PREVIEW: New teams and team expansions crowd all three garage areas in Daytona

PHOTO: @Nyracingteam

Thursday, February 17, 2022 (7:00 P.M. ET, FS1)

CUP Exhibition Races

Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona

2021 Last-Place Finishers: Josh Bilicki, B.J. McLeod

ENTRY LIST

There are 42 drivers entered for 40 spots, meaning two teams will be sent home after Thursday’s “Duel” races. Team and driver changes reflect changes since the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum on February 6. For more on the offseason changes, check out the preview article for that race here.

DRIVER CHANGE: #15-Rick Ware Racing

After Ryan Preece raced his way into the main event during the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum, David Ragan will make his 15th consecutive start in the Daytona 500. Ragan brings with him returning sponsorship from Select Blinds as he takes the wheel of Rick Ware’s #15 Ford. An early crash while driving for Front Row Motorsports left Ragan 38th in this race last year.

DRIVER CHANGE: #16-Kaulig Racing

Fresh off his first NASCAR victory – and championship – in last November’s XFINITY Series title race at Phoenix, Daniel Hemric makes his return to the Cup Series for the first time since he secured Rookie of the Year in the 2019 finale at Homestead. Since Kaulig Racing acquired two Charters in their push to Cup, Hemric will make his first 500 since that year, when he finished 34th for Richard Childress Racing. Hemric, sponsored by Heritage Pool Supply Group, takes the place of A.J. Allmendinger, who will instead focus on this week’s XFINITY race.

NEW TEAM: #27-Team Hezeberg

In 2007 and 2008, Jacques Villenueve attempted to qualify for the first two superspeedway races with the “Car of Tomorrow.” Driving the #27 for Bill Davis Racing, he made his series debut at Talladega, but a crash in his qualifying race left him out of the Daytona 500. This year, the Formula One World Champion is back – again in the #27, and again in a brand-new car – but this time in a joint effort between Reaume Brothers Racing and Hezeberg Systems out of the Netherlands. Villenueve will attempt the 500 field in a ride he’ll share with Loris Hezemans on the road courses and possibly the short tracks.

RETURNING: #44-NY Racing Team

Last of the Cup teams to be announced is the return of Johnathan Cohen’s NY Racing Team, which has been missing in action since November 18, 2018 at Homestead. At the time, J.J. Yeley was their driver, and the team had been using the former BK Racing Charter acquired by Front Row Motorsports. This time around – much like their successful 500 bid in 2015 with Reed Sorenson – there is no Charter to rely upon. But they do have an ace up their sleeve – Greg Biffle has been missing in action for even longer – November 20, 2016 was his last Cup start in Jack Roush’s now shuttered #16 team. Biffle has since found new life driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the Truck Series with a pair of starts, including a win in his NASCAR return at Texas in 2019. Back behind the wheel, Biffle’s #44 Chevrolet carries sponsorship from Grambling State University, Urban Edge Network, and HBCU League Pass. Social media posts showed the car being prepared in the Richard Childress Racing shop.

NEW TEAM: #50-The Money Team

This week also marks the debut of the long-rumored The Money Team, the first racing venture from boxing champion Floyd Mayweather. Michael and Matt Kohler and Bill Wohlemann - the co-owners of the now closed StarCom Racing – helped TMT’s co-owner William Auchmoody get a race car for Daytona, which has signed sponsorship from Pit Viper sunglasses and brought on Kaz Grala, who tested StarCom’s NextGen car last fall on the Charlotte “Roval.” The dazzling neon #50 Chevrolet is another of this weekend’s “open” teams looking for a fast speed in qualifying, or a good showing in Thursday’s qualifiers.

RETURNING / NUMBER, DRIVER CHANGE: #55-Motorsports Business Management

RETURNING: #66-Motorsports Business Management

Carl Long’s two-car team – last seen in last November’s finale at Phoenix – is back with two NextGen cars of their own, having switched manufacturers from Toyota to Ford. The flagship #66 will again be driven by Timmy Hill, who two years ago was the big underdog story of SpeedWeeks when he raced his way into the 500 field. Bumper.com joined as a sponsor midway through the offseason, not long after the team’s NextGen car was displayed with Boris Said’s name on the roof. Teamed with Hill is J.J. Yeley, looking for his 334th Cup start and first since last September in Las Vegas, when he drove MBM’s #66 to a last-place finish. Yeley will run the former #13 driven last fall by David Starr, now the #55 with cryptocurrency sponsor Hex.com aboard. Both Hill and Yeley are “open” competitors not guaranteed spots in Sunday’s field.

