2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series

The 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series was the 38th season of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, a stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States.

Tyler Reddick entered as the defending champion, and won his second championship over Cole Custer and Christopher Bell, who were known as "the big three" over the course of the season as they dominated the vast majority of the races. Reddick also clinched the 2019 Regular Series Championship following the 2019 Rhino Pro Truck Outfitters 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Reddick became the first back-to-back champion to drive for two different teams (JR Motorsports in 2018 and Richard Childress Racing in 2019).

The season marked the debut of the Toyota Supra, which replaced the Camry.

Teams and drivers

Complete schedule Manufacturer Team Race driver Crew chief Chevrolet Brandonbilt Motorsports 86 Brandon Brown (R) Adam Brenner Jeff Stankiewicz Doug Randolph Mason Diaz Will Rodgers DGM Racing 36 Josh Williams Mario Gosselin Donald Theetge 90 Caesar Bacarella Shannon Rursch Nathan Kennedy Kevin Boykin Alex Labbé Donald Theetge Ronnie Bassett Jr. Dillon Bassett Chris Dyson Dexter Bean GMS Racing 23 John Hunter Nemechek (R) Chad Norris JD Motorsports 0 Garrett Smithley Bryan Berry Lawson Aschenbach 01 Stephen Leicht Mark Setzer Ryan Repko B. J. McLeod Landon Cassill 4 Scott Lagasse Jr. Paul Clapprood Ross Chastain Landon Cassill Stephen Leicht B. J. McLeod Lawson Aschenbach Ryan Vargas Garrett Smithley 15 B. J. McLeod Ronald Drake Wayne Carroll Jr. Tyler Matthews Landon Cassill Ryan Vargas Stephen Leicht Stefan Parsons Jeremy Clements Racing 51 Jeremy Clements Tony Clements Danny Gill Andrew Abbott Jimmy Means Racing 52 David Starr Tim Brown JR Motorsports 1 Michael Annett Travis Mack 7 Justin Allgaier Jason Burdett 8 Chase Elliott Taylor Moyer Ryan Preece Zane Smith Ryan Truex Jeb Burton Brett Moffitt Sheldon Creed Regan Smith Dale Earnhardt Jr. 9 Noah Gragson (R) Dave Elenz Kaulig Racing 11 Justin Haley (R) Nick Harrison Chris Rice / Alex Yontz Lennie Chandler Mike Harmon Racing 74 Mike Harmon Alan Collins Jr. Timothy Goulet Ed Jewett Camden Murphy Kyle Weatherman Dan Corcoran Aaron Quine Tyler Matthews Nicolas Hammann Joe Nemechek Bayley Currey Richard Childress Racing 2 Tyler Reddick Randall Burnett RSS Racing 38 Josh Bilicki Kevin Starland Clifford Turner Kevin Johnson Tony Wilson Sean Kenyon Jeff Green J. J. Yeley Camden Murphy C. J. McLaughlin Bayley Currey 39 Ryan Sieg Shane Wilson Clinton Cram C. J. McLaughlin 93 Jeff Green Clifford Turner Tony Wilson Kevin Starland Kevin Johnson Shane Wilson Clinton Cram Josh Bilicki Brandon Brown (R) Scott Lagasse Jr. Ryan Sieg Camden Murphy J. J. Yeley C. J. McLaughlin Hermie Sadler Bayley Currey SS-Green Light Racing 07 Ray Black Jr. Jason Miller 08 Gray Gaulding Patrick Donahue Ford Stewart–Haas Racing with Biagi–DenBeste 00 Cole Custer Mike Shiplett 98 Chase Briscoe (R) Richard Boswell Team Penske 22 Austin Cindric Brian Wilson Jefferson Hodges Toyota Joe Gibbs Racing 18 Jeffrey Earnhardt Ben Beshore Kyle Busch Harrison Burton Riley Herbst Jack Hawksworth Matt DiBenedetto Denny Hamlin 19 Brandon Jones Jeff Meendering 20 Christopher Bell Jason Ratcliff MBM Motorsports 13 Max Tullman Doug Richert Sebastian Laforge Brian Keselowski Thomas Bear Tim Goulet John Jackson Stan Mullis Timmy Hill Chad Finchum Joe Nemechek Carl Long Tommy Joe Martins 35 Joey Gase Ryan Bell Clinton Cram Doug Richert John Jackson Brian Keselowski Doug Richert George Church Daniel Johnson Chad Finchum Max Tullman Stanton Barrett Timmy Hill Dick Karth Austin Hill Tommy Joe Martins 66 Timmy Hill Clinton Cram Mark Labretone Ryan Bell George Church Doug Richert Tyler Hill Colin Garrett Stan Mullis Tommy Joe Martins Chad Finchum Mike Marlar Bobby Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet Toyota B. J. McLeod Motorsports 5 Matt Mills David Ingram Jr. Keith Wolfe Scott Heckert Vinnie Miller Chevrolet Toyota 78 Vinnie Miller Keith Wolfe David Ingram Jr. Adam Brooks Scott Heckert Ryan Ellis J. J. Yeley Matt Mills Chevrolet Toyota 99 D. J. Kennington Kevyn Rebolledo Adam Brooks David Ingram Jr. Tommy Joe Martins Jairo Avila Jr. B. J. McLeod Cody Ware Todd Peck Ryan Ellis Stefan Parsons Patrick Gallagher C. J. McLaughlin Loris Hezemans Matt Mills Josh Bilicki

