Joe Gibbs recently recruited a 17-year-old phenom to enrich his roster of drivers. That is none other than Brent Crews, who will wheel the No. 19 car full-time for the organization during the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Series season. A three-time winner in national ARCA competition, Crews made his debut in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series this year. The talented speedster’s future looks bright, precisely because of his past upbringing by dedicated parents.

Who are Brent Crews’s parents?

Since Brent Crews began racing at the age of 10, his parents have been supporting his ambitions through thick and thin. From becoming a sensation in go-karts at Trackhouse Motorplex and dirt outlaw karts at North Carolina’s Millbridge Speedway to proving his mettle as a NASCAR-grade driver, Crews had the support of his mom and dad, Mariesha Crews and Matt Lankford.

When he was five years old, Brent Crews started running an old dirt bike around his neighborhood in Denver, North Carolina. However, Mariesha Crews was aware of the high number of accidents that dirt bikers are prone to and chose to divert her son’s talents to go-karting instead. That was how Mariesha played a monumental role in launching Brent’s racing career.

Alongside Mariesha, Matt Lankford has also supported Brent Crews in equal measure. For instance, Lankford was Crews’ mechanic when the young racer won the 2017 Rotax Grandnational Championship in New Jersey. Then, when Crews launched his own race team this year in August, he recollected how his father’s unique thought process molded his efforts too. “My stepdad Matt and I have always done things outside the box,” he said. “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.”

How did Mariesha Crews and Matt Lankford meet?

No information is available on the background of Mariesha Crews and Matt Lankford. Brent Crews has addressed Matt as his stepfather, and so his biological father may be somebody else.

What is the ethnicity of Brent Crews’ parents?

Both Mariesha Crews and Matt Lankford are American Caucasians, native to Denver, North Carolina.

Inside Brent Crews’s Relationship with His Parents

The relationship between a successful racer and supportive parents is always golden. And so is the bond that Brent Crews shares with his own parents. Mariesha Crews and Matt Lankford have been heavy pillars of support for the teenage speedster, and evidence of that is bountifully available. When Crews won a statement victory in the ARCA Menards Series East, his parents were there. Both Mariesha and Matt proudly posed with Brent as he flaunted his Rockingham Speedway win.

In an interview in March, Brent Crews divulged how his parents joined him in the grind behind the scenes.

“Without my parents, there’d be no way in the world that I would be where I’m at today. They played a massive role, just grateful for both of them to be able to take those weekends and days off,” he said.

He revealed his dad spent a lot of time with him at the racetrack. He would skip several hours of school on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays to excel in racing. He also shared that is the reason why he is already racing people twice his age.

Clearly, Brent Crews and his parents have a bountiful bond that is paying hefty dividends. Because of his parents’ efforts, Crews has a bright NASCAR future ahead of him.