RETURNING: #62-Beard Motorsports

Last of this week’s “open” teams is the returning Beard Motorsports entry, which was one of the first to announce its intentions of running the Daytona 500. As with last year, the driver is XFINITY Series leadfoot Noah Gragson, who will carry Beard Oil as a sponsor. Gragson made a strong bid at racing into last February’s field before he was eliminated in a multi-car accident.

Friday, February 18, 2022 (7:30 P.M. ET, FS1)

TRUCKS Race 1 of 23

NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona

2021 Last-Place Finisher: James Buescher

ENTRY LIST

A stacked entry list of 42 drivers for 36 spots are set to attempt the field for Friday night’s Truck Series opener at Daytona, meaning six teams will miss the cut. Among these are several new additions – particular team expansions into multi-truck organizations.

TEAM CLOSED: #2-GMS Racing

GMS Racing has reorganized for 2022. Not among its lineup for Daytona is the #2 entry with which Sheldon Creed claimed the series title two years ago. Creed will instead compete for Rookie of the Year in the XFINITY Series, where he will run Richard Childress Racing’s own #2 full-time (see below). 

MISSING: #6-Norm Benning Racing

When we last saw Norm Benning, he’d made a rare trip to Phoenix for the championship race, driving a white Chevrolet prepared in the Niece Motorsports shop with a LASTCAR.info logo on the passenger-side B-pillar. Benning struggled on his timed lap and missed the show, though his sponsor MDS A Sign Co. was confident they’d be back even stronger in 2022. However, Benning is not entered this week, and his plans are still to be announced.

NEW TEAM: #7-Spire Motorsports

DRIVER CHANGE: #16-Hattori Racing Enterprises

DRIVER CHANGE: #23-GMS Racing

TEAM CLOSED: #26-GMS Racing

NEW TEAM: #61-Hattori Racing Enterprises

Spire Motorsports has expanded from exclusively a two-car team in Cup into the Truck Series, selecting the number of their newest Cup team, the #7. They’ve brought on Austin Hill for Daytona, bringing him from the #16 Hattori entry to run double-duty along with the XFINITY Series. Hill’s ride in the #16 goes to Tyler Ankrum, who departed the #26 entry at GMS Racing, which isn’t entered this year along with the #2. Ankrum’s arrival coincides with the HRE team expanding to two trucks, debuting the #61 with driver Chase Purdy with sponsor Bama Buggies and David S. Gray. Purdy had previously run GMS Racing’s #23, which has now gone to Grant Enfinger. After splitting rides between CR7 Motorsports and ThorSport last year, Enfinger lands another full-time ride with GMS Racing, bringing his sponsor Champion Power Equipment. The deal with the team will run through 2023 with Champion sponsoring most of those races.

RETURNING / DRIVER CHANGE: #9-CR7 Motorsports

NEW TEAM: #97-CR7 Motorsports

Blaine Perkins, most recently driving for Our Motorsports in XFINITY, has landed a full-time ride with Codie Rohrbaugh’s Truck Series team, which is part of a partnership with GMS Racing. With the added backing, CR7 expands to two trucks this year, putting West Virginia native Jason Kitzmiller behind the wheel of the A.L.L. Construction Chevrolet for Daytona. The 48-year-old Kitzmiller has 13 career ARCA national series starts with Rohrbaugh’s ARCA effort, earning a best finish of 8th at Talladega and Michigan in 2020.

TEAM UPDATE: #10-Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing

Coming into 2022, Busch Light has entered an endorsement deal with multiple female NASCAR drivers aged 21 and over, which includes longtime owner-driver Jennifer Jo Cobb and her struggling single-truck organization.

MISSING: #11-Spencer Davis Motorsports

Spencer Davis is not entered after his team withdrew prior to qualifying at Phoenix.

DRIVER SWAP: #12-Young’s Motorsports

DRIVER CHANGE: #20-Young’s Motorsports

DRIVER CHANGE: #30-On Point Motorsports

Last year’s Talladega winner Tate Fogleman makes the move from Randy Young’s #12 team to On Point Motorsports’ #30 Toyota effort, replacing Danny Bohn. Bohn will take Fogleman’s spot at the Young’s team – technically – as he will drive the team’s #20 Chevrolet in place of his new teammate Spencer Boyd. Boyd will run Fogleman’s former #12 truck and has brought returning sponsorship from Rimtyme for Daytona. While Boyd’s effort remains a full-time effort, Bohn will share the #20 with Matt Mills, who will come from B.J. McLeod’s XFINITY Series team to run at least four races later this year.

