Taylor Gray

Taylor James Gray (born March 25, 2005) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, driving the No. 54 Toyota GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing and part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for Tricon Garage. He has previously competed in the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, and ARCA Menards Series West.

Racing career Early career Gray made his debut in a late model in March 2018 at the age of twelve, driving for Lee Faulk Racing and Development at Hickory Motor Speedway in the Paramount Auto Group Limited Late Model Series. He had an impressive showing, finishing sixth in the race.

Both Gray and his brother Tanner were signed by DGR-Crosley in 2019, with Tanner driving full-time in the K&N Pro Series East and Taylor driving full-time in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour since he was under the age of fifteen and therefore not eligible to compete in a NASCAR series at that time.

In his season racing in CARS, Gray picked up a win at Hickory Motor Speedway in just his second start, which meant he now had two wins at the track. Gray ended the year ninth in points, competing in all but two races, which he skipped mid-season. Additionally, he entered the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series race at Martinsville, where he flipped, and his car came to a halt upside down, but he was uninjured in the crash. Just a few weeks later, he was already back in action, again at Hickory, where he ran the Whelen All-American Series' Fall Brawl event. Gray would have an outstanding performance, leading all 200 laps in the race en route to the win, and this put him with a total of three wins there at only the age of fourteen.

ARCA Series

2020: DGR-Crosley On December 18, 2019, it was announced that Gray would drive all races in the ARCA Menards Series East (formerly the K&N Pro Series East) in 2020 with DGR in their No. 17 Ford (the team switched manufacturers from Toyota) once turning fifteen on March 25 of that year. In addition, he will run the nine races of the ten-race ARCA Menards Series Sioux Chief Showdown that he will be able to compete in after he becomes eligible to race in the series. His older brother subbed for him at the season-opener at New Smyrna, and Bubba Pollard was announced to fill in at the following race at Five Flags. However, the Five Flags race, along with all others through May, was postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak, which means Gray would be fifteen when the rescheduled race is run and eligible to compete in it after all. DGR has yet to announce who will drive the No. 17 car at that one race as a result of this, but since Gray is running full-time for the championship, they presumably would move Pollard to a second car for the team, which has been announced to be fielded in select races sometime in the season for Tanner Gray.

Gray also returned to the CARS Series part-time in 2020, winning their season-opener at Southern National Motorsports Park.

2021–2022: David Gilliland Racing On January 15, 2021, Gray was penalized for recording a video on his cell phone while on the track for an official ARCA test session at Daytona, a violation of the series rulebook's Section 20C – 6.7 (restriction of onboard devices, including cell phones). occurred during an official ARCA Menards Series test session at Daytona International Speedway. Gray was placed on probation for the rest of the season and fined $1,000.

Gray returned for another full-time season in the East Series in the No. 17 for the renamed David Gilliland Racing. He finished third in the season-opening race at New Smyrna Speedway in a photo finish with race winner Max Gutiérrez and second-place finisher Sammy Smith.

After being involved in a single-car accident in Statesville, North Carolina, on April 8, he was officially cleared to return on July 6, allowing him to run the weekend's ARCA race at Elko Speedway.

After ARCA West Rookie Jake Drew was penalized in the Portland 112 along with Eric Nascimento, Gray won his second ARCA West race. He later won at the Star Nursery 150.

On March 8, 2022, a hauler carrying Gray's car on its way to Phoenix Raceway collided with a Honda Passport near Longview, Texas, killing hauler driver Steven C. Stotts. Two passengers in the hauler and the driver of the SUV survived the accident. Three days later on March 11, Gray won the General Tire 150 after starting second and leading 43 laps, dedicating the win to Stotts. He also won the ARCA East race at Dover with the new Ford Mustang body. He also scored wins at Mid-Ohio and Pocono throughout the season, along with another ARCA West win at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Bullring.

2023: Joe Gibbs Racing and Tricon Garage Gray returned to the ARCA Series in 2023, driving the No. 18 car for Joe Gibbs Racing at Talladega, and the newly renamed Tricon Garage No. 17 car at Kansas and Charlotte.

Craftsman Truck Series

2021–2022: David Gilliland Racing In 2021, Gray was originally scheduled to make his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut at Richmond Raceway in April for David Gilliland Racing, but on April 8, he suffered a fractured L4 vertebra, left foot, and ankle in a single-car accident in Statesville, North Carolina, forcing him to miss his debut. He later made his Truck debut at Watkins Glen International, finishing in 35th. He ran five races that season and earned the best finish of eighth at Martinsville.

Gray increased his schedule to eight races in 2022. At the Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in July, Gray was in contention of earning his first career win, leading the race until he got spun by John Hunter Nemechek with two laps to go. He had a best finish of sixth at Richmond late in the year.

