Joe Gibbs reveals stance on team returning to former No. 18 car

Since Kyle Busch’s departure from the race team in 2022, Joe Gibbs Racing has kept the No. 18 number in the closet.

With Martin Truex Jr. retiring from full-time competition following the 2024 Cup Series season and Chase Briscoe taking over in 2025, some thought there was a chance JGR would bring back the No. 18 car for the former Stewart-Haas Racing driver. As we know now, that won’t be the case. Briscoe will drive the No. 19 car sponsored by Bass Pro Shops.

Gibbs said Tuesday that Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris has a huge influence on the No. 19 remaining part of the rotation, as it will for the foreseeable future.

Joe Gibbs said they didn't consider changing the No. 19 car to the No. 18, the original JGR number that the team hasn't used in the last two years. He said he hasn't through a plan to bring that number back. pic.twitter.com/gi455OgTWj

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 25, 2024

“We’ve always have talks about stuff like that, but I don’t think it fit in this situation,” Gibbs told Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. “We’re 19 now and Johnny [Morris] loves it, so I think that has a big influence too.”

Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 car making a return in the future?

The No. 18 has a rich association with JGR dating back to its first year in the Cup Series in 1992. Dale Jarrett drove the car and for every season until 2023, the No. 18 car featured in the field each Sunday. You could certainly argue it’s JGR’s signature number, but for now, it remains in the past. Bobby Labonte won the Cup Series championship in 2000 piloting the No. 18 car, while Busch got it done in 2015 and again in 2019.

Beyond Truex and soon-to-be Briscoe in the No. 19, the JGR lineup features Denny Hamlin in the No. 11, Christopher Bell in the No. 20 and Ty Gibbs in the No. 54. Asked if the No. 18 would be in consideration for Ty Gibbs in the future, Joe Gibbs said it would require more thought.

“I think somewhere in the future I guess we [would consider it],” Gibbs said. “But that one I haven’t thought through, I’ll put it that way.”