MISSING: #13-ThorSport Racing

NEW TEAM: #46-G2G Racing

NEW TEAM: #47-G2G Racing

Just like Grant Enfinger last year, Johnny Sauter will split time between his more familiar ThorSport entry – the #13 – and a much newer team. In fact, Sauter’s #13 isn’t entered at Daytona at all, and he will instead run a new second entry for G2G Racing, his first of up to 13 starts in the #47 LiftKits4Less.com Chevrolet. Sauter will be teamed with Matt Jaskol, who has himself been frequently endorsed by LiftKits4Less on the XFINITY Series side with Motorsports Business Management. Jaskol will run the team’s flagship #46 Chevrolet in his first full-time NASCAR ride.

DRIVER CHANGE: #17-David Gilliland Racing

XFINITY Series upstart Riley Herbst will make only his 10th career Truck Series start and first since last February’s Daytona Road Course race, where he also drove David Gilliland’s #17 to a 5th-place finish. Herbst takes the place of Taylor Gray, who will share the entry this year with Herbst and Stewart-Haas Racing’s reserve driver Ryan Preece. Mechanix Wear is the listed sponsor for Daytona.

MANUFACTURER CHANGE: #19-McAnally-Hilgemann Racing

NEW TEAM: #91-McAnally-Hilgemann Racing

The Bill McAnally effort switches from Toyota to Chevrolet, and like Hattori Racing Enterprises, will expand to a two-truck effort. Derek Kraus remains the driver of the #19 with Shockwave Marine Suspension Seating as sponsor. The team’s new entry – the #91 – will go to Colby Howard, who previously shared JD Motorsports’ #15 entry in the XFINITY Series until last September at Darlington. As JD Motorsports has scaled back to a two-car effort (see below), Howard will attempt to make only his 6th career Truck start on Friday in a Toyota sponsored by Gates Hydraulics.

MISSING: #21-GMS Racing

DRIVER CHANGE: #38-Front Row Motorsports

In addition to the #2 and #26 entries previously driven by Sheldon Creed and Tyler Ankrum, GMS Racing has not entered the #21 entry with which Zane Smith nearly claimed the series title last fall in Phoenix. Smith has instead landed with Front Row Motorsports, filling the ride in the #38 left open by Todd Gilliland, who this year competes for Cup Series Rookie of the Year in FRM’s other #38 Ford. 

DRIVER CHANGE: #25-Rackley-W.A.R.

The Rackley-W.A.R. team struggled last year after parting ways with veteran Timothy Peters early in the season, swapping drivers between XFINITY Series standout Josh Berry and a returning Willie Allen, who closed out the year in Phoenix. This year, they have signed another full-time driver in Matt DiBenedetto, whose tenure at Wood Brothers Racing reached a rather public end in the season’s final weeks. DiBenedetto has never before started a Truck Series race, but brings with him 248 Cup starts and 69 in XFINITY.

RETURNING: #28-FDNY Racing

The rumors of Jim Rosenblum closing his Truck Series team appear to be simply that, as once again he is fielding a bright red #28 Chevrolet for veteran Bryan Dauzat at Daytona. The 62-year-old Dauzat eyes his 18th series start and looks to improve on his solid 19th-place showing in this race last year. O.B. Builders remains as sponsor.

DRIVER CHANGE: #32-Bret Holmes Racing

Bret Holmes returns to the seat of his own #32 entry this week following a solid seven-race stretch of starts last year highlighted by an 11th-place finish in Richmond. The truck was most recently run by Ty Dillon last November in Phoenix, but Dillon has since returned to full-time Cup competition in the former GMS Racing #94, now the Petty GMS Motorsports #42.

DRIVER CHANGE: #33-Reaume Brothers Racing

Canadian Jason White will again make a bid at the superspeedway in Josh Reaume’s primary #33 Toyota. It was with this team in this race last year that White scored his first career top-ten finish, taking the 10th spot. He takes the place of Chris Hacker, who was brought on at the last minute for last fall’s Phoenix finale.

