Joe Gibbs Racing has announced Taylor Gray, driver of the No. 54 Toyota GR Supra in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, will return to the organization for the 2027 season. Crew chief Jason Ratcliff will also return to the pit box.
Gray has spent the past two seasons full-time with JGR, scoring wins at Martinsville Spedway in 2025 and at Kansas Speedway earlier this year. This season he has three top-five finishes and 189 laps led. The 21-year-old mused that he has never had this long of a team connection in his young career until now.
“I’ve never had the stability of working with the same group of guys, from top to bottom, for that many years in a row,” Gray said in a team release on Tuesday. “I’m excited to build off what we’ve built so far and continue that relationship with Jason and continue to get better.”
Just three years ago Ratcliff made the decision to step away from crew chiefing full-time, only to return a season later with Gray in 2025. Once the team was able to convince the 59-time O’Reilly victor to return for 2026, going beyond this year became a question mark.
“A big thing for me was Jason wanting to do it again,” Gray said. “I feel like Jason and I have built something really good over the last few years, and I feel like there’s a lot of unfinished business with Jason and I with the performances we’ve had.
Currently, Gray finds himself on the Chase bubble, 17 points above Rajah Caruth and 21 points ahead of JGR teammate William Sawalich. Despite recent finishes that have cost the team points, Gray’s confidence remains high.
“I feel like I’m at the top of my game right now than I’ve ever been in my career and am continuing to get better each week,” Gray continued. “The finishes don’t reflect what we’ve built on and what we have as a group on the No. 54 car this year.”
“In regards to Taylor, when it comes to your first year here, you’re getting acclimated to everything,” added Steve deSouza, JGR’s executive vice president of O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and development. “I think it’s a big jump from trucks to O’Reilly; there is so much more going on, and there’s so much competition and good teams. The second year, they are getting more comfortable, have been to the tracks, know the car, know the people, and the chemistry and bonds start working better. Typically, the second year, a lot of that happens, and in the third year, it’s even better.”
