in the owner standings after two races.
But with this coming Saturday's race scheduled to take place at Circuit of the Americas (COTA), the first of four non-ovals on the 2026 calendar, Crews is set to make his series debut.
Crews' national series experience is currently limited to 10 Truck Series starts a year ago, including nine with TRICON Garage and one with Brent Crews Motorsports. His top finish came in the road course race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Rova, where he placed second. He also finished fourth at Martinsville Speedway.
However, the six-time ARCA Menards Series race winner is not set to take over the No. 19 Toyota full-time just yet. He is set to compete in the following weekend's race at the 1.022-mile Phoenix Raceway oval as well, but the 17-year-old is set to miss the next two races at the 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway oval and the 1.366-mile Darlington Raceway oval.
No replacement has been confirmed for the Las Vegas race yet, although Joe Gibbs Racing Cup Series driver Christopher Bell is set to drive the No. 19 Toyota at Darlington. Seth Chavka is the full-time crew chief atop the No. 19 team's pit box.
Although he's not set to turn 18 years old until two days after the race at Martinsville on Saturday, March 28, Crews is set to compete in that race since Martinsville measures 0.526 miles in length. He is lined up to run every race on the 2026 schedule after that.
He is expected to be granted a playoff waiver, meaning that if he manages to qualify for the 12-driver postseason with a top 12 finish in the regular season standings, even after missing four of the 24 regular season races, he would be allowed to compete in the nine-race playoffs as a championship eligible driver.
Saturday's Focused Health 250 is set to be shown live on the CW Network from COTA beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET. Start a free trial of FuboTV today and catch Crews' O'Reilly Series debut!