DRIVER CHANGE: #40-Niece Motorsports

DRIVER SWAP: #44-Niece Motorsports

DRIVER CHANGE: #02-Young’s Motorsports

Late last year, Al Niece signed on two rookies as teammates in Dean Thompson and Lawless Alan, each to a full-time ride. While Alan will remain in the same #45 as last fall, Thompson will move from the #44 to the #40 left open by Ryan Truex, who has turned his focus to the XFINITY Series with Sam Hunt Racing (see below). Thompson’s #44 goes to Kris Wright, who ran Randy Young’s #02 last November, but this week will be replaced by Jesse Little, back from his part-time XFINITY effort with B.J. McLeod Motorsports. Little will share the #02 this year with Kaz Grala.

MISSING: #41-Cram Racing Enterprises

Dawson Cram ran last fall at Phoenix but has not entered his truck this week.

NUMBER CHANGE: #43-Reaume Brothers Racing

The Reaume team’s second entry, the #34 driven last fall by Will Rodgers, has been replaced with the #43 and the iconic red-white-and-blue colors of Richard Petty’s 1992 “Fan Appreciation Tour” car, complete with sponsorship from STP. The change is for ARCA driver Thad Moffitt, who will continue the Petty legacy with a bid at his Truck Series debut. Moffitt, who has 44 career ARCA starts, will run a limited schedule this season in a combined effort between Josh Reaume and GMS Racing.

DRIVER CHANGE: #51-Kyle Busch Motorsports

Corey Heim will run 15 of the 23 races in 2022, starting with Friday’s Daytona opener. He takes the place of Drew Dollar, who will instead open the season in Joe Gibbs Racing’s #18 on the XFINITY side (see below).

MANUFACTURER CHANGE: #56-Hill Motorsports

Timmy and Tyler Hill will swap from Chevrolet to Toyota in 2022, bringing on sponsorship from Coble Enterprises, which backed Timmy late last season in XFINITY. This will now be a full-time effort for the season, and there are plans to add a second entry later this season. That second entry, likely the #5, has not been entered this week, but Timmy will run the #56 in a double-duty bid, replacing Tyler, who ran last fall in Phoenix.

TEAM UPDATE: #66-ThorSport Racing

ThorSport’s part-time #66 team, which Paul Menard and Ty Majeski both ran to several strong runs last year, is now Majeski’s to run full-time. Cincinnati Tools and TSport are the listed sponsors as Majeski seeks his first Truck start since last summer in Gateway.

RETURNING: #75-Henderson Motorsports

Parker Kligerman and Charlie Henderson are back in action at Daytona, seeking another superspeedway win in the Food Country USA. Last year, Kligerman scored back-to-back top-five finishes at Watkins Glen and Darlington. He hopes to make his sixth Truck start at Daytona and first since 2018. His best finish here came two years before that, when he ran 3rd for Ricky Benton in 2016.

NUMBER CHANGE: #84-Cook Racing Technologies

Clay Greenfield returns to the number of his racing past – the #84 – in an all-out one-off effort to make the race in Daytona. Backyard Blues Pools is the listed sponsor of the team’s Chevrolet, fielded by Bruce Cook.

MISSING: #96-Peck Motorsports

Todd Peck and his Holla Vodka Chevrolet withdrew before the action in Phoenix, and is not entered this week.

MISSING: #04-Roper Racing

Conspicuously absent from Daytona is Cory Roper, who was seconds from winning the race last year, and was entered last fall at Phoenix. Future plans for driver and team are still to be announced.

Saturday, February 19, 2022 (5:00 P.M. ET, FS1)

XFINITY Race 1 of 33

Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner 300 at Daytona

2021 Last-Place Finisher: Alex Labbe

ENTRY LIST

A massive entry list of 47 drivers will contest just 38 spots in qualifying as nine will be sent home after time trials.

MISSING: #0-JD Motorsports

RETURNING / DRIVER CHANGE: #24-Sam Hunt Racing

DRIVER CHANGE: #26-Sam Hunt Racing

Jeffrey Earnhardt parted ways with JD Motorsports at the end of last season and has taken his ForeverLawn sponsorship to join Sam Hunt Racing. Earnhardt will run the Daytona opener in the team’s second part-time entry, the #24, which hasn’t run since last summer on the Indianapolis Grand Prix Circuit. Ryan Truex will run SHR’s flagship #26, taking the place of Dylan Lupton, who ran it in last year’s finale. After this race, Earnhardt will share the #26 with Truex, Derek Griffith, and a returning John Hunter Nemechek.

