Veteran Jeff Hensley will be joining TRICON Garage to serve as the crew chief of the No. 17 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro team piloted by Taylor Gray for the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season.
The news comes as the 61-year-old Hensley from Ridgeway, Virginia, is coming off a strong season as the crew chief of the No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet Silverado RST team piloted by Grant Enfinger. Throughout the season, the duo notched three victories, a pole, nine top-five results, 13 top-10 results, 232 laps led and an average-finishing result of 9.0. They also made the 2023 Truck Series Playoffs and transferred all the way into the Championship 4 round, where they ended up in the runner-up result in the final standings. Ultimately, the finale would serve as Hensley’s final race working at GMS Racing as GMS ceased operations at this season’s conclusion.
Hensley, who was a former Xfinity Series competitor for his family-owned team before transitioning to a career as a crew chief in 1987, has called 463 events as a Truck Series crew chief from 2004 to 2023. During this span, he notched 22 victories with six different competitors, including nine with Enfinger, and ended up with two runner-up results in the final standings, the first with Mike Skinner in 2007 and the second with Enfinger in 2023.
In addition, Hensley has appeared in 427 events as a crew chief in the Xfinity circuit from 1987-2001. During the stretch, he achieved 11 victories and the 1990 series’ championship with Chuck Brown. Following the 2001 season, Hensley, who was working for his family-owned team, worked for Arrington Manufacturers before reassuming his role as a crew chief with a direct focus within the Truck Series.
The 2024 Truck Series season is set to mark Hensley’s first with a Toyota organization since the 2017 season that occurred with ThorSport Racing and Enfinger. It will also mark his first season paired with Taylor Gray, who notched a career-best runner-up finish at Kansas Speedway in September, three top-five results and eight top 10 results while competing in all but three events this past season before settling in 15th place in the 2023 driver’s standings. Having made 33 career starts in the Truck Series for the past three seasons, the 18-year-old Gray from Artesia, New Mexico, is set to mount for his first series’ victory and Playoff bid in 2024 while also making his series’ debut at Daytona International Speedway in February.
With his plans for next season set, Hensley is set to make his first appearance as a crew chief for TRICON Garage and Taylor Gray in the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series’ season-opening Fresh From Florida 250 at Daytona. The event is scheduled to occur on February 16 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