Limited schedule Manufacturer Team Race driver Crew chief Rounds Chevrolet ACG Motorsports 25 Chris Cockrum Jeff Spraker 17 Rick Ware Racing Bayley Currey R. B. Bracken Kyle Weatherman Camden Murphy Josh Bilicki Mark Meunier Joe Nemechek Robby Lyons Brandonbilt Motorsports 68 Brandon Brown (R) Jeff Stankiewicz Brian Keselowski Jordan Irving Lance Elliott Dillon Bassett Will Rodgers Mason Diaz DGM Racing 92 Josh Williams Shannon Rursch Nathan Kennedy Kevin Boykin Ronnie Bassett Jr. Dillon Bassett Dexter Bean Jimmy Means Racing 53 Max Tullman Kevin Hall Kyle Weatherman Kaulig Racing 10 Austin Dillon Alex Yontz Chad Kendrick Justin Alexander Lennie Chandler Chris Rice Byron Daley Elliott Sadler A. J. Allmendinger Joe Graf Jr. Ross Chastain 16 Alex Yontz Pardus Racing Inc. 43 Preston Pardus Tony Furr Richard Childress Racing 21 Kaz Grala Justin Alexander Andy Street Joe Graf Jr. Shepherd Racing Ventures 89 Morgan Shepherd Nick Hoechst Kase Kallenbach Landon Cassill Ford Team Penske 12 Brad Keselowski Matt Swiderski Paul Menard Joey Logano Ryan Blaney Toyota H2 Motorsports 28 Shane Lee Pete Rondeau Hattori Racing Enterprises 61 Austin Hill Scott Zipadelli Sam Hunt Racing 26 Colin Garrett Brian Keselowski XCI Racing 81 Jeffrey Earnhardt Matthew Lucas Erik Jones

