One shot, one opportunity: Josh Bilicki earned his best chance with Joe Gibbs Racing
10/09/2024 07:30 AM
Josh Bilicki has been floating around NASCAR garages for nearly a decade, looking for opportunities to race. This weekend at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval will be among his best chances yet.
"I think for Charlotte, my mentality is going to change to where I‘m going to be the aggressor," Bilicki told Jayski.com.
The Charlotte Roval will mark Bilicki‘s second and final start of the 2024 Xfinity Series season with Joe Gibbs Racing. Being overly aggressive isn‘t something the Wisconsin native is used to. He‘s made a career out of taking care of equipment for smaller organizations across the top three series.
It‘s been over four months since Bilicki‘s JGR debut, which came at Portland International Raceway. In his first weekend with one of the series‘ best race teams, he ranked fifth in practice and qualified eighth. The No. 19 Toyota was a mainstay in the top five during the race, but got hit on a late restart and still managed a 12th-place finish, best in class for JGR.
"I had never been to Portland, so the prep that JGR gave me was phenomenal," Bilicki recalled. "To run top five in practice and qualify decent and race in the top five — finish fourth in Stage 1, third in Stage 2 — it was a good day. I think it was shaping up to be good, but restarts on road courses with under 10 laps to go get crazy. I always seem to be the one getting the worst end of it."
While JGR typically has drivers competing for the driver‘s championship, it has given underfunded drivers ample opportunities over the years in part-time rides. It‘s where Ryan Preece scored a pair of Xfinity victories that launched him to the Cup Series.
Bilicki had a pair of sponsors — Ditec Marine Products and Insurance King — that wanted to back him with a bigger team to give him a shot to win. He has a road-course background and believes teams know that he can contend up front while turning left and right.
"[JGR] knows I‘m pretty strong on the road courses," Bilicki stated. "At Portland, we would have run top three if I hadn‘t gotten spun. The goal for the Roval is to win and I think [JGR] knows that, too."
Expectations are sky high for Bilicki this weekend. Steve de Souza, JGR‘s EVP NASCAR Xfinity Series/Development, was impressed with BIlicki‘s Portland performance. He believes that Bilicki will be more comfortable with JGR, having one race under his belt with the No. 19 team.
"We have high expectations, but at the end of the day, when we have a driver that‘s not participating in a lot of races, we want what is good for them and good for us," de Souza said. "We get to see a little more about them. We‘re hoping when we put them into our system, in our car, they can actually open some eyes from what they‘ve been able to garner in terms of finish or what they‘ve done. What we hope for him coming up in this race is we can put him in a car that he‘s comfortable with and he can demonstrate how good he is."
With stage points being at a premium for Playoff drivers, it could give drivers not chasing the championship a leg up. Bilicki has competed in all six Charlotte Roval races — this year‘s layout is new — and has a best finish of 13th with BJ McLeod Motorsports.
Should Bilicki score an upset victory, he isn‘t sure if it will necessarily pad his resume for future opportunities. He‘s seen Ryan Truex win three races through the same system and not be able to put a full-time deal together.
"If I go out and win on a road course, I don‘t know that it‘s going to land me a ride next year," Bilicki admitted. "If I were to go out there and win on an oval, I think that would change their block because that would show this team that I can drive on ovals and a road course.
"I think a lot of people know that I can drive on a road course. I want to prove that I can drive on an oval."
Prior to making his NASCAR oval debut at Phoenix in 2016, Bilicki only competed in three stock car races on an oval at Jefferson Speedway, billed as Wisconsin‘s Action Track. He‘s become well versed on ovals, making starts in all three national touring series, and he will compete in his 100th Cup Series race this weekend.
Bilicki continues managing his own sponsorship deals. He estimates that 95% of the sponsors that have appeared on one of his racecars are from digging during the week at his desk.
Away from the NASCAR grind, Bilicki is a driver coach at Road America and writes his own press releases. He gets some help with graphics, but has created many of his 2-D renderings for paint schemes.
"I‘m kind of a one-man band," Bilicki confessed.
That passion allows Bilicki to continue chasing his dream of being a full-time NASCAR driver. The bulk of his starts in 2024 have come with DGM Racing, which he considers to be the closest team he‘s been around throughout his career. He‘s also learning how to race a sprint car and continues competing in Porsches.
The reason Bilicki is still around is he just wants it.
"I think I work harder," Bilicki said. "I‘ve lost multi-million dollar sponsorship deals and I just keep going, keep working and trying to pick up new sponsors. I think a lot of people get burnt out.
"At the end of the day, I look at this and sometimes it feels like a normal job for me sitting at my desk in my office looking at a computer for 10-plus hours per day, trying to find new sponsors and keep my sponsors happy. It‘s still better than a normal job. I love driving racecars. The reward for me is when I get to drive the racecars and get to go out there and be competitive."
Bilicki will be rewarded this weekend.
