Gio Ruggiero Gets Called Up for Two O'Reilly Events with JGR

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

There's a pretty decent chance that Gio Ruggiero is going to be among the busiest people in Daytona Beach, Florida during NASCAR's annual 'Speedweeks' at Daytona International Speedway.

The 19-year-old driver will be competing in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and the ARCA Menards Series events at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. If all goes right, that's 750 miles of racing in just over 24 hours.

For Ruggiero, the weekend will begin with his full-time job, so to speak, competing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Fresh from Florida 250 on Friday, February 13, driving the No. 17 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for TRICON Garage.

Though on Wednesday, Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) announced a pair of additions to his season-opening weekend at Daytona, with the Seekonk, Massachusetts-native scheduled to run in the ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series on Saturday, February 14.

DEBUT 👀 @Gio_Ruggiero1 will pilot the No. 19 Toyota GR Supra at Daytona and Atlanta to kick off the 2026 @nascaroreillyap! pic.twitter.com/D8OkQkKBFc

— Joe Gibbs Racing (@JoeGibbsRacing) February 4, 2026

First, Ruggiero will compete in the ARCA Menards Series season-opening General Tire 200, piloting the No. 18 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing -- the first of six scheduled events in the series for the NASCAR Truck Series full-timer.

Then, after that 200-mile contest is signed, sealed, and delivered, Ruggiero will get back behind the wheel of a racecar on Saturday evening, making his NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series debut in the No. 19 First Auto Group Toyota GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing.

“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.”

Ruggiero will return to the driver's seat of the No. 19 Toyota GR Supra in the season's second event at EchoPark Speedway (formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway), filling in for Brent Crews, who isn't old enough to run on the superspeedways.

“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.”

Although Ruggiero is a rookie with limited experience, the 19-year-old did mightily impress when competing on superspeedways in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2026, finishing runner-up at Daytona in February, and winning the October event at Talladega Superspeedway.

Ruggiero will make his first NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series on Saturday, February 14 at Daytona International Speedway. Coverage of the event will be on The CW, Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.