For years, Toyota’s development pipeline has been the quiet factory where future NASCAR stars are forged. It’s the same system that once polished raw talents like Christopher Bell and Erik Jones. These were teenagers who arrived with speed, left with discipline, and stepped into the national spotlight with the confidence of veterans. And now, according to Toyota Racing Development (TRD) boss Tyler Gibbs, a new 17-year-old phenom is speeding up that conveyor belt.

Despite a part-time start, Toyota believes he isn’t just another prospect. In fact, he’s the one the entire NASCAR garage needs to start watching closely.

Tyler Gibbs bets on Brent Crews

When Tyler Gibbs, who leads TRD, was asked which Toyota prospect the NASCAR world should keep an eye on, he didn’t tiptoe around it. He didn’t hedge. He didn’t offer a vague corporate answer.

“The one person that I will call out is Brent Crews. I think Brent is going to be in the Xfinity series this year. He’s been racing in TA and in ARCA, a little bit in trucks, and kind of all over the place. He’ll be in the Gibbs Xfinity car,” he said.

For a 17-year-old, that’s a massive spotlight as he will be running four races in the upcoming season. However, Crews’ résumé already reads like someone twice his age. Before he’s even eligible to run a full O’Reilly schedule for Joe Gibbs Racing, he’s carved a path through nearly every developmental rung in American motorsports.

In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, he logged three top-10s in just 10 starts during his rookie campaign. Step up to ARCA, and the numbers get even louder: six wins and 13 top-10s in 17 races. That’s definitely promising.

“He’s shown incredible talent everywhere he’s raced. He’s won races at every level, and so we’re excited to watch him and just see how he goes.”

So Gibbs isn’t exaggerating when he said Crews has “won races at every level.” He truly has. Brent Crews was the 2023 SCCA Trans-Am TA2 ProAm Series Champion, proving he could handle high horsepower and big-field chaos. Then he stacked trophies early: 2016 United States Pro Kart Series Rookie Champion, 2024 World Series of Asphalt Super Late Model Champion, and CARS Tour LMSC Rookie of the Year.

Each title was earned in wildly different machinery, each one showing a new layer of adaptability. That versatility is exactly why TRD views him as a long-term weapon. In 2026, he’ll step into the No. 19 Toyota GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. It’ll be part-time at first because he won’t turn 18 until spring.

“He’ll miss a few races at the beginning of the season. But he’ll be able to raise some of the shorter tracks and some of those kinds of things over the course of the early part of the season before going full-time.”

But even with that delayed start, Gibbs made it clear: Crews is stepping into race-winning equipment, and he’s capable of delivering race-winning results. For now, Toyota just wants growth. But the rest of the grid? They might want to start preparing for something more.

And while Gibbs predicts Crews’ long-term rise at JGR, another team figure gained the spotlight in a very different way.

Denny Hamlin reveals salary at Joe Gibbs Racing

Denny Hamlin, co-owner of 23XI Racing and long-time driver of the No. 11 for Joe Gibbs Racing, is living through arguably the most pivotal stretch of his entire NASCAR career. Currently spending time in the witness stands in the ongoing lawsuit trial, he offered not only a perspective on the sport’s business structure but also a rare glimpse into his own contract details.

During Monday’s testimony, Hamlin confirmed something that NASCAR fans and industry insiders have speculated about for years: his salary at Joe Gibbs Racing sits at “around $14 million annually,” per Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal. It’s an unusually transparent moment in a sport where driver contracts are typically kept behind closed doors, with numbers discussed quietly but rarely acknowledged publicly.

While exact rankings are hard to pin down because NASCAR teams have no obligation to reveal driver compensation, Hamlin’s figure almost certainly positions him near the top of the Cup Series pay scale. With over 50 Cup wins, decades of brand alignment with Toyota, and a high-profile dual role as both driver and team owner, his compensation reflects both his résumé and his value to Joe Gibbs Racing.

Hamlin’s confirmation also provides insight into what elite NASCAR talent can expect to earn, especially in an era where the business model of teams is under heightened scrutiny. Notably, Hamlin still has two full seasons remaining on his current deal with Joe Gibbs Racing. Despite juggling the demands of the ongoing lawsuit, his comments indicate he fully intends to complete his contract, keeping him behind the wheel of the No. 11 through at least the 2027 season.