Joe Graf Jr. joins JGR for select NASCAR Xfinity races

Joe Gibbs Racing announced on Tuesday that Graf, 24, will compete in five races throughout the 2023 Xfinity season in his #19 Toyota.

His first race with Gibbs will be the Feb. 25 race at Auto Club Speedway, followed next week in Las Vegas. The remaining races are April 1 in Richmond, Va., July 15 in New Hampshire and September 9 in Kansas.

Graf will race the remaining 28 races with RSS Racing, driving one of his two full-time entries with Ryan Sieg.

“Racing five races with JGR is a fantastic opportunity for me and my marketing partners,” added Graf Jr., “I think I can learn a lot from JGR and showcase my skills that I have developed in the series at the over the past three years.

“The 2023 season is shaping up to be great and I’m delighted to start with the No. 19 group.”

This will be Graf’s fourth season in Xfinity competition. He posted a career-best eighth-place finish last April at Talladega (Alabama) Superspeedway. He also has one win and 21 top-10 finishes in 39 ARCA Menards Series starts.

“Joe is driven to succeed, which is something we look for in all of our riders,” said Steve DeSouza, executive vice president of NXS and development at JGR.

“We anticipate a strong season from the No.19 team and the addition of Joe to the driver line-up will help this team be competitive for the Owners’ Championship this season.”

Jason Ratcliff will be the crew chief for the #19 team throughout the 2023 Xfinity Owners Championship campaign. Ryan Truex was previously announced as the #19 driver for six races.

The remaining drivers and the races they will participate in will be announced at a later date.