Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) revealed its realigned driver-crew chief lineup for the organization’s No. 54 teams between the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series divisions for the 2025 season.
Tyler Allen, who was initially set to crew chief Taylor Gray and the No. 54 JGR Toyota Supra team in the Xfinity Series, has now been named crew chief for Ty Gibbs and the No. 54 JGR Toyota Camry XSE team in the Cup Series. As a result, veteran crew chief Jason Ratcliff will return atop the pit box to crew chief Gray for the latter’s first full-time Xfinity campaign in 2025.
The news comes 10 days after JGR announced that Chris Gayle, who was paired with Ty Gibbs over the previous two Cup seasons, would be paired with Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 Toyota team while Chris Gabehart, Hamlin’s former crew chief, would be promoted to work as the organization’s competition director.
“We take a lot of pride in our Xfinity Series program and the depth of talent that we have been able to maintain,” Joe Gibbs, owner and founder of Joe Gibbs Racing, said. “Tyler Allen was successful at the Cup level with us while working under Adam Stevens and was impressive last season in the Xfinity Series leading that 20 team to eight wins while working with a number of different drivers. We have an exciting young and talented team on the 54 car.”
Allen, who enters the 2025 season for his first year as a full-time crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series, spent seven seasons (2017-23) working as a race engineer under crew chief Adam Stevens. During the seven-year span, he was a part of the 2019 Cup Series championship with Adams and Kyle Busch. In addition, Allen served as an interim crew chief for a single Cup race for Christopher Bell and the No. 20 JGR Toyota team at Martinsville Speedway in October 2021, where Bell finished 17th.
This past season, Allen served as a first-year crew chief in the Xfinity Series, where he worked atop the pit box of JGR’s No. 20 Toyota team for 29 races and JGR’s No. 19 Toyota team for four races. Throughout the 33-race schedule, Allen notched eight victories between four competitors (Aric Almirola, Christopher Bell, John Hunter Nemechek and Ryan Truex) and led the No. 20 team to a runner-up result in the final Xfinity owner’s standings, all of which Allen strives to utilize the momentum and success from the Xfinity division over to the Cup Series that would enable both him and Ty Gibbs to contend for victories while also returning the No. 54 team back into the Playoffs.
“It’s an honor to be named crew chief for Ty Gibbs and the 54 Team as we head into the 2025 season,” Allen said. “This opportunity has been a dream of mine since starting here at JGR 10 years ago, and I’m thankful for the support and guidance I’ve received from my mentors, teammates, and everyone along the way. Ty has shown a lot of speed and potential the last two years, and I look forward to building on that experience to get the 54 car in victory lane.”
For JGR’s No. 54 team in the Xfinity Series, Ratcliff makes his return atop the pit box as a crew chief following a one-year absence. He initially retired from being a crew chief at the conclusion of the 2023 season and spent this past season working as a driver and team coordinator for JGR’s Xfinity and ARCA Menards Series operations. Since making his crew chief debut in the Xfinity Series in 2000, Ratcliff has notched 57 victories between seven competitors and the 2009 championship with Kyle Busch. He has also recorded 15 victories as a Cup Series crew chief, 14 of which occurred with Matt Kenseth and one with Joey Logano.
Overall, Gray, who was announced to drive for JGR for the 2025 Xfinity season on October 16, is set to become the 26th competitor to work at least one race with Ratcliff, the latter of whom intends to make Gray competitive for his first Xfinity campaign after he spent the previous two seasons competing in the Craftsman Truck Series for TRICON Garage.
“I’m thrilled to join Taylor and the 54 team for the 2025 season,” Ratcliff said. “After a year away from the track, I’m eager to return to the pit box every weekend. Taylor has the talent and determination to excel in NASCAR, and it’s our mission to help him achieve that success.”
“It is also exciting to have Jason Ratcliff back on the pit box in the Xfinity Series to work with Taylor Gray next season,” Gibbs added. “He has contributed so much to our organization over his career.”
Joe Gibbs Racing’s 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season is set to commence with the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on February 2 that will commence at 8 p.m. ET on FOX. This event will be followed by the 67th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway that will air at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
Meanwhile, Joe Gibbs Racing’s 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season is set to commence at Daytona International Speedway on February 15 at 5 p.m. ET on the CW Network.
