Gio Ruggiero set to make NASCAR O'Reilly debut with Joe Gibbs Racing

Giovanni Ruggiero, 19, is already a proven winner in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with Tricon Garage. Last year, he was victorious at Talladega and ended the year eleventh in the standings.

He will again compete full-time in Trucks, but on Wednesday, Joe Gibbs Racing announced that he will also run the first two races of the 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts (NOAPS) season. Ruggiero will pilot the No. 19 JGR Toyota GR Supra at Daytona and Atlanta, making his debut in the secondary level of the sport.

Additionally, Ruggiero is set to run six ARCA Menard's Series races for JGR in the year ahead. Piloting the No. 18 entry, his ARCA schedule will also include the season-opener at Daytona.

“Last season gave me a great opportunity to get my feet wet with the team, and I am excited to be able to have my debut with the winningest team in the series,” Ruggiero said. “Going into this season, I feel more prepared than ever, and I’m excited to see what we can accomplish. This opportunity allows me to gain valuable experience on the mile-and-a-half and superspeedways, which I can then apply to the truck series. I also have so much fun driving the ARCA cars, and I can’t wait to put the No. 18 up front again.”

While NOAPS will be entirely new for Ruggiero, he does have some ARCA experience -- 12 starts with an impressive nine top fives and eleven top tens.

“We are thrilled to have Gio back for this upcoming season,” said Steve DeSouza, Executive Vice President of O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and Development for JGR. “He showed strong progress in his limited starts with us last season, and we are excited to see what he can accomplish with more opportunities this season.”