Joe Graf Jr.

Joseph A. Graf Jr.[1] (born July 12, 1998) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 07 Chevrolet Camaro for SS-Green Light Racing, and part-time in the ARCA Menards Series East, driving the No. 74 Ford for Visconti Motorsports. He also works as a communications intern for Richard Childress Racing, a team he drove for part-time in the Xfinity Series in 2019.

Joe Graf Jr.
Graf at 2018 Madison ARCA race
BornJoseph A. Graf Jr.
(1998-07-12) July 12, 1998
Mahwah, New Jersey
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
36 races run over 2 years
Car no., teamNo. 07 (SS-Green Light Racing)
2020 position22nd
Best finish22nd (2020)
First race2019 CircuitCity.com 250 (Iowa)
Last race2020 Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 (Phoenix)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
Statistics current as of November 7, 2020.

Racing career

At the beginning of his career, Graf drove Bandolero cars at Elko Speedway.[2] He later raced Modifieds at Stafford Speedway.[3]

ARCA Menards Series

2018 ARCA car

Graf ran the whole season in 2018 save for the season-opening race at Daytona. The deal originally started out as a six-race schedule,[4] but eventually expanded to 19 races. In his third race at Talladega, Graf raced on a foot he had recently broken and finished second to Zane Smith in the closest finish in series history.[5] At Berlin Raceway in August, Graf spun Chandler Smith on the would-be final lap and then, after losing the lead to Zane Smith on the ensuing restart, pushed Smith up the track in turn four on the final lap to claim his first checkered flag in ARCA competition.[6]

Xfinity Series

In April 2019, Graf joined Richard Childress Racing's driver development program, which enabled him to run five NASCAR Xfinity Series races for the team starting with Michigan International Speedway's LTi Printing 250. He also became a marketing and communications intern for the team.[7] After failing to qualify at Michigan, he made his series debut in Iowa Speedway's CircuitCity.com 250, where he finished 19th. Graf later said that he hopes to use the schedule as a lead-up to a full-time Xfinity schedule in 2020.[8] At Richmond Raceway in September, Graf drew the ire of John Hunter Nemechek when Graf moved Nemechek, a driver competing in the NASCAR playoffs, on the last lap. In retaliation, Nemechek spun Graf's car in turn one after the checkered flag.[9]

On January 16, 2020, SS-Green Light Racing announced Graf would race for the team full-time in the Xfinity Series that year, replacing Gray Gaulding in the team's No. 08 car.[10] He finished 22nd in points with a best finish of 13th on three occasions.[11]

Graf moved to the team's No. 07 in 2021.[11]

Personal life

Raised in Mahwah, New Jersey, Graf attended Don Bosco Preparatory High School and played high school sports for two years before choosing to focus on his driving.[5]

Graf attends New York University.[7]

He is not related to Klaus Graf who is also a racing driver.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Xfinity Series

NASCAR Xfinity Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 NXSC Pts Ref
2019 Richard Childress Racing 21 Chevy DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH TAL DOV CLT POC MCH
DNQ
IOW
19
CHI DAY
23
KEN NHA IOW GLN MOH RCH
14
CLT DOV KAN TEX PHO HOM 44th 55 [12]
Kaulig Racing 10 Chevy BRI
DNQ
ROA DAR IND LVS
2020 SS-Green Light Racing 08 Chevy DAY
36
LVS
20
CAL
31
PHO
31
DAR
19
CLT
19
BRI
13
ATL
26
HOM
16
HOM
13
TAL
34
POC
35
IND
26
KEN
13
KEN
22
TEX
21
KAN
28
ROA
25
DAY
26
DOV
18
DOV
21
DAY
37
DAR
23
RCH
19
RCH
27
BRI
27
LVS
27
TAL
31
CLT
15
KAN
32
TEX
22
MAR
21
PHO
27
22nd 422 [13]
2021 07 DAY DAY HOM LVS PHO ATL MAR TAL DAR DOV COA CLT MOH TEX NSH POC ROA ATL NHA GLN IND MCH DAY DAR RCH BRI LVS TAL CLT TEX KAN MAR PHO

ARCA Menards Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Menards Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 AMSC Pts Ref
2018 Chad Bryant Racing 77 Ford DAY NSH
16
SLM
11
TAL
2
TOL
3
CLT
18
POC
7
MCH
5
MAD
12
GTW
8
CHI
13
IOW
5
ELK
3
POC
26
ISF
16
BLN
1
DSF
11
SLM
11
IRP
13
KAN
21
8th 4000 [14]
2019 DAY
21
FIF
11
SLM
9
TAL
10
NSH
6
TOL
17
CLT
12
POC
8
MAD
9
GTW
11
CHI
11
ELK
7
IOW
9
ISF
10
DSF
11
SLM
6
IRP
10
KAN
9
5th 4610 [15]
Chevy MCH
4
POC
10

ARCA Menards Series East

ARCA Menards Series East results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 AMSEC Pts Ref
2018 Calabrese Motorsports 43 Toyota NSM
15
BRI LGY SBO SBO MEM NJM THO NHA IOW GLN GTW NHA DOV 51st 29 [16]
2019 Chad Bryant Racing 22 Ford NSM BRI SBO SBO MEM NHA IOW GLN BRI
16
GTW NHA DOV 44th 28 [17]
2020 Visconti Motorsports 74 Ford NSM TOL DOV
17
TOL BRI FIF 45th 27 [18]

* Season still in progress

References

  1. "Team Event Rosters – Texas Motor Speedway – Saturday, October 24, 2020" (PDF). NASCAR. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  2. Sansevere, Bob (June 7, 2019). "Minnesota driver Joe Graf Jr. balances classes at NYU, first start on NASCAR Xfinity Series". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  3. Courchesne, Shawn (April 26, 2019). "Former Stafford SK Light Mod Regular Joe Graf Jr. Joins Richard Childress Racing In Unique Role". RaceDayCT. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  4. Radebaugh, Don (March 28, 2018). "Joe Graf Jr. making ARCA debut at Nashville with Chad Bryant Racing". ARCA Menards Series. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  5. Rowe, John (May 4, 2018). "Mahwah resident Joe Graf Jr. climbing auto racing ladder". The Record. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  6. Niehaus, Matt (August 25, 2018). "Joe Graf Jr. Steals ARCA Win At Berlin". Apex Off. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  7. Utter, Jim (April 26, 2019). "Joe Graf Jr. to make NASCAR Xfinity Series debut with RCR". Motorsport.com. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  8. Wolkin, Joseph. "NYU Student Joe Graf Jr. Splits Time Between The Racetrack And The Classroom". Long Island Weekly. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  9. Catanzareti, Zach (September 20, 2019). "John Hunter Nemechek angry at Joe Graf Jr. following Richmond race". Kickin The Tires. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  10. Utter, Jim (January 16, 2020). "Joe Graf Jr. moves fulltime to NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2020". Motorsport.com. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  11. Rutherford, Kevin (February 5, 2021). "Joe Graf Jr. Moving to No. 07 in Xfinity in 2021". Frontstretch. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  12. "Joe Graf Jr. – 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
  13. "Joe Graf Jr. – 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  14. "Joe Graf Jr. – 2018 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  15. "Driver Joe Graf, Jr. 2019 ARCA Menards Series results". Racing Reference. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  16. "Joe Graf Jr. – 2018 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  17. "Joe Graf Jr. – 2019 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  18. "Joe Graf Jr. – 2020 ARCA Menards Series East Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
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