Kaz Edward Grala ( ; born December 29, 1998) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 26

Toyota Supra is a sports car and grand tourer manufactured by the Toyota Motor Corporation beginning in 1978. The name " supra" is derived from the Latin prefix, meaning "above", "to surpass" or "go beyond". The initial four generations of the Supra were ...

for Sam Hunt Racing. The

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

native is the youngest NASCAR winner in the history of

Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NASC ...

with his win in the 2017 Truck Series season-opener and the youngest person to ever compete in an

International Motor Sports Association The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA. It was started by John Bishop, a former executive dire ...

(IMSA) event.

Racing career

Early career

Grala started racing

go-kart A go-kart, also written as go-cart (often referred to as simply a kart), is a type of sports car, close wheeled car, open-wheel car or quadracycle. Go-karts come in all shapes and forms, from non-motorised models to high-performance racing ...

s at F1 Boston in

Braintree, Massachusetts Braintree (), officially the Town of Braintree, is a municipality in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Although officially known as a towBraintree is a city, with a mayor-council government, mayor-council form of government, and ...

when he was four years old. When he was ten, he began racing Bandoleros, winning the Summer Shootout Championship in 2011. That same year, he won the New York Legendstock and the Massachusetts Bandolero Outlaws state championships. In 2012, Grala won 15 races and the

Winter Heat is a sports video game developed by Sega AM3 and published by Sega for arcades in 1997, and for the Sega Saturn in 1998, featuring the license for the 1998 Winter Olympics that were celebrated in Nagano, Japan. It is the sequel to the 1996 Sega ...

Championship at Charlotte in the Legend Car Pro Division.

Late Models

2013

In 2013, Grala made his late model debut in

UARA-STARS The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is an auto racing sanctioning body in the United States, founded in 1953 by John Marcum. The current president of ARCA is Ron Drager, who took over the position in 1996 following the death of Bob Lo ...

, becoming the youngest winner in series history at

Hickory Motor Speedway Hickory Motor Speedway is a short track located in Hickory, North Carolina. It is one of stock car racing's most storied venues, and is often referred to as the "World's Most Famous Short Track" and the "Birthplace of the NASCAR Stars". The t ...

, followed by setting the record as the youngest driver to lead laps in the Myrtle Beach 400 where he finished second to Lee Pulliam. That same year, he was named by Speed 51 as the 2013 JEGS Rookie of the Year.

2014

In 2014, he competed in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series and won at

Caraway Speedway Caraway Speedway is a short track located near Asheboro, North Carolina, U.S. Caraway Speedway was built in 1966 as a dirt track. The track was paved in 1972 and joined the NASCAR Weekly Series family as a .455 mile asphalt short track. Caraway ...

and

Martinsville Speedway Martinsville Speedway is a NASCAR-owned stock car racing short track in Ridgeway, Virginia, just south of Martinsville. At in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in ...

K&N Pro Series East

2014

In 2014, he joined

Turner Scott Motorsports Turner Scott Motorsports (TSM), formerly Turner Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed in the NASCAR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Sprint Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Nationwide Series, ...

to compete full-time in the

K&N Pro Series East The ARCA Menards Series East (formerly Busch East Series, Busch North Series, Camping World East Series, and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East) is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and ...

as the youngest driver in the series.

2015

In 2015, he joined Ben Kennedy Racing to race full-time in the K&N Pro Series East once again.

NASCAR Truck Series

2016

In 2016, Grala made his

NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of t ...

debut at Martinsville for

GMS Racing Petty GMS Motorsports, also known as GMS Racing in the Craftsman Truck Series, is an American professional stock car racing team formed by Richard Petty and Maurice J. Gallagher Jr. and operated by GMS Racing. In the NASCAR Cup Series they field t ...

, driving the No. 33

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

. Grala would get his first career top-ten finish at

Dover International Speedway Dover Motor Speedway (formerly Dover Downs International Speedway and later Dover International Speedway) is a race track in Dover, Delaware. The track has hosted at least one NASCAR Cup Series race each year since 1969, including two per yea ...

in just his second start in the series. With Ben Kennedy joining the team, Grala moved over to the No. 24 truck to compete in seven more races that year.