2023–2024: Tricon Garage On October 27, 2022, David Gilliland Racing announced that they would be moving to Toyota Racing Development in 2023, and renaming to Tricon Garage (with Tricon styled in all-capital letters). Gray would remain with the team for a full season and compete for Rookie of the Year. He missed the first three races of the season due to age restrictions but received a playoff waiver to stay eligible for the playoffs. He earned four top-tens throughout the regular season, including a third-place run at Pocono, but failed to make the playoffs. During the playoffs, he scored two consecutive top-five finishes at Kansas and Bristol, finishing second and fifth, respectively. He ended the season fifteenth in points.

On November 10, 2023, it was announced that Gray would return to Tricon Garage in 2024, running his first full season.

During the 2024 Truck Series opening race at Daytona, Gray was involved in a flip. On the last lap of the race, Gray was in position for the win off of turn 2 when the truck beside Gray in Jack Wood got turned by Rajah Caruth, which turned Wood into Gray, and Gray spun. Gray's truck hit the outside wall before he got t-boned in the driver side door by Daniel Dye at an angle which lifted Gray's truck off the ground and did a barrel roll on top of two trucks with both being Christian Eckes and his brother Tanner before the truck landed on the hood of another truck in Bayley Currey and on all four wheels on the pavement. Gray was able to walk out under his own power uninjured and also expressed his displeasure at Caruth in his interview. Due to his consistency throughout the regular season, Gray would make the Playoffs for the first time. At The Martinsville Playoff race, Gray was leading with 5 laps to go and had a shot at winning and making it into the Championship 4. However, entering turn 3, Christian Eckes would make contact with Gray, which sent the latter up the track, costing him the win. Eckes would go on to win after dominating. Gray went on to finish fourth and would come up just short of making the Final 4. After the race, Gray would confront Eckes and would get into a heated argument with him.

2026: One-off at Daytona Tricon Garage signed Gray for the season-opener at Daytona. He finished 28th.

O'Reilly Auto Parts Series

2024: Joe Gibbs Racing On December 13, 2023, Joe Gibbs Racing announced their driver lineup for the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series season. Gray would run ten races in the Xfinity Series in 2024 for JGR, driving the No. 19 car, sharing the ride with Ryan Truex, Aric Almirola, Ty Gibbs, Joe Graf Jr., William Sawalich, and other drivers to be announced. Gray made his debut at Richmond Raceway, starting 27th and finishing an impressive third. The next two weeks he would finish thirteenth at Martinsville and eleventh at Texas, respectively.

2025: Full-time, first win

On October 16, 2024, it was announced that Gray will run full-time for the 2025 season, driving the No. 54 Toyota for JGR. He started the season with a 5th-place finish at Daytona. At the Martinsville Spring race, Gray was leading the race after an overtime restart with one lap to go and had a shot to win. However, in the third turn, the car behind Gray in Sammy Smith went deep into the corner and got into the back of Gray hard enough that it spun Gray around. Not only did it cost Gray the win, but it also cost Smith the win as well as Austin Hill snuck by both Smith and Justin Allgaier in the final corner to take home the win. Smith finished tenth while Gray finished 29th. After the race, Gray confronted Smith outside the infield care center where the two had an intense altercation where both had to be held back by security and NASCAR officials. Gray earned countless poles and top-tens, but he was ultimately eliminated from the playoffs following the Round of 12. He later scored his first career win during the playoffs at Martinsville.

2026: Another win

On January 6, 2026, JGR announced that Gray will return to the team and run their No. 54 car for a second year. Gray started the 2026 season with a 28th-place DNF at Daytona. He earned a pole at Phoenix. He also scored a win at Kansas.

2027 On June 21, 2026, JGR announced that Gray would return to the No. 54 car for 2027.

Personal life He is the younger brother of Tanner Gray, who drives for Tricon Garage in their No. 15 Toyota Tundra in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He is also the son of Shane Gray, an NHRA driver, and grandson of Johnny Gray, a Funny Car driver and businessman. In addition to racing, Johnny Gray was the president of Marbob Energy. Since 2021, Johnny Gray has co-owned Tricon Garage. One of Taylor's hobbies is wakeboarding.

