#SrigleyStats Countdown to Daytona: 19 Days!
Tuesday, January 30th, 2024 -- 19 Days Until Daytona!
19 DAYS UNTIL DAYTONA!
Let’s look back at the history of the #19 in NASCAR’s National Series.
FIRST USAGE:
NCS: 1949-01 — Charlotte — Otis Martin
NXS: 1982-01 — Daytona — Darryl Sage
NCTS: 1996-01 — Homestead — Lance Norrick
BEST FINISH:
NCS: 23 NASCAR Cup Series Victories (Most: Martin Truex, Jr., 15)
NXS: 12 NASCAR Xfinity Series Victories (Most: Brandon Jones, 5)
NCTS: 12 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Victories (Most: Eckes/Raines, 4)
BEST START:
NCS: 28 NASCAR Cup Series Poles (Most: Martin Truex, Jr., 8)
NXS: 12 NASCAR Xfinity Series Poles (Most: Brandon Jones, 7)
NCTS: 14 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Poles (Most: Derek Kraus, 4)
IS THE NUMBER ACTIVE?
Yes. The #19 is active in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. In 2023, the number was utilized by two different organizations, all of which will retain it for 2024.
In the NASCAR Cup Series, Joe Gibbs Racing is responsible for using the #19 on its Toyota Camry, fielding the entry for 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion Martin Truex, Jr. who returns for 2024 — despite being harassed for many months about his potential retirement.
A native of Mayetta, New Jersey, Truex has been with Joe Gibbs Racing since the start of the 2019, transitioning to the organization after the closure of Furniture Row Racing at the end of 2018.
The story for the #19 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series is similar to that of the number at NASCAR’s top-level, in which Joe Gibbs Racing is fielding the full-time entry, and has for several years.
In 2023, JGR transitioned the entry from being a single-driver vehicle to being a rotational entry in the Xfinity Series, with several drivers making appearances in the car including Ryan Truex and Ty Gibbs. This season, the entry will serve the same function — with drivers Ryan Truex, Joe Graf, William Sawalich, and Taylor Gray all taking turns behind the Toyota GR Supra.
In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing fields the #19 Chevrolet Silverado on a full-time basis for Christian Eckes. The New York native has been widely successful with the organization, capturing four victories and narrowly missing out on a Championship 4 berth.
For the upcoming season, despite the organization’s major expansion to four vehicles, Eckes will remain the driver of the #19 Chevrolet, with Charles Denike continuing to call the shots for the 23-year-old driver.
WHO HAS MOST FREQUENTLY USED THE #19?
NASCAR Cup Series: Henley Gray — 231 Starts
NASCAR Xfinity Series: Brandon Jones — 165 Starts
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: Derek Kraus — 73 Starts
MISCELLANEOUS STATS ABOUT THE #19 IN NASCAR
In his first season with the organization, Christian Eckes managed to capture the first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March.
When Joe Gibbs Racing began fielding the #19 in the NASCAR Cup Series for Carl Edwards in 2015, the car number had only scored three victories at NASCAR’s top level. Nearly a decade later, that total has exploded to 23.
In 2023, Joe Gibbs Racing managed to put three drivers in victory lane while piloting the No. 19 Toyota Supra — Ty Gibbs, Ryan Truex, and Denny Hamlin — which tied the single-season record for the car number set by Brandon Jones and Daniel Suarez.
Outside of Joe Gibbs Racing, the #19 has recorded 16 victories across NASCAR’s National Series, which is nearly half the amount that the championship-winning organization has scored since they began using the number in 2015.
Prior to Joe Gibbs Racing, the #19 was synonymous with the now-defunct Tri-Star Motorsports, which fielded the #19 in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series for several seasons beforehand.
In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, three of the five drivers who have scored victories in the #19 have captured titles in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (Brad Keselowski, Tyler Reddick, and Austin Cindric) with all three currently competing full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series.
In addition to Keselowski, Reddick, and Cindric driving the #19, there are four more full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers who have piloted the number in the Truck Series in Ryan Blaney, Daniel Hemric, Joey Logano, and Ross Chastain.
The best three seasons in the NASCAR Truck Series — in terms of top-10 finishes — for the #19 belong to Tyler Reddick, Austin Cindric, and Daniel Hemric, who are all competing full-time in the Cup Series.