Joe Gibbs Racing has found an experienced road racer for next weekend’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Portland International Raceway as Connor Mosack will slide behind the wheel of the team’s No. 18 entry for his series debut.
Joe Gibbs Racing made the announcement on Wednesday evening.
OpenEyes.net, which according to their website is an organization that accelerates the message of Jesus Christ to the underserved peoples of the world, will serve as the primary sponsor for the effort.
Mosack, 23, has 21 starts in the Trans Am Series and he has made some starts in ARCA Menards Series competition over the last couple of seasons. Mosack is excited to get this opportunity.
“Every race is a new opportunity to learn and apply the lessons from your last race,” said Mosack, who finished third in the 2021 TA2 championship standings and is already a two-time pole winner in 2022. “I feel like I’ve learned a lot in Trans Am thanks to the coaching I’ve gotten from Scott Lagasse Sr. and Jr., at TeamSLR, and I genuinely want to see how it all translates to the Xfinity Series. I’m looking forward to the experience of working with Joe Gibbs Racing and their veteran crew chief Jason Ratcliff in my debut at Portland, and we’re all grateful to represent OpenEyes.net.”
The North Carolina-native becomes the third announced driver, as of May 25th, to be making their NASCAR Xfinity Series debuts at Portland, joining Mason Filippi and Darren Dilley.
Mosack was previously a part of the Drivers Edge Development program, a program spearheaded by JR Motorsports, GMS Racing and Team Chevrolet. Mosack’s involvement with Joe Gibbs Racing — a Toyota team — would seemingly signal the end of that relationship.
For JGR, giving a shot to a young talent like Mosack is exactly what they had envisioned with their NASCAR Xfinity Series program.
“Our Xfinity Series program was designed to provide opportunities to racecar drivers like Connor who are looking to expand their careers by challenging themselves in a very competitive racing series,” said Steve DeSouza, Executive Vice President, NASCAR Xfinity Series/Development, Joe Gibbs Racing. “Connor has accomplished quite a bit in a relatively short period of time in Trans Am and we’re proud to help further his development in NASCAR.”
After 12 races in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team sits 12th in owner points. Mosack will hope to add even more points to the total next weekend.