Motorsports career results

Racing career summary

NASCAR (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

O'Reilly Auto Parts Series NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts 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 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Pts Ref 2024 Joe Gibbs Racing 19 Toyota DAY ATL LVS PHO COA RCH3 MAR13 TEX11 TAL15 DOV34 DAR18 CLT12 PIR SON IOW NHA NSH CSC POC5 IND MCH8 DAY DAR ATL28 GLN BRI KAN38 TAL32 ROV LVS33 HOM MAR PHO 83rd 01 2025 54 DAY5 ATL38 COA7 PHO6 LVS19 HOM23 MAR29 DAR33 BRI19 CAR5 TAL11 TEX2 CLT30 NSH25 MXC2 POC9 ATL5 CSC34 SON7 DOV7 IND3 IOW17 GLN18 DAY30 PIR14 GTW17 BRI14 KAN6 ROV13 LVS8 TAL31 MAR1* PHO7 7th 2228 2026 DAY28 ATL9 COA12 PHO15 LVS37 DAR15 MAR13 CAR7 BRI10 KAN1 TAL29 TEX33 GLN3 DOV32 CLT31 NSH9 POC17 COR2* SON29 CHI7 ATL33 IND12 IOW7 DAY26 DAR GTW BRI LVS CLT PHO TAL MAR HOM -* -*

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 2021 David Gilliland Racing 17 Ford DAY DRC LVS ATL BRD RCH KAN DAR COA CLT TEX NSH POC KNX GLN35 GTW12 DAR BRI29 LVS TAL MAR8 PHO29 40th 76 2022 DAY LVS ATL COA26 MAR26 BRD DAR KAN TEX CLT GTW36 SON KNX NSH MOH15 POC IRP22 RCH6 KAN BRI16 TAL HOM PHO17 34th 147 2023 Tricon Garage Toyota DAY LVS ATL COA11 TEX24 BRD34 MAR8 KAN9 DAR21 NWS21 CLT10 GTW13 NSH14 MOH15 POC3 RCH14 IRP20 MLW13 KAN2 BRI5 TAL18 HOM13 PHO23 15th 490 2024 DAY19 ATL4 LVS4 BRI7 COA2 MAR6 TEX7 KAN27 DAR8 NWS13 CLT12 GTW30 NSH34 POC4 IRP16 RCH3 MLW5 BRI12 KAN18 TAL2 HOM10 MAR4 PHO6 6th 2247 2026 Tricon Garage 1 Toyota DAY28 ATL STP DAR ROC BRI TEX GLN DOV CLT NSH MCH COR LRP NWS IRP RCH NHA 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.) 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 2020 DGR-Crosley 17 Ford DAY PHO TAL POC IRP4 KEN IOW5 KAN TOL3 TOL11 MCH DRC4 GTW8 L443 TOL5 BRI7 WIN5 MEM9 ISF4 KAN 11th 460 2021 David Gilliland Racing DAY PHO9 TAL KAN TOL CLT MOH POC ELK5 BLN4 IOW3 WIN5 GLN7 MCH MLW4 BRI3 SLM11 KAN 8th 428 46 ISF3 DSF5 2022 17 DAY PHO1 TAL KAN CLT IOW18 BLN4 ELK4 MOH1 POC1* IRP3 MCH GLN8 ISF8 MLW2 DSF12 KAN BRI3 SLM5 TOL4 10th 606 2023 Joe Gibbs Racing 18 Toyota DAY PHO TAL7 36th 120 Tricon Garage 17 Toyota KAN3 CLT3 BLN ELK MOH IOW POC MCH IRP GLN ISF MLW DSF KAN BRI SLM TOL

ARCA Menards Series East ARCA Menards Series East results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pts Ref 2020 DGR-Crosley 17 Ford NSM TOL8 DOV9 TOL5 BRI7 FIF4 8th 237 2021 David Gilliland Racing NSM3 FIF3 NSV DOV SNM IOW3 MLW4 BRI3 8th 258 2022 NSM2 FIF3 DOV1* NSV3 IOW18 MLW2 BRI3 2nd 385

ARCA Menards Series West ARCA Menards Series West results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pts Ref 2020 DGR-Crosley 17 Ford LVS MMP4 MMP11 IRW EVG DCS CNS LVS AAS7* KCR1* PHO3 13th 161 2021 David Gilliland Racing PHO9 SON IRW CNS IRW PIR1 12th 245 17E LVS1* AAS22 71 PHO2 2022 17 PHO1 IRW KCR PIR SON IRW EVG PIR AAS 19th 164 71 LVS1* PHO27

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 Late Model Stock Car Tour results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pts Ref 2019 DGR-Crosley 17 Toyota SNM13 HCY1* ROU2* ACE19 MMS12 LGY19 DOM CCS HCY18 ROU6 SBO7 9th 206 2020 Ford SNM1* ACE16 HCY HCY DOM FCS LGY CCS FLO GRE 27th 52 2021 David Gilliland Racing 54 DIL HCY OCS ACE CRW LGY DOM HCY MMS TCM FLC WKS SBO19 55th 14