After a year of scattered success, a rising NASCAR driver is finally ready for full-time. Joe Gibbs has fielded several new faces in 2025 – for instance, Chase Briscoe, who moved over from the now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing. Despite switching OEMs, the No. 19 Toyota driver picked up three wins en route to a Championship 4 appearance. Hence, Gibbs’ newbie picks always have exciting prospects – just like his latest recruit for 2026.

Joe Gibbs recruited Brent Crews, a 17-year-old star for the No. 19 car in the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts (formerly Xfinity) Series. With a generous resume of achievements in the ARCA Menards and Craftsman Truck Series already, Crews may excel beyond expectations. But first, he needs to wait.

Adulthood is in Joe Gibbs’ youngster’s way

The very first event on the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts roster is a trip to Daytona. However, Brent Crews will need to wait another year for this prestigious race. That is because he is still 17, as NASCAR expert Alex Stricklin wrote, “Crews will be ineligible for four races because he will not be 18 years old. He turns 18 on March 30th. This means he will be ineligible for the races at Daytona, Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Darlington. However, Circuit of the Americas is still on his radar. Jeff Gluck wrote, “Too young to do full season but will run COTA as part of the new 17-year-old age limit for short tracks/road courses.”

Joe Gibbs‘ recruit ran ten NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races in 2025, collecting remarkable results. He scored two top fives, three top tens, and led over 100 laps. Crews’ best performance was at the Charlotte Roval, where he finished second. Nine of his ten starts came with TRICON. He also made another appearance with a new NCTS team, Brent Crews Racing, that he co-owns. The rising star also has six ARCA wins in just 17 starts, along with victories in both the ARCA East and ARCA West divisions.

Such achievements make Brent Crews one of the highly touted Toyota prospects. And Joe Gibbs is making him fill in for a position held in the past by veterans. Since 2023, the No. 19 has served as a full-time All-Star car for Joe Gibbs Racing. Drivers such as Ryan Truex, Ty Gibbs, Denny Hamlin, and Aric Almirola all scored wins for the team during this period. While Crews is taking over, the rest of the OAPS roster is yet to be announced for JGR. William Sawalich and Taylor Gray may return alongside Brandon Jones.

Along with his driving finesse, a young Brent Crews is also showing leadership potential. In August, he launched Brent Crews Motorsports, which debuted the No. 70 Toyota Truck team in Watkins Glen. “When we started talking about me buying a truck to run Watkins Glen, no one was willing to tell me it was a bad idea, and it just kind of snowballed from there. I sold all my microsprints to raise some of the money, and here we are,” Crews said.

Now, Brent Crews is ready to start his career’s next chapter. Similarly, his team’s colleague is ready to do the same with fresh support.

A new sponsor is on board

Chase Briscoe has marveled fans across the 2025 season. For a former Ford driver who picked up just two trophies across four Cup Series seasons, Briscoe far exceeded expectations. Under Toyota’s banner and Joe Gibbs’ supervision, he achieved new heights. He won back-to-back Southern 500 races at Darlington in 2024 and 2025 and earned poles at three of the four 2025 crown jewel races (Daytona, Charlotte, and Indianapolis). Accordingly, a stellar sponsor is now on board to help Briscoe expand his ambitions for the 2026 Cup Series season.

Joe Gibbs Racing signed a multi-year agreement with Columbia Bank to sponsor Chase Briscoe’s No. 19 Toyota Camry in three races next year. The sponsor’s blue and white colors will fly at COTA on March 1, Sonoma Raceway on June 28, and Phoenix Raceway on October 18. Besides its primary partnership on the No. 19, Columbia Bank will also serve as the Official Banking Partner of JGR and provide banking services for the team.

Chase Briscoe is ready for this partnership: “I am honored to represent Columbia Bank on the track in 2026. They have three fun tracks on the schedule, and I am looking forward to a successful racing season.” Chris Merrywell, President of Columbia Bank, also professed enthusiasm. “We’re proud to be JGR’s official banking partner and excited to showcase our brand on Chase Briscoe’s No. 19 car.”

Evidently, new levels of success await Joe Gibbs’ teams in 2026. All we can do now is wait and see how their preparations bear fruit.