DRIVER CHANGE: #1-JR Motorsports

TEAM UPDATE: #8-JR Motorsports

After a stellar part-time schedule in 2021 with two series wins and starts in all three of NASCAR’s top divisions, Josh Berry will run for JR Motorsports full-time in the #8, carrying sponsorship from Tire Pros, Harrison’s Workwear, and Jarrett Systems. Berry takes the place of Sam Mayer, who moves to JRM’s #1 in place of Michael Annett, who last fall retired from full-time racing. Mayer carries sponsorship from Accelerate Pro Talent.

DRIVER CHANGE: #2-Richard Childress Racing

DRIVER CHANGE: #31-Jordan Anderson Racing

DRIVER CHANGE: #47-Mike Harmon Racing

DRIVER CHANGE: #78-B.J. McLeod Motorsports

DRIVER CHANGE: #92-DGM Racing

Kyle Weatherman parted ways with Mike Harmon Racing at the end of last season, opening the #47 ride for a returning Gray Gaulding, who has run one-offs for MHR in recent years. Weatherman makes the move to Mario Gosselin’s #92 entry, formerly driven by Josh Williams, and carries his MHR sponsors WolfPack Racing, The Peace Officers Research Association of California, plus LS Tractor. Williams moves to B.J. McLeod’s team, taking over the flagship #78 from Sheldon Creed, and bringing his many backers, led by Alloy Employer Services and Sleep Well, Inc. for a new full-time effort. Creed will compete for ROTY in the RCR #2, replacing Myatt Snider and bringing Whelen as sponsor. Snider moves to Jordan Anderson’s #31, taking the place of Phoenix driver Sage Karam, who later this season will run Alpha Prime Racing’s second car, the #45 (see below).

DRIVER CHANGE: #4-JD Motorsports

DRIVER SWAP: #10-Kaulig Racing

MISSING: #15-JD Motorsports

NEW TEAM: #27-Our Motorsports

Johnny Davis’ team scales back from four full-time entries to two, keeping Ryan Vargas in the #6 and closing the #0 left vacant by the departing Jeffrey Earnhardt. His only other entry is the #4, which sees Bayley Currey – formerly of JDM’s shuttered #15 – taking over for Landon Cassill. Cassill moves to Kaulig Racing in the #10 full-time this year with Voyager as sponsor, replacing last year’s Talladega Jeb Burton. This stands as perhaps Cassill’s best XFINITY Series ride since he drove for JR Motorsports in 2010. Burton moves to Our Motorsports’ new third team, the #27, with sponsorship from State Water Heater and Alsco. Burton also looks for a strong start with a returning Brett Moffitt in the #02 and Anthony Alfredo joining to run the #23 (see below).

DRIVER CHANGE: #11-Kaulig Racing

DRIVER CHANGE: #18-Joe Gibbs Racing

In addition to sharing the #16 Cup ride with A.J. Allmendinger and Noah Gragson, Daniel Hemric will inherit Kaulig Racing’s flagship #11 for a full-time effort, moving over from his championship-clinching #18 Joe Gibbs Racing effort. The Kaulig entry became available after Justin Haley secured Kaulig’s full-time Cup ride in the #31. Taking over the JGR #18 from Hemric will be Drew Dollar, who will run this year’s superspeedway races, and eyes his XFINITY debut on Saturday. Following Dollar into the #18 at Fontana is a returning Trevor Bayne with Devotion Nutrition as sponsor, kicking off a part-time effort of his own.

MISSING: #13-Motorsports Business Management

MISSING: #61-Motorsports Business Management

DRIVER CHANGE: #66-Motorsports Business Management

RETURNING: #08-SS-Green Light Racing

Carl Long’s XFINITY program has scaled back from three cars to only the flagship #66, which will be run by J.J. Yeley, who takes the place of David Starr and will attempt a double-duty bid at Daytona. Remot Health Solutions is Yeley’s sponsor. Starr, the defending LASTCAR XFINITY Series Champion, moves to a returning #08 entry fielded by Bobby Dotter with Ticket Smarter and Special Report as sponsors. Stephen Leicht, who ran MBM’s #13 last fall, is not entered this week, along with the #13 and #61 entries.

MISSING: #17-SS-Green Light Racing

MANUFACTURER CHANGE: #07-SS-Green Light Racing

Speaking of Bobby Dotter’s team, SS-Green Light has entered into a technical alliance with Stewart-Haas Racing and has thus switched manufacturers from Chevrolet to Ford. Joe Graf, Jr. returns to the #07 after he ran the #17 in last fall’s Phoenix finale. The #17 will itself scale back to a part-time schedule with Cup regulars Cole Custer and Chase Briscoe splitting driving duties. Neither are entered this Saturday as the #17 is not on the entry list.