2017

He joined GMS full-time for 2017, driving the No. 33 Chevrolet. After avoiding all the crashes at

, he won his first race in the series after starting on the pole, making him both the youngest driver to win a NASCAR pole at Daytona and the youngest driver to win a NASCAR race at Daytona (18 years, 1 month and 26 days). It was Grala's first win in NASCAR and essentially locked him into a spot in the Playoffs for the Truck Series in 2017. Grala almost won at

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport Park and Mosport International Raceway) is a multi-track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville, in Ontario, Canada, east of Toronto. The facility features a , 10-turn road course; a adva ...

in September, after leading the closing laps and then in one of the final corners he was tapped and spun around by

Austin Cindric Austin Louis Cindric (born September 2, 1998) is an American professional auto racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 2 Ford Mustang for Team Penske. Prior to competing in stock cars, Cindric raced with a v ...

. Grala was eliminated from the Playoffs before the Round of 6 due to an early crash in the cutoff race at

Talladega Superspeedway Talladega Superspeedway, nicknamed “'Dega”, and formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) from 1969 to 1989, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base ...

, which ultimately resulted in him finishing the season 7th in the Truck Series standings.

2020

In 2020, Grala joined

Niece Motorsports Niece Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Owned by Al Niece, it currently fields No. 40 Chevrolet Silverado full-time for Dean Thompson, No. 42 Chevrolet ...

for a one-off race at Talladega as a replacement for

Natalie Decker Natalie Marie Decker (born June 25, 1997) is an American professional stock car racing driver. She last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 33 Toyota Supra for Reaume Brothers Racing, the No. 28 Ford Mustang for RSS Ra ...

2021

Grala returned to the Truck Series again in

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, driving for

Young's Motorsports Young's Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series. In the Truck Series, they field three full-time Chevrolet Silverados: the No. 02 for Jesse Li ...

at the Daytona Road Course in their No. 02, replacing

Kris Wright Kristofer Cole Wright (born July 17, 1994) is an American professional racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 68 Chevrolet Camaro for Brandonbilt Motorsports. He has also competed in sports car, ope ...

, the full-time driver of that truck.

2022

On February 3rd Young's Motorsports confirmed that Kaz would return to the team for 11 races.

NASCAR Xfinity Series

2018

On November 15, 2017, it was announced that Grala would join JGL Racing full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series as a 2018 Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender, driving the No. 24

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

. Grala finished fourth in his debut at Daytona. However, on May 15, the team shut down the No. 24 program, leaving Grala without a ride. Three days later, Grala announced he would run the next four Xfinity races for

Fury Race Cars Fury Race Cars, officially styled as FURY Race Cars, is an American race car manufacturer and professional late model and stock car racing team. The company was founded in 2016 by Darius Grala, Tony Eury Jr. and Jeff Fultz, all championship-winn ...

, driving the No. 61 Mustang beginning at

Charlotte Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (previously known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009) is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including th ...

. Grala drove to an impressive 10th-place finish in FURY's debut as a team. With sponsorship support from IT Coalition, DMB Financial, Kiklos, and HotScream, Grala was able to add another eight races to his schedule beyond the original four. Grala's best finish with the organization was a top-five at

, which he achieved in a 10-year-old borrowed car slated to be retired as a show car.

2019

In 2019, Grala joined

Richard Childress Racing Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by Richard ...

's No. 21 Xfinity car for a part-time schedule. He was originally going to run part-time with FURY with the amassed sponsorship, but Grala took the sponsorship to RCR to lower costs. He stayed with the team for the 2020 season.

2020

Grala's 2020 schedule began in July at

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

, where he finished 13th. He ran the next race at

Road America Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Champ ...

and tied his career-best fourth-place finish.

2021

He joined

Jordan Anderson Racing Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, fielding the No. 31 Chevrolet Camaro full-time for Myatt Snider, the No. 32 part-time for owner Jordan Ande ...

in 2021 for the Road America event and the fall race at Texas Motor Speedway.

2022

On January 24,

Alpha Prime Racing Alpha Prime Racing (formerly Martins Motorsports) is an American stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR NASCAR Xfinity Series, Xfinity Series. The team was founded in 2009 by Craig Martins, and fields the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth ...

announced that Grala would drive for them in four races and be the teams reserve driver. On April 12,

Big Machine Racing Big Machine Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that fields the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driven by Parker Kligerman and No. 5 part-time for Jade Buford. History Car No. 5 History ; ...

announced that he would drive for them at Talladega and Dover.

2023

On December 8, 2022, Sam Hunt Racing announced that Grala would compete full-time for them in 2023, driving the No. 26 Toyota GR Supra, with sponsorship to be announced at a later date.

