Joe Gibbs Racing’s Star-Studded Xfinity Line-Up Receives Massive Update With ‘First-Time’ Crew Chief Refresh

Despite the glory and praise, Joe Gibbs Racing couldn’t have the final laugh with its Cup and Xfinity Series top guns not being able to bring in the title. All three of its Cup drivers were unsuccessful due to ill fate and mechanical faults, while its Xfinity Series sensation, the #20 driver, also lost his way despite having the most wins in the tournament.

However, the team is planning a major overhaul to settle things once and for all. Adding a fourth car to the fray, Joe Gibbs and Co. are making massive changes in their camp, not to give away their chances. The latest update on that front is the team’s revamped driver line-up and setup. Three newbie crew chiefs are coming under Jeff Meendering, who will be the veteran crew chief leading the JGR Xfinity Series squadron as the team calls for action.

Joe Gibbs Racing calls for action as the team undergoes a massive rejig

“The Coach” quite literally stunned the whole racing community by roping in Cup Series veteran Aric Almirola to the #20 car for a part-time role alongside John Hunter Nemechek. Almost no one in the community anticipated this move as Joe Gibbs snatched off a veteran from the SHR camp, getting Aric Almirola back to where he started his NASCAR career.

The next move is the much-anticipated move of fielding a fourth Xfinity car, splitting the role between youngsters including Ryan Truex, William Sawalich, Joe Graf Jr, and Taylor Gray. The team management even went further, adding three “first-time” crew chiefs for its #19, #18, and #20 Xfinity teams under the guidance of veteran crew chief Jeff Meendering, who will take up his duties with Sammy Smith as his driver.

Joe Gibbs Racing put out a detailed post, briefing up the details and mentioning the assigned duties of each crew chief and their previous roles and designations. The three newcomers include Seth Chavka on the #19 team, Sam McAulay, who will be paired with Sheldon Creed on the #18, and Tyler Allen, who will join veteran Almirola and JHN on the #20 team.

WATCH THIS STORY: Ty Gibbs: A reluctant rising star? 

Will the new set-up be a game-changer for JGR?

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While one might argue that pairing a sextet of drivers across 2 teams, including 2 debutants with the likes of Sawalich and Gray along with newbie crew chiefs, is bound for disaster, Coach Gibbs has played his cards pretty well. Instead of letting the youngsters loose, his timely decision to bring in a seasoned veteran like Aric Almirola is most certainly going to be a game changer, with the phenoms learning a thing or two from the 39-year-old.

Moreover, it may look like bringing in “first-time” crew chiefs to the squadron is not a bright idea, but Chavka, McAulay, and Allen all have had their fair share of experience working with top teams like RCR, bringing drivers like Elliott Sadler, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin into the victory lane.

READ MORE: The Reason Behind Joe Gibbs Having Aric Almirola and John Hunter Nemechek Amongst a Wide Portfolio of Drivers in the Xfinity Series

During his tenure at Joe Gibbs Racing, Chavka was the race engineer serving Busch, Ty Gibbs, and Erik Jones before he went to RCR, where he got Austin Dillon to the victory lane besides getting Sadler his four Ws in the Xfinity Series.

Now for McAulay, he was the race engineer for Denny Hamlin in the #11 team for the past years, which includes three Daytona 500 wins out of the 25 race wins. On the other hand, Tyler Allen also has a fair deal of experience working with Busch as his race engineer under crew chief Adam Stevens, winning Busch his last Cup Series title in 2019 before he took over the responsibility of the #20 team for the past three seasons.