Matt Lucas
Matt Lucas starts the 2012 season as the new crew chief for Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Nationwide Series team. Lucas joined the Joe Gibbs Racing organization in 2010 as the engineer for the No. 18 team, and his recent promotion positions him as a crew chief for the first time in his racing career.
A native of West Carrollton, Ohio, Lucas graduated from Cedarville University in 1994 with a degree in mechanical engineering. He began his career in motorsports as a racing mechanic working with A.J. Foyt Racing in IRL and Dan Gurney’s All-American Racers in CART. Lucas’ goal was to work in one of NASCAR’s top-three divisions, and he moved to Mooresville, N.C. to pursue that dream and began working for Penske Racing in 2001. Lucas spent five seasons as an engineer at Penske working on the No. 2, No. 12 and No. 77 Sprint Cup Series cars.
In 2006, the young engineer was hired by Roush Fenway Racing to work in their Nationwide Series program. Lucas worked on the No. 60 Nationwide Series entry from 2006 to 2008, and helped lead Carl Edwards to the 2007 Nationwide Series Championship. In 2009, he worked on Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 98 Nationwide Series team with driver Paul Menard before joining Joe Gibbs Racing in 2010.
Lucas has spent the past two Nationwide Series seasons working as the race engineer for the championship contending No. 18 team, which has a long history of dominance in the Nationwide Series. Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 team claimed the Nationwide Series Owner’s Championship back-to-back in 2009 and 2010, and finished runner-up by just three points in 2011. With the experience and drive to win championships, Lucas has the potential to be a strong leader for the already successful No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team.
Lucas resides in Mooresville, N.C. with his wife Jessie and their three daughters Piper, Violet and Ruby. Away from racing, he enjoys spending time with his family, road racing and going to the beach.
In his new role as crew chief, Lucas will work with a variety of drivers this season including Denny Hamlin and Michael McDowell. Contending for the 2012 Owner’s Championship, Lucas and the No. 18 team are aiming to close out the season as the frontrunners in the Nationwide Series owner’s standings.
