Kaz Grala Joins JGL Racing For Full 2018 Season; Team Switching To Ford

Story By: BRENT BUSHU / JGL RACING – DENVER, NC – JGL Racing officials announced today that the team will make a manufacturer switch as they join the Ford Performance family for the 2018 NASCAR season. JGL currently fields the #24 and #28 entries in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. The team has fielded Toyota’s for the last three seasons and is excited about switching to Ford Performance and their partnership with Roush Fenway Racing.

“These are exciting times for the JGL Racing organization,” said James Whitener, owner of JGL Racing. “We appreciate the support we have received from Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing over the last few years. We felt that in order for our team to make the next step in our growth process that we needed a more robust technical alliance behind us – and this opportunity with Ford Performance and Roush Fenway Racing provided us that and made the most sense. We look forward to finishing out the season in our No. 24 car and then we will turn our attention to 2018 and getting all of the proper pieces into place.”

JGL Racing has fielded entries during the 2017 season for drivers Dakoda Armstrong, Dylan Lupton, Corey LaJoie, Jeb Burton and Scott Lagasse Jr. The team narrowly missed out on making the NASCAR Playoffs with Armstrong by one spot for the second season in a row.

JGL Racing is also proud to announce that Kaz Grala has signed a multi-year agreement that will see the 18-year-old driver pilot the team’s #24 Ford. Grala will complete his first full season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend. His 2017 season started off with a bang as he became the youngest NASCAR driver in history to win at Daytona International Speedway, securing himself a spot in the Playoffs.

“I am beyond excited about the opportunity to drive for JGL Racing next year full-time in the NASCAR XFINITY Series,” said Grala. “I’ve been watching XFINITY races since I was a little kid, so to be able to compete at that high of a level is nothing short of a dream come true. I can’t thank James Whitener (owner of JGL Racing) and everyone at JGL enough for this opportunity. Bring on Daytona!”

This year in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Kaz has garnered one win, top-five finishes at every type of track on the circuit, and 11 top-10 finishes. He will compete for the 2018 NASCAR XFINITY Series Rookie of the Year title next season.

“Roush Fenway Racing is obviously a very successful organization, and I think the relationship with them will be extremely beneficial to myself and JGL Racing,” added Kaz. “Plus, I am from Boston, so the alliance feels right at home for me. Ford’s enthusiasm and aggression for building the best program possible is exciting to me, and I can’t wait to be a part of the Ford family next year.”