Kaz Grala joining Rick Ware Racing for majority of 2024 Cup season

Kaz Grala will move to the Cup Series for the 2024 season as he joins Rick Ware Racing for the majority of the schedule.

Grala will drive the No. 15 Ford Mustang while becoming teammates with full-time driver Justin Haley. Grala will make 25 starts. Billy Plourde will be his crew chief.

Grala's first start will be the Busch Light Clash on Feb. 4. He will return to the No. 15 for the Feb. 25 race at Atlanta.

“Kaz Grala is a talented and tenacious driver who brings a lot to our race team,” said team owner Rick Ware in a statement.

“He has an incredible work ethic and leverages every opportunity to its full potential. He’s an asset inside and outside of the car who will help make our program better.”

Grala, who has spent the majority of his driving career running partial seasons, competed full-time in the Truck Series in 2017. He made the playoffs after winning the season-opening race at Daytona.

Grala spent last season in Xfinity. He drove the No. 26 Toyota full-time for Sam Hunt Racing and finished 17th in the championship standings after posting nine top-10 finishes and two top fives.

Grala has made seven starts in Cup while driving for three teams — Richard Childress Racing, Kaulig Racing and TMT Racing. He scored a seventh-place finish at the Daytona Road Course in 2020 while replacing Austin Dillon. Grala finished sixth the following season at Talladega driving for Kaulig Racing.

"I’ve found myself as an underdog at each level of NASCAR, and I feel I thrive in that position,” Grala said in a statement. “It’s important to get the most out of the car on restarts and in the closing laps of a race, all while taking care of the equipment, and those are my strengths.

"I also like to be hands-on with the team during the week, involved in what the next step is to advance our program.”