Gio Ruggiero

Giovanni Ruggiero (born August 29, 2006) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 17 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for Tricon Garage, part-time in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing, and part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 18 Toyota Camry for JGR. He is a member of Toyota Racing Development.

Racing career

Early career Ruggiero began racing Legend cars at a young age, convincing his father to be involved in racing after watching races at Seekonk Speedway in Massachusetts, his home track.

In 2021, Ruggiero began racing at local short tracks in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, winning a race at Hudson Speedway in the process.

Late models In 2022, Ruggiero increased his racing schedule and began driving late models across the United States. He ran a full season in the Show Me The Money Pro Late Model Series at Montgomery Motor Speedway, winning two races and eventually the championship. He also ran in the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Pro Late Model Tour, winning in his first career start at Greenville-Pickens Speedway.

In 2023, Ruggiero expanded his schedule further and ran full-time in three different series. He won the championship in both the CRA Super Series and the Southern Super Series that year, and finished third in point standings in the ASA STARS National Tour. He won the Tar Heel 250 at Hickory Motor Speedway after making an aggressive last-lap pass on William Byron for the win. He also won the prestigious Winchester 400 at Winchester Speedway. After the race, Ruggiero was involved in a post-race altercation with Stephen Nasse. With nine laps to go, Ruggiero and Nasse made contact in turn one, forcing Nasse into the outside wall and losing three positions. During the post-race, Stephen's father, Jeff Nasse, was clipped by the side of Ruggiero's car as he attempted to confront him. Three days later, Ruggiero was docked 25 owner and driver points and received a fine of US$3,000. Nasse was docked 44 owner and driver points and received a fine of US$4,500. Both drivers were placed on probation for the remainder of the season.

ARCA

ARCA Menards Series

On December 18, 2023, it was announced that Ruggiero would run a ten-race schedule in the ARCA Menards Series in 2024, driving for Venturini Motorsports in their No. 20 Toyota. He earned three runner-up finishes along with seven top-fives and nine top-tens, including a pole at Iowa.

On January 8, 2025, Joe Gibbs Racing announced their driver lineup for the upcoming season, with Ruggiero running two races in the team's No. 18 car. He ran at Michigan and the Kansas fall race, earning a second-place finish in the Kansas event.

Ruggiero returned to JGR's ARCA program in 2026, running six races, as anchor driver of the car, Max Reaves, was ineligible to race due to his age. Ruggiero won at Daytona, Kansas, a rain-shortened race at Michigan, and Pocono.

ARCA Menards Series East On May 11, 2023, it was announced that Ruggiero would make his unexpected debut in the ARCA Menards Series East, driving the No. 20 car for Venturini Motorsports at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. The original driver of the race, Isabella Robusto, suffered from a concussion following a recent late-model wreck and therefore was sidelined from competing. Ruggiero qualified second and ran inside the top-five for the entire race, eventually finishing in fourth. At Nashville, he scored his first career pole, but blew a tire after six laps and spun, hitting the outside wall. He continued to run until lap 49, before pulling into the garage and retiring from the race, finishing fourteenth. Ruggiero finished the season with one win, five top-fives, and six top-tens, finishing third in the driver standings.

ARCA Menards Series West On December 18, 2023, it was announced that Ruggiero would run select races in the ARCA Menards Series West for Venturini Motorsports. Ruggiero started the 2025 season with a second-place finish at Daytona. Despite not making the playoffs, he scored his first career win at Talladega. At season's end, Ruggiero finished 11th in points and won Rookie of the Year honors.

2026 On December 18, 2025, Tricon Garage announced that Ruggiero will return to the team and drive the No. 17 for the 2026 season.

NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series

2026 On February 4, 2026, it was announced that Ruggiero will make his debut in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, running the No. 19 for JGR in the season-opener at Daytona and Atlanta.

Craftsman Truck Series NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Pts Ref 2025 Tricon Garage 17 Toyota DAY2 ATL11 LVS15 HOM29 MAR12 BRI10 CAR10 TEX31 KAN4 NWS7 CLT21 NSH13 MCH12 POC11 LRP3 IRP25 GLN3 RCH6 DAR22 BRI13 NHA4 ROV3 TAL1* MAR11 PHO31 11th 703 2026 DAY2 ATL3 STP25 DAR8 CAR17 BRI3 TEX14 GLN15 DOV20 CLT5 NSH9 MCH12 COR10 LRP20 NWS6 IRP13 RCH9 NHA26 BRI KAN CLT PHO TAL MAR HOM -* -*

Season still in progress Ineligible for series points

ARCA Menards Series (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.) ARCA Menards Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pts Ref 2024 Venturini Motorsports 20 Toyota DAY PHO2 TAL DOV2 KAN CLT IOW3 MOH3 BLN IRP5 SLM ELK MCH ISF MLW9 DSF GLN6 BRI15 KAN5 TOL2 13th 393 2025 Joe Gibbs Racing 18 Toyota DAY PHO TAL KAN CLT MCH4 BLN ELK LRP DOV IRP IOW GLN ISF MAD DSF BRI SLM KAN2* TOL 52nd 85 2026 DAY1 PHO KAN1* TAL5* GLN TOL MCH1 POC1* BER ELK CHI LRP IRP IOW ISF MAD DSF SLM BRI KAN -* -*

ARCA Menards Series East ARCA Menards Series East results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pts Ref 2023 Venturini Motorsports 20 Toyota FIF DOV NSV4 FRS IOW IRP MLW BRI 29th 40 2024 FIF1 DOV2 NSV14 FRS3 IOW3 IRP5 MLW9 BRI15 3rd 402

ARCA Menards Series West ARCA Menards Series West results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pts Ref 2024 Venturini Motorsports 20 Toyota PHO2 KER PIR5 SON25 IRW IRW SHA TRI MAD AAS KER PHO4 20th 141

CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.)

CARS Pro Late Model Tour (key) CARS Pro Late Model Tour results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pts Ref 2022 N/A 81 Ford CRW HCY GPS1** FCS TCM2 HCY ACE MMS TCM ACE SBO CRW 15th 67 2023 N/A 24 Toyota SNM HCY ACE NWS TCM5 22nd 86 28 DIL4 CRW WKS5 HCY TCM SBO TCM CRW 2024 Wilson Motorsports 24 SNM HCY OCS ACE TCM CRW HCY NWS ACE FLC SBO TCM NWS16 N/A 0 2026 Monahan Motorsports 55 Toyota SNM NSV CRW ACE NWS13 HCY AND FLC TCM NPS SBO -* -*

ASA STARS National Tour (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.) ASA STARS National Tour results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pts Ref 2023 Wilson Motorsports 22R Toyota FIF15 MAD6 WIR6 3rd 573 22 NWS29 HCY1 MLW6 AND2 TOL9 WIN1 NSV26 2024 NSM5 FIF3 HCY17 MAD MLW7 AND3 OWO TOL2 WIN10 NSV4 6th 531