AVONDALE, Ariz: After 24 seasons in the NASCAR garage, Jason Ratcliff is coming off of the pit box on Saturday.
The championship-winning crew chief, whose racing roster features current and future Hall of Famers, is establishing a new role at Joe Gibbs Racing as Team/Driver Coordinator for the company’s NASCAR Xfinity and ARCA Menards Series.
If Ratcliff could have custom-tailored a utility role to fill a void at JGR, it would match his new job description.
“It’s kind of a new role, but it’s one that we’ve been kicking around that we’ve needed for a while,” Ratcliff told Catchfence.com. “I’m just going to kind of oversee and help the crew chiefs. We’re going to have some new young crew chiefs now in the Xfinity shop.
“So whether it’s mentoring those guys, whether I can help with some driver coaching side and just really help with the best practices across the board or even take some procedures or systems that the Cup shop has developed and bring those into Xfinity. So really just being one of the guys that helps tie the whole thing together.
“If any special projects come up, I’ll oversee that and be in charge of it. So I’m looking forward to it. The sky’s the limit. The more I think about it, the more I think about where I can assist and help. And being a crew chief, I often think about, ‘Oh, I really wish I had a guy that could do “X”—‘this would really help.’ I’m just out of hours today. I’m out of hours this week. I can’t get this on the car, but if I had a guy that could help me with that…’ So now I get to be that guy and I’m looking forward to that.”
And there’s no one better suited to take on the challenge. Since joining JGR in 2005, Ratcliff has worked on both the Cup and Xfinity sides of the shop. Thirty-four of his 57 NXS wins came in his first six seasons—as did his Xfinity title with Kyle Busch, who was responsible for 33 of those victories.
Starting in 2012, his Cup drivers scored 15 wins and 14 poles, with Matt Kenseth’s second-place result in the 2013 standings serving as a career-best for Ratcliff-led teams. The six wins Kenseth scored under Ratcliff’s direction led to a season-best seven victories during the Hall of Fame driver’s career.
Ratcliff returned to NXS in 2018 to oversee Christopher Bell’s driver development. Over the next two seasons, Bell amassed 15 wins and advanced to the Championship 4—just falling short of the title.
“Jason was amazing,” Bell said. “Even to this day, I feel so bad for Jason and the hand he was dealt going into 2020 with everything that happened. Fortunately, I got a mulligan year. I was able to get a second opportunity at Joe Gibbs Racing and he didn’t.
“He was an amazing crew chief and helped build me to where I am. He did not get a fair hand whenever we went Cup racing in 2020.”
When Bell refers to 2020, he is reflecting on the limited opportunities to test, practice and race under Covid. Still, when it comes to mentoring people, Ratcliff has earned Bell’s vote of confidence.
“He’s one of the best to ever do it,” Bell added. “Having him around is going to be very critical. Anyone who is young and in the crew chief role would be wise to speak to him.”
Ratcliff’s new role at JGR is quite the departure for a guy whose simple goal was working with a race team. The Sumter, S.C., native, who turns 56 next month, marvels at the sport’s evolution over the last four decades.
“I just wanted to work on a race team, and really I wanted to be a tire changer,” Ratcliff said. “That was my goal. I just wanted to be an athlete. I wanted to come out here and be a tire changer and I was able to do that for over 10 years. Actually, I think about it now. Imagine a crew chief coming off the box and changing tires. That’s how much different the sport is now.”
Ratcliff earned his first shot as a crew chief with Brewco—the Clarence Brewer-owned race team out of Nashville. He worked with Casey Atwood, Jamie McMurray and nearly won the Busch Series title with driver-turned-NASCAR-official David Green. In 2005, his career path carried him to JGR—which he describes “as a dream come true.”
“When I came to Gibbs, I hung up my tire changing hat just went to crew chiefing and it’s been amazing ever since,” Ratcliff said. “A lot of years in Xfinity, a lot of years in Cup with just phenomenal drivers, so I’ve been extremely blessed with the people I’ve worked with, the drivers I’ve worked with, the opportunities. When someone told me I was getting close to 800 starts, I was like, ‘Wow, that’s amazing.’
“I told Wayne Auton (Xfinity Series Director) and the people at NASCAR this morning, ‘Thank you guys for putting up with me for 800 starts.’ But it’s been great. I’m going to soak this one in. I don’t think it’ll really hit me until the guys get on the airplane to go to Daytona in February, then I think it’ll set in and I really know what it means to not go to the track anymore.”
Ratcliff has more memories on his highlight reels than he has time to recount. But after 24 seasons as a crew chief, he appears ready for the transition. Ratcliff has reached a stage in his life where the work/life balance is leaning more towards family time.
“I don’t want to sound like I’m overly proud or prideful, but it’s just amazing, really. It’s actually very emotional to think about it. All these different things throughout my career that are so meaningful to me are extremely meaningful to other people as well. And I think that’s what makes them special.
“I’m looking forward to a new role and whatever value I can bring into the team, helping with the the Xfinity and ARCA program. It’s going to be a new season in life with a couple of granddaughters that I can now spend some Saturdays with. So I’m looking forward to that as well.”
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
