Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 in the ARCA Menards Series will feature a four-driver lineup for 2025, JGR announced Jan. 8.
Brent Crews, Max Reaves, William Sawalich and Gio Ruggiero will drive the car.
“There is a lot of talent and youth in this group that we’re looking forward to developing throughout the year,” JGR’s Steve De Souza, the team’s evp of Xfinity Series and driver development, said in a team release. “Each of these young men has a promising future and I’m quite proud that we were able to get them all together under the JGR banner. We’re looking forward to continuing the winning legacy of our ARCA Menards Series program with these guys in 2025.”
Reaves will run the most races at 10 across the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series East schedules. Crews will contest nine events, with Sawalich and Ruggiero filling out the rest of the car’s schedule.
In 2024, Sawalich ran most of the car’s races, including the full East season, where he was crowned champion. Tanner Gray also ran the No. 18 in six starts.
Sawalich won nine main-series events in 2024 alongside 13 top fives and top 10s, while Gray earned two wins and five top fives and top 10s.
Sawalich and Ruggiero will be full time in NASCAR in 2025, the former in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for JGR and the latter in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for TRICON Garage. Crews will also contest a part-time Truck schedule for TRICON.
In a 10-race main-series ARCA schedule that also included an East title quest, Ruggiero earned seven top fives and nine top 10s for Venturini Motorsports. Crews also drove for Venturini, earning one win, three top fives and three top 10s in four main-series appearances.
Reaves, 15, was signed to a JGR driver development deal last year.
Cook Out will sponsor Reaves’ appearances, while Crews returns with JBL and Mobil 1 backing and Sawalich from Starkey.
JGR also revealed it’ll have two cars in the East race at Rockingham Speedway; Sawalich will drive the usual No. 18, while Crews will pilot the No. 81.
Kevin Rutherford is the executive editor of Frontstretch, a position he gained in 2025 after being the managing editor since 2015, and serving on the editing staff since 2013.
At his day job, he's a journalist covering music and rock charts at Billboard. He lives in New York City, but his heart is in Ohio -- you know, like that Hawthorne Heights song.