MISSING: #20-Joe Gibbs Racing

MISSING: #22-Penske Racing

Noticeably absent from the entry list are both JGR’s #20 and Penske Racing’s #22, which have each been among the championship contenders the last several years. Harrison Burton, who ran the #20 last year, has since signed on to a full-time ride with Wood Brothers Racing and will compete for Rookie of the Year. Austin Cindric, one of Burton’s competitors, has likewise landed a strong Ford ride in Penske’s #2, replacing Brad Keselowski. While JGR will still field three cars this year, Penske has essentially paused their XFINITY program.

RETURNING: #21-Richard Childress Racing

RCR’s #21 team returns with Austin Hill coming over from the Truck Series to battle teammate and fellow Truck Series contender Sheldon Creed for Rookie of the Year. Sponsors on this car will include Bennett Family of Companies (which is the primary for Daytona), United Rentals, and Global Industrial.

DRIVER CHANGE: #23-Our Motorsports

As Blaine Perkins lands a full-time Truck Series ride with CR7 Motorsports, Anthony Alfredo comes down from his challenging Cup Series rookie campaign with Front Row Motorsports to drive the surprising #23 Chevrolet fielded by Chris Our. Dude Wipes, Alfredo’s backer for many of his Cup starts, joins as sponsor this week.

RETURNING: #28-RSS Racing

DRIVER CHANGE: #38-RSS Racing

The second RSS Racing entry - #38 – will run a majority of the 2022 season – 14 races with newcomer Parker Retzlaff, and another 10 with a returning C.J. McLaughlin. Their third car, the #28, also returns to the circuit, starting at Daytona, with Kyle Sieg running Daytona for the first time since his 5th-place run in last year’s ARCA 200. Kyle ran the #39 last fall at Phoenix to a 27th-place finish, but Ryan Sieg will remain in the flagship entry this year.

RETURNING: #33-Reaume Brothers Racing

When we last saw Josh Reaume’s #33 XFINITY Series entry, it had fallen short of making last year’s race on the Indianapolis Grand Prix Circuit with Loris Hezemans behind the wheel. The car returns to qualify at Daytona, this time with Natalie Decker behind the wheel. Decker began last year driving what is now Our Motorsports’ #23, which at the time was a joint effort between Reaume and RSS Racing. She seeks her sixth XFINITY start and first in this race.

NEW TEAM: #34-Jesse Iwuji Motorsports

Jesse Iwuji has joined forces with NFL Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith to form his own XFINITY Series team, taking on the #34 in honor of the late Wendell Scott. Equity Prime Mortgage has so far signed to eight races. Like Decker, Iwuji seeks his sixth XFINITY start and first in this race.

NEW TEAM: #35-Emerling-Gase Motorsports

DRIVER CHANGE: #52-Jimmy Means Racing

NEW TEAM: #53-Emerling-Gase Motorsports

Joey Gase, the 2021 LASTCAR Cup Series Champion, has joined with fellow XFINITY Series driver Patrick Emerling to form Emerling-Gase Motorsports, bringing back the #35 that Gase ran earlier in his racing career. Gase will be the primary driver, though Shane Lee will run the #35 in Daytona – Lee’s first XFINITY start since H2 Motorsports collapsed in September 2019. At Daytona, Gase will run his team’s second car, the #53 – both cars sponsored by Kitty Kat Coin. Gase ran the #52 for Jimmy Means Racing last fall in Phoenix, but for the first four races of 2022, that car will be driven by a returning Harrison Rhodes. Rhodes has not made a XFINITY start since November 18, 2017 at Homestead, when electrical issues in a JD Motorsports car left him next-to-last.

DRIVER CHANGE: #36-DGM Racing

DRIVER CHANGE: #90-DGM Racing

Josh Bilicki steps in for Alex Labbe in the #36 for Daytona, bringing his sponsorship from Zeigler Automotive Group and Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts. He takes the place of Alex Labbe, who will still run this car for 18 races in 2022, starting next week in Fontana. Labbe will instead run DGM’s #90 in Daytona, taking the place of last fall’s driver Spencer Boyd, who will only be entered in Friday’s Truck race with Young’s Motorsports.