Notes

Changes Teams On September 21, 2018, Brandonbilt Motorsports announced they would run the No. 86 car full-time for three part-time drivers. The only one announced at the time was Brandon Brown. On October 15, 2018, it was announced that longtime sponsor Lilly Diabetes will be pulling out of NASCAR, leaving the Roush Fenway Racing No. 16 car unsponsored for 2019. On December 2, 2018, Ty Majeski said that RFR will not have an Xfinity program in 2019. On November 17, 2018, Stewart–Haas Racing announced that they would run a second full time car in 2019. On November 27, 2018, Chase Briscoe was announced as the driver of the No. 98 Ford. On December 21, 2018, Rick Ware Racing announced that they will field the No. 25 car full-time in 2019, beginning at Daytona in February. However, they showed up to Daytona with No. 17 and used that number instead. On January 4, 2019, Chip Ganassi Racing suspended operations in the Xfinity Series due to a lack of sponsorship. The shutdown was announced after the home of the CEO of DC Solar, the team's primary sponsor, was raided by the FBI on December 18, 2018. On January 10, 2019, B. J. McLeod Motorsports announced they will field the Nos. 5, 78, and 99 full-time in 2019. On January 25, 2019, JR Motorsports announced that for the 2019 season, Michael Annett would transfer from the No. 5 to the No. 1 while Noah Gragson would drive the No. 9 car full-time and the No. 8 car would be driven by Zane Smith, Brett Moffitt, Ryan Preece, Ryan Truex, Jeb Burton, Chase Elliott, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Sheldon Creed and Regan Smith. On February 14, 2019, Xtreme Concepts Inc. announced that it has formed XCI Racing and will field the No. 81 Toyota at Chicagoland, Daytona, Bristol, and Darlington. The team has a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing. In March 2019, it was confirmed that RSS Racing switched from Pro Motor Engines to Richard Childress Racing for their Chevrolet-based engines and chassis at the beginning of the season. On May 23, 2019, Matt Hurley created H2 Motorsports, fielding the No. 28 Toyota starting at Iowa in June for Shane Lee, with the intention of running the remainder of the Xfinity schedule. The team ended up skipping the three road course races of Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio, and Road America and then again at Darlington, but ran the remainder of the schedule. Lee was later released as driver and the team withdrew before the race at Darlington. On May 30, 2019, it was reported that Hattori Racing Enterprises will field the No. 61 Toyota at the July Daytona race, marking the team's first Xfinity race since 2015. but failed to qualify. On August 23, 2019, it was announced that Preston Pardus, the son of former NASCAR driver Dan Pardus, would make his series debut at Road America with his own team, which was formed after purchasing a road course car from the closed Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 team. Jayski.com also says the team plans to run at the Charlotte Roval in September.

Drivers On August 15, 2018, Elliott Sadler announced his retirement from full-time competition, thus leaving the JR Motorsports No. 1 team open. It was announced on September 25 that Noah Gragson would replace Sadler, driving the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro SS full time in 2019. On January 25, 2019, it was announced that Gragson would be driving the No. 9 car full-time in 2019. On September 22, 2018, B. J. McLeod Motorsports announced that Vinnie Miller would run the No. 78 with them full-time in 2019, and also run the final six races of the 2018 season with the team after securing his release from JD Motorsports. On October 15, 2018, Ryan Reed announced that, due to his sponsor Lilly Diabetes leaving the team, he would not return to the No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Mustang GT in 2019, leaving him a free agent. On October 19, 2018, Spencer Gallagher announced that he would be retiring from racing at the end of the 2018 season and would take on a managerial role at GMS Racing. On December 6, 2018, it was announced that John Hunter Nemechek would replace Gallagher in the No. 23 Chevrolet. On October 29, 2018, it was announced that Gray Gaulding will drive for SS-Green Light Racing full-time in the No. 08 car. On October 31, 2018, it was announced that 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion Tyler Reddick will move from JR Motorsports to Richard Childress Racing in the 2019 season. During RCR's 50th anniversary press conference on December 14, 2018, it was announced that Reddick will be the organization's only full-time Xfinity Series driver in 2019. On October 31, 2018, Dale Earnhardt Jr. tweeted, saying that he is working towards running the Darlington race in the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series. He had also tweeted a partial photo of a car a few weeks prior. *On February 1, 2019, Earnhardt Jr. confirmed that he will race at the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 at Darlington Raceway on August 31. On November 8, 2018, it was announced that Austin Cindric would drive the No. 22 Team Penske Ford for the entire 2019 season. The No. 12 Team Penske Ford will run on a part-time basis with Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, and Paul Menard. On November 9, 2018, it was announced that Ross Chastain would join Chip Ganassi Racing to drive the No. 42 Chevrolet full-time in 2019. However, following an FBI raid on DC Solar's headquarters in December 2018, it was announced on January 4, 2019, that Chip Ganassi Racing would withdraw from the Xfinity series before the start of the 2019 season. Chastain solidified his plans on January 31, 2019, when he joined Kaulig Racing for three races in the organization's No. 10 car and went back to his old ride at JD Motorsports for the other 30 races on the schedule. However, beginning with the race at Michigan International Speedway in June, Chastain would no longer be earning points towards the championship, as he declared over the week to shift to running for the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series title instead.