Ty Gibbs moves to Cup in 2023; 18 car to become the 54
Joe Gibbs Racing announced Tuesday that Ty Gibbs will drive their No. 54 Toyota full-time in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Gibbs will take the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity championship-winning number and crew chief Chris Gayle with him to Cup competition.
2023 marks the first time where JGR will not field the No. 18 full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series.
JGR intends to utilize the No. 18 “in future years” and it’s unlikely NASCAR would give the number to any other team.
The No. 18 has been JGR’s flagship entry since its inception in 1992. From 1992 to 1998, the No. 18 was their only entry, until the No. 20 team opened in 1999.
The No. 18 JGR entry made 1,077 consecutive starts between 1992 and 2022 and earned:
- 79 wins (56 – Kyle Busch, 21 – Bobby Labonte, 2 – Dale Jarrett)
- Three NASCAR Cup Series championships (2 – Busch, 1 – Labonte)
- 336 top-5 finishes
- 522 top-10s
Jarrett earned the first two wins for the No. 18 and for JGR, in the 1993 Daytona 500 and the October 1994 Charlotte race.
In the 495 starts for the No. 18 in the pre-JGR years, 1949-1991, the number earned:
- One win (Marvin Burke; Oakland Stadium in October 1951)
- No Cup championships
- 18 top-5s
- 91 top-10s