NASCAR Cup Series

2020

In August 2020, a week after his Xfinity start at Road America, Grala was called by RCR to substitute for

Austin Dillon Austin Reed Dillon (born April 27, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver and reality TV show actor. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing. ...

in their No. 3

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...

car at the Daytona road course after Dillon tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The

Go Bowling 235 The O'Reilly Auto Parts 253 was a NASCAR Cup Series race on the Daytona International Speedway infield road course in Daytona Beach, Florida. Originally created in 2020 as a temporary event in response to races canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic, t ...

would see Grala finish seventh in his Cup debut.

2021

Grala joined

Kaulig Racing Kaulig Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is owned by Matt Kaulig, an owner of team sponsor LeafFilter. Kaulig Racing fields two Cup Series Chevrole ...

in 2021 for a multi-race schedule that included the

Daytona 500 The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...

, driving the No. 16. At the

2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400 The 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on August 28, 2021, Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 165 laps -- extended from 160 laps due to an overtime finish, on the superspeedway, it ...

at Daytona, he suffered a foot injury from one of the race's accidents.

2022

Grala became

The Money Team Racing The Money Team Racing, also known as TMT Racing, is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team is owned by former professional boxer, Floyd Mayweather Jr., and they currently field the No. 5 ...

's first official driver in the team's debut at the

2022 Daytona 500 The 2022 Daytona 500 was the first stock car race of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series and the 64th running of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 20, 2022, in Daytona Beach, Florida at Daytona International Speedway, a asphalt superspeedwa ...

. On lap 40 of the race, he lost his right rear wheel and tire, but he finished the race in 26th place. Grala Road America Victory Lane

Other racing

In 2014, Grala ran in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, where he became the youngest driver ever to compete in an

(IMSA) event at the age of 15 years and one week old. In 2016, Grala competed in his first

Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layout ...

for Change Racing alongside former Rolex 24 winners

Spencer Pumpelly Spencer Pumpelly (born December 28, 1974) is an American professional racing driver who competes part-time in IMSA, driving the No. 44 Acura NSX GT3 for Magnus Racing with Archangel Motorsports. A veteran sports car racing driver, he has compete ...

and Justin Marks, in addition to race newcomer

Corey Lewis Corey Sutherland Lewis (also known as Rey or The Rey) is an American comic book creator. He is primarily known as the creator of ''Sharknife'', published by Oni Press. Other works include ''PENG'' for Oni, and providing back-up comic strips for ...

; at the age of 17, Grala was the youngest driver in the field. On July 2, 2022, Grala won the

Trans-Am Series The Trans-Am Series is a sports car racing series held in North America. Founded in 1966, it is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Primarily based in the United States, the series competes on a variety of track types includ ...

TA/GT race at

, driving the No.
Technique ChassisSteel-It
Weaver Racing Dodge Challenger. This was only Grala's second start in the series and second consecutive pole and track record. In the previous race, at

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington. Mid-Ohio has also colloquially become a term for the entire north-central regio ...

, Grala was leading when his car suffered a mechanical failure.

Personal life

Grala was born in

and grew up in the suburb of

Westborough Westborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,567 at the 2020 Census, in over 7,000 households. Incorporated in 1717, the town is governed under the New England open town meeting system, headed ...

. Grala's father Darius is a former sports car racer, competing in the

24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layou ...

three times. He is of

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

ancestry. He attended high school at

Worcester Academy Worcester Academy is a private school in Worcester, Massachusetts. It is the oldest educational institution founded in the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, and one of the oldest day-boarding schools in the United States. A coeducational prepara ...

, graduating in 2017. Grala has been accepted to

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

to major in engineering, but has deferred his admission to pursue his racing career. Grala lives in

Mooresville, North Carolina Mooresville is a large town located in the southwestern section of Iredell County, North Carolina, United States, and is a part of the fast-growing Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 50,193 at the 2020 United States Census making it ...

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

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

Cup Series

=Daytona 500

Xfinity Series

Camping World Truck Series

Season still in progress
Ineligible for series points
Switched from Cup to Truck points on May 4

K&N Pro Series East

K&N Pro Series West

Pinty's Series

ARCA Racing Series

(

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

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

(

)

24 Hours of Daytona

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grala, Kaz Living people 1998 births People from Westborough, Massachusetts Worcester Academy alumni NASCAR drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers Racing drivers from Massachusetts ARCA Menards Series drivers Sportspeople from Worcester County, Massachusetts Richard Childress Racing drivers Michelin Pilot Challenge drivers