Josh Bilicki / No. 19 DiTEC Marine Products / Trim-Tex Drywall Solutions Toyota GR Supra Preview – Pacific Office Automation 147 at Portland International Raceway

No. 19 DiTEC Marine Products / Trim-Tex Drywall Solutions Toyota GR Supra News and Notes:

  • BILICKI AT PORTLAND: Josh Bilicki will make his first career start with Joe Gibbs Racing this weekend at Portland International Raceway for the Pacific Office Automation 147 in the No. 19 Toyota GR Supra. Although Bilicki has never made a start at Portland, he has made a name for himself as a road course ringer as he grew up primarily racing road courses before entering the NASCAR circuit. With a career-best finish of eight coming at Road America in 2023 and a career-best average finish of 23.7 at road courses, Bilicki has shown he can get the most out of a car when there’s right turns involved. With Joe Gibbs Racing standing as the most successful Xfinity Series team that Bilicki has raced thus far, he could be a wild card to watch for this Saturday in Portland.
  • GETTING TO KNOW JOSH: Bilicki, 29, has native first entered the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2016 and has since ran 204 races across the top three levels of the sport. In 96 Xfinity Series starts, Bilicki has collected two top-10 finishes and led 16 laps. Originally from Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, Bilicki grew up racing sports cars around the Midwest. Bilicki did not make the jump to stock cars until his Xfinity Series debut, which he earned by cold-calling a race team with no driver listed on the entry list, and offering to drive for them. Since then, Bilicki has journeyed throughout the top three levels of NASCAR and has become a mainstay of the garage area in some capacity for the past eight years.
  • ON THE PITBOX: Seth Chavka will lead the No. 19 Toyota GR Supra team for the 2024 season as he embarks on his rookie season as a crew chief in the Xfinity Series. Chavka is no stranger to JGR, as he has spent time in the Cup Series shop as lead race engineer for the likes of Erik Jones, Kyle Busch, and most recently, Ty Gibbs, since starting his tenure with the team in 2019. Prior to joining JGR, Chavka spent seven years at Richard Childress Racing and one year at Kevin Harvick Inc. as an engineer. In his 13 years spent in NASCAR, Chavka has earned six NASCAR Cup Series victories and four Xfinity Series victories.
  • NO. 19 IN 2024: The JGR No. 19 will have a rotating schedule of drivers throughout the 2024 season. Ryan Truex, Aric Almirola, Taylor Gray and Ty Gibbs have already made starts behind the wheel. In addition to Bilicki, Joe Graf Jr, Brett Moffitt, Justin Bonsignore, and William Sawalich are also slated to run races later this year.
  • JGR AT PORTLAND: Joe Gibbs Racing has never won at Portland International Raceway. In the two years of racing there, the team’s best finish was set by Myatt Snider last year with his sixth-place finish. In total, JGR has three top-10s and 44 laps led in six collective starts in Portland.
  • FOLLOW ALONG:Follow along for updates and a behind-the-scenes look at Bilicki’s 2024 season.

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  • RACE INFO: Coverage of this weekend’s Xfinity Series race at Portland International Raceway is scheduled for Saturday, June 1st at 4:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1, MRN Radio, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Josh Bilicki, Driver of the No. 19 DiTEC Marine Products/ Trim-Tex Drywall Solutions Toyota GR Supra:

“You’re making your first start with Joe Gibbs Racing equipment this weekend. What is your mindset entering this race?”

“I’m ecstatic, honestly. I’ve been extremely blessed to race in this sport for as many years as I have up to this point, but the opportunity to get into a Joe Gibbs Racing Xfinity car is towards the top of the list as far as big opportunities go. On top of that, road courses have been my strong suit my whole life, so it feels like a perfect fit, honestly. Once the green flag drops, the mindset is business as usual. You have to remain composed in these races and take care of your equipment. As excited as I am to get in the car, the main focus is to execute and be around at the end to make the most of our day. No matter what happened, I’m extremely grateful for the chance to go out there and prove myself this weekend.”

JGR PR