The actor Matt LeBlanc[1] will join the cast of the BBC's car-themed show "Top Gear," a popular program known for its on-air antics — as well as its high-profile staffing changes.

"Top Gear" said on Thursday[2] that Mr. LeBlanc, who played Joey on the sitcom "Friends" and is a self-described "car nut," would join the show's host, Chris Evans, a British presenter whose hiring was announced last summer.

"Matt's a lifelong fellow petrolhead, and I'm thrilled he's joining 'Top Gear,'" Mr. Evans said in a statement. "Acting out our craziest car notions on screen is a dream job and I know we'll both be debating some epic road trip ideas."

Mr. LeBlanc, who will be the first American to co-host the program, is no stranger to "Top Gear," especially its segment "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car." During an appearance, he zipped around a racetrack in a Kia Cee'd, earning the segment's fastest time[3] for that model (though the actor Rowan Atkinson came close).

"Just don't use the brake as much, that's all," Mr. LeBlanc said while behind the wheel.

Matt Leblanc: "Just Don't Use the Brake As Much"
Video by BBC America

Even with Mr. LeBlanc's automotive chops, the previous cast could be a tough act to follow. After the BBC restarted "Top Gear" in 2002, the cars tended to take a back seat to the antics of its three hosts, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, as they traipsed the globe.

Controversy occasionally followed: Mr. Clarkson was suspended last March after he attacked a producer[4] after a night of drinking. The contract for Mr. Clarkson, once among the BBC's highest-earning employees, was not renewed. In July, Amazon announced that Mr. Clarkson and Mr. Hammond would join the company[5] to film a new show.

The BBC has said that more cast members will join Mr. LeBlanc and Mr. Evans. According to The Guardian[6], two possibilities are Sabine Schmitz, a German racing driver, and Chris Harris, a British journalist.

Correction: February 4, 2016

An earlier version of this article misstated the lineup of former co-hosts of "Top Gear." They were Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, not just Mr. Clarkson and Mr. Hammond.