TEAM UPDATE: #44-Alpha Prime Racing

NEW TEAM: #45-Alpha Prime Racing

DRIVER CHANGE: #74-Mike Harmon Racing

The former Martins Motorsports team formally transitions into Alpha Prime Racing at Daytona, and boasts a large group of drivers sharing the seat of the #44. In addition to Martins, who ran last fall at Phoenix and will run the Daytona opener, are Rajah Caruth, Ryan Ellis, and Caesar Bacarella. Bacarella, now cleared by NASCAR’s substance abuse policy, will debut the team’s new second car, the #45, and sponsor Lilly Finance. This year, the #45 will be split between Bacarella, Ellis, Sage Karam (who ran for Jordan Anderson last fall in Phoenix), Kaz Grala, and Howie DiSavino III. Ellis had most recently driven for MHR, which failed to qualify the #74 at Phoenix, but Tim Viens will run in his place this week as Gray Gaulding’s teammate.

DRIVER CHANGE: #54-Joe Gibbs Racing

Ty Gibbs was electric last year, scoring his first of four wins in his series debut on the Daytona Road Course. He returns to the #54 on the Daytona oval, taking the place of John Hunter Nemechek.

TEAM UPDATE: #68-Brandonbilt Motorsports

After NASCAR prohibited his full-time sponsorship deal with LGBCoin.io, Brandon Brown indicated over the offseason he still has multiple sponsorship partners returning for 2022, starting with “Trade The Chain” for Daytona. LGBcoin.io will still start its two-year personal endorsement deal this season.

RETURNING: #77-Bassett Racing

One year ago, Bassett Racing’s planned full-season debut had to be scaled back after they failed to qualify for the Daytona opener. The team made just one start all year, putting Austin Dillon behind the wheel for the COTA inaugural. This year, the #77 team is back with Ronnie Bassett, Jr. behind the wheel of the Jerry Hunt Supercenter Chevrolet.

RETURNING: #91-DGM Racing

TEAM UPDATE: #99-B.J. McLeod Motorsports

DGM brings back their part-time fourth entry – the #91 – and has opened the door for B.J. McLeod’s part-timer Mason Massey to run most of the season with sponsorship from BRUNT Workwear. Massey previously ran most of his races in McLeod’s #99, which transitions from a rotating group of drivers to a single full-time entry for a returning Stefan Parsons and sponsor Sokal Digital.

Sunday, February 20, 2022 (2:30 P.M. ET, FOX)

CUP Race 1 of 36

Daytona 500 at Daytona

2021 Last-Place Finisher: Derrike Cope

TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (February 15, 1953): Frank Arford picked up the first last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career when his #78 1953 Oldsmobile blew a gasket after 2 laps around the Daytona Beach Road Course. The Indianapolis-born Arford started a strong 5th in the field of 57, but wound up with the shortest day. In fact, he was one of 11 drivers to drop out in the first nine laps around the half-highway, half-beach oval. Arford made just four starts before he lost his life in a crash at Langhorne, Pennsylvania’s oval just four months after Daytona. He became the second driver to lose his life in NASCAR competition, following Larry Mann’s wreck at the same track the previous September. Arford’s best finish came in his final start, when he ran 12th at the Five Flags Speedway, current home of the Snowball Derby.

IMSA: Early incident leaves GMG Racing out after less than four hours

PHOTO: GMG Racing

by William Soquet

LASTCAR.info Guest Contributor

GMG Racing scored their first last-place finish in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition in January’s Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona when their #34 Porsche 911 GTR was terminally damaged after completing 88 laps.

The finish came in GMG’s third series start.

Global Motorsports Group is primarily an import tuning shop in Santa Ana, California. Over the past twenty years, the shop has grown from 1,200 to 30,000 square feet. Due to its proximity to many European manufacturers, the company keeps up a presence in racing, most often at the club level. However, the team has occasionally competed in IMSA. In 2014, team principal James Sofronas teamed with former Rolex Grand-Am Series winner Marc Basseng and entrepreneur Alex Welch to run the 12 Hours of Sebring in an Audi; the group finished 11th in the GTD class. In 2020, bronze driver Kyle Washington brought funding for the team to once again step up into WeatherTech Championship competition. Washington already drove for the team in SRO America events and wanted to try another series. Paired with Sofronas, the entry was the next-to-last car running in GTD, three laps behind the class-winning Paul Miller Racing team.

