Joe Graf Jr. will not return to SS-Green Light Racing after three seasons in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Team owner Bobby Dotter announced the news in a Christmas greeting video posted Friday, though they had agreed to part ways in advance.
“As we close out another season, it’s a time for change here,” began Dotter. “We’ve had three great years with Joe Graf Jr. and his family. Can’t say enough for him and happy I was to work with him and how grateful I am for everything they’ve done for us. But it’s time for some new change. We’ll be looking at some different drivers next year.
“We had an excellent year last year getting our first team win. Joe showed a lot of signs of speed, and I think we’ve got what it takes to move this team up the ladder and hopefully this year proves we can do it.”
Graf joined SSGLR in 2020 after spending the last year years in the ARCA Menards Series and making select Xfinity starts. He finished twenty-second in points as a rookie before running all but certain road courses in 2021, and scored his maiden top ten at Talladega.
He notched a career-best finish of eighth in the 2022 Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega. However, it was a difficult year for Graf that included failing to qualify at Fontana, where team-mate Cole Custer recorded SSGLR’s first win, getting disqualified the following week at Las Vegas, and missing races in the summer for a family matter. Graf finished 2022 twenty-seventh in points and also raced for RSS Racing at Fontana (making a driver switch after his DNQ) and B.J. McLeod Motorsports at Road America.
SSGLR has not announced a 2023 roster. They partnered with Stewart-Haas Racing in 2022 which granted them access to SHR drivers like Custer.
