Tyler Allen will crew chief the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing team with driver Ty Gibbs in the NASCAR Cup Series starting in 2025, JGR announced Monday.
Allen advances to the Cup Series after a fruitful rookie campaign in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2024, collecting eight wins as crew chief for JGR’s No. 20 program before a late-season swap to the No. 19 team.
A native of Bellevue, Washington, Allen replaces Chris Gayle on the pit box for Ty Gibbs. Gayle had worked with Gibbs since 2021 dating back to Xfinity competition, but Gayle will move to the No. 11 team with driver Denny Hamlin for the 2025 campaign.
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While he has yet to serve as crew chief in the Cup Series, Allen’s resume is stacked with experience at NASCAR’s top level, serving as a race engineer for crew chief Adam Stevens for seven seasons. Together, they won the Cup Series championship in 2019 with Kyle Busch and totaled five Championship 4 appearances — three with Busch and two with Christopher Bell.
“Only being a year removed, I still remember what it was like to be working on the Cup cars and the schedule and all of the details that are important,” Allen said Monday in an interview on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “So it’s really just about getting settled in, getting people in place and trying to hit the ground running. I think Ty’s really excited. I’m really excited to work with him.”
In a team release, Allen also said: “This opportunity has been a dream of mine since starting here at JGR 10 years ago, and I’m thankful for the support and guidance I’ve received from my mentors, teammates, and everyone along the way. Ty has shown a lot of speed and potential the last two years, and I look forward to building on that experience to get the 54 car in Victory Lane.”
Gibbs and Allen worked together once during the 2024 Xfinity season at Charlotte Motor Speedway, winning the pole for the BetMGM 300 and leading 27 laps for a ninth-place finish.
“It’s a relatively fresh start, and I think that’s kind of what he was looking for and I’m certainly excited about it,” Allen told SiriusXM. “This is work. We met (Monday) and talked about a bunch of things, but these are our careers and it’s definitely a professional relationship. And I think over time, that will grow into a more personal and good friendship overall. But we’re here to go work. We’re here to win races, and I think we’re both on the same page with that.”
The 2025 season will mark Gibbs’ third at the Cup level. While still searching for his first career win, Gibbs doubled his top-five total between his rookie and sophomore seasons, leaping from four in 2023 to eight in 2024 in addition to collecting his first two career Busch Light Pole Awards. The 22-year-old qualified for the NASCAR Playoffs for the first time in 2024, finishing 15th in the final season standings with a 17.4 average finish and 417 laps led.
“We take a lot of pride in our Xfinity Series program and the depth of talent that we have been able to maintain,” team owner Joe Gibbs said in a release. “Tyler Allen was successful at the Cup level with us while working under Adam Stevens and was impressive last season in the Xfinity Series leading that 20 team to eight wins while working with a number of different drivers. We have an exciting young and talented team on the 54 car.”
Allen’s promotion to the Cup Series left a vacancy in the Xfinity Series for JGR’s crew-chief rotation. In Allen’s place, Jason Ratcliff returns to the pit box and will lead the No. 54 Xfinity team with rookie driver Taylor Gray behind the wheel. Ratcliff has 72 combined victories between the Cup and Xfinity series in addition to the 2009 Xfinity championship.
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“I’m thrilled to join Taylor and the 54 team for the 2025 season,” Ratcliff said in a release. “After a year away from the track, I’m eager to return to the pit box every weekend. Taylor has the talent and determination to excel in NASCAR, and it’s our mission to help him achieve that success.”
Ratcliff has crew-chiefed 253 Cup races and 548 Xfinity events, earning 15 Cup wins and 57 Xfinity victories.
“It is also exciting to have Jason Ratcliff back on the pit box in the Xfinity Series to work with Taylor Gray next season,” Joe Gibbs said. “He has contributed so much to our organization over his career.”