Jason Ratcliff, who serves as the full-time crew chief of the No. 19 Toyota GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, will call the shots in his final race at Phoenix Raceway, he confirmed to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Friday.
The 55-year-old from Sumter, South Carolina is set to contest his 800th start as a NASCAR National Series crew chief at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, where he’ll call the shots for Myatt Snider and Joe Gibbs Racing.
“Nah, that’s it, yeah, Phoenix is going to be it,” Ratcliff said on Friday. “This is going to be my last season as crew chief, and really, I enjoy the competition so much, so hopefully I can stay involved somehow on that side of it, but it’s going to be nice to not have to pack a bag each week and get on an airplane.”
After joining Joe Gibbs Racing as the full-time crew chief of JJ Yeley’s NASCAR Xfinity Series effort in 2005, Ratcliff has remained with the organization as a crew chief, where he’ll wrap up his 18th season at Phoenix Raceway on November 4.
? Congratulations to legendary crew Chief Jason Ratcliff, who will be making his 800th start as a shot caller atop the pit box Saturday at Martinsville.
But come next week, it’ll be his last.
? He tells @ClaireBLang he’ll be retiring:
?? “Phoenix is gonna be it.” #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/s8uuF6lmla
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) October 28, 2023
Throughout 799 starts, Ratcliff has scored 239 top-five and 406 top-10 finishes, 49 pole positions, and a driver’s championship with Kyle Busch in 2009.
The South Carolina native has scored wins across the Cup and Xfinity Series with Jamie McMurray, David Green, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Ryan Truex, Ty Gibbs, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, and Joey Logano.
But, don’t expect Ratcliff to go missing from the racetrack, as he told Claire B. Lang on Friday: “I think I’ll come to the racetrack a handful of times a year, just to keep that going, and it’s such a great experience. Yeah, it’s time for me to not travel every week, so I have to stop crew chiefing.”
Ratcliff will contest his final two races as a crew chief at Martinsville and Phoenix, where Myatt Snider will look to cap a record-breaking career off with an extra victory – or maybe even two.
