JGL Racing was announced on January 20, 2014, by former partners James Whitener and Gregg Mixon of GIC–Mixon Motorsports, with Whitener as owner and Mixon as General Manager. Veteran driver Carl Long served as competition director. The team initially operated out of a Statesville race shop and used second-hand Dodge Challengers purchased from Team Penske, with engines leased from Penske — resulting in paint schemes that still resembled Penske's No. 12 and No. 22 cars.
In 2015 JGL expanded to three cars and switched to Toyota, using engines through an alliance with TriStar Motorsports' PME Engines, and began building and wrapping cars in-house. Beginning in August 2015 and continuing into 2016, the team switched to engines from Joe Gibbs Racing and expanded to a multi-building campus in Denver, NC.
On November 15, 2017, JGL announced a partnership with Roush Fenway Racing and a move to Ford for the 2018 season. Kaz Grala was the first driver announced for the JGL/Ford pairing; Grala finished 4th in his Xfinity Series debut at Daytona. Dylan Lupton and Tony Mrakovich were later signed to the No. 28 car.
The team shut down in mid-2018 after a 23rd-place finish with Lupton at Pocono, following Grala's release after Dover. The closure was attributed to financial difficulties and team owner James Whitener Sr.'s diagnosis of liver failure. No. 24 assets were sold to FURY Race Cars; the remaining assets including the shop were sold to JGL crew chief Steven Lane, who formed On Point Motorsports. Whitener died on March 21, 2022; the cause of death was not revealed.
No. 24: Debuted as a full-time entry in 2015 with Eric McClure, who brought sponsors Hefty and Reynolds Wrap from TriStar Motorsports. After nine races McClure departed and the No. 24 was shut down, its crew moving to the No. 26. The No. 24 returned in 2016 under a "Young Guns" programme featuring drivers including Matt Tifft, Corey LaJoie, and Brandon McReynolds. In 2017 Scott Lagasse Jr., Corey LaJoie, Drew Herring, Jeb Burton, Dylan Lupton, and Cale Conley shared the ride. For 2018, Grala was announced full-time but released mid-season due to sponsorship shortfall; the No. 24 assets subsequently moved to Fury Race Cars.
No. 26: Mike Wallace drove a part-time No. 26 in 2015, finishing 13th at Daytona. After the No. 24 shut down following McClure's departure, the No. 26 became a full-time entry absorbing the No. 24 crew. Drivers over the remainder of 2015 included Ryan Ellis, C. J. Faison, Timmy Hill, Tomy Drissi, Hermie Sadler, and T. J. Bell. The No. 26 later became the full-time No. 24 in 2016.
No. 28: The original JGL entry, debuting at Daytona in 2014 as a Dodge with Mike Wallace finishing 13th. J. J. Yeley became the primary driver mid-2014, posting a 7th at Talladega and a 5th on rain tyres at Road America. Yeley returned in 2015 and achieved the team's best finish — 4th at Talladega — finishing 12th in the championship standings. Dakoda Armstrong drove the No. 28 full-time in 2016 with sponsorship from WinField, recording a season-best 12th at Daytona. Armstrong returned in 2017 before being released in September for lack of sponsorship. For 2018, Dylan Lupton drove the car for at least 21 races before announcing his departure; Tony Mrakovich made his Xfinity Series debut in the No. 28 at Richmond, finishing 24th.
No. 93: An original 2014 entry that debuted at Daytona as a Dodge; Matt Carter failed to qualify. Carl Long, J. J. Yeley, Mike Wallace, and others shared the ride through 2014. The No. 93 was shut down for 2015 when the No. 24 became a full-time entry, and a planned part-time return was ultimately abandoned.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.
Gallery · 4 related images