Coming into 2022, the team’s plans would largely revolve around Washington; in a press release announcing the Daytona effort, Washington was the featured driver. Sofronas also returned, along with a pair of surprising pickups for the team: Dutch sports car veteran Jeroen Bleekemolen was signed, and Porsche Motorsports lent factory driver Klaus Bachler to round out the four-driver effort. Primary backing was through MovoCash, a mobile banking service. The team also touted a new partnership with Troy Lee Designs as a way to bring flair to the Porsche that they would be entering.

GMG was just one entry in a crowded Rolex; this year’s 61 entries eclipsed last year by a full dozen. While DPi stalwarts like Penske and Meyer Shank captured most of the attention, there was depth all throughout the field. In GTD, the class that GMG would be competing in, heavyweights such as Magnus Racing, Vasser Sullivan, and Turner Motorsport occupied the entry list for what promised to be a well-fought class championship.

The Roar Before the 24 brought GMG’s first on-track action of the season; they failed to finish the race and were classified 19th out of 22 in class as Hardpoint Racing finished last and Porsches claimed three of the Bottom Five spots in the race. GMG was 45th of the 47 cars that wound up on the timing sheet for first practice; the #64 Team TGM entry was last on the charts, a full seven seconds behind the GMG entry. In Practice 2, the GMG entry did not complete a timed lap, and surprisingly, it was the GTD Pro cars of TR3 Racing and KCMG anchoring the charts.

In the starting lineup, T3 Motorsports was the last car lined up, with Canadian pilot Misha Goikhberg starting the race behind the wheel. GMG lined up in the 54th position, with Sofronas taking the helm for the first stint.

The last-place position varied often through the early hours, with teams such as Team TGM, Core Autosport, Team AWA and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Dwight Merriman of Era Motorsports brought out the first full-course yellow just shy of an hour into the race; the all-Italian Cetilar squad was sitting in last place just shy of the three-hour mark. At that time, Washington’s Porsche, which had been running in the 40s overall, slipped in between turns four and five and smacked the guardrail head-on, ending GMG’s race. The incident did not collect any other cars, although it did result in a lengthy full-course yellow for cleanup.

Next to exit the race were the GTD entry of SunEnergy1 Racing and the GTD Pro entry of Heart of Racing, both caught up in the same accident on the banking in the fourth hour of competition. The Alegra Motorsports GTD succumbed to electrical issues after completing 181 laps, and the Bottom Five was rounded out by the Crucial Motorsports GTD; that car also exited the race due to crash damage.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
61) #34-GMG Racing / 88 laps / crash
60) #75-SunEnergy1 Racing / 101 laps / crash
59) #23-Heart of Racing / 103 laps / crash
58) #28-Alegra Motorsports / 181 laps / electrical
57) #59-Crucial Motorsports / 263 laps / crash

2022 LASTCAR IMSA WTSCC CLASS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Overall: 1st) #34-GMG Racing GTD (1)
DPi: 1st) #01-Chip Ganassi Racing (1)
LMP2: 1st) #20-High Class Racing (1)
LMP3: 1st) #6-Muehlner Motorsports (1)
GTD Pro: 1st) #23-Heart of Racing (1)
GTD: 1st) #34-GMG Racing (1)

CUP: Trio of sudden mechanical failures - not crashes - decide Busch Clash's last-place battle

ALL PHOTOS: Brock Beard

Denny Hamlin finished last in Sunday’s Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum when his #11 FedEx Express Toyota lost power steering after 52 of 150 laps.

The 2021 season saw Hamlin reach the Championship 4 for a third consecutive year, only to fall short of an elusive first Cup Series title. He finished 3rd that day, some distance behind teammate Martin Truex, Jr., and winner Kyle Larson. That same season saw the debut of his own new racing venture, 23XI Racing, where he and his longtime idol Michael Jordan hired Bubba Wallace to drive their new #23 Cup Series car. Wallace broke through in a rain-shortened event at Talladega, scoring the first Cup win by an African-American since Wendell Scott in 1963.

Both events were among the last experienced under NASCAR’s “Gen-Six” car, introduced in 2013. At the end of the brief offseason would come the debut of the all-new “NextGen” car, featuring a litany of changes from single-lug wheels to rear diffusers. Like the previous generation, these cars would debut in the Busch Clash exhibition race, but with another massive change. The venue would not be Daytona, but the historic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where a quarter-mile bullring was constructed in just 41 days.

In Saturday’s opening practice, Hamlin was part of the first group to take the track. He ranked 10th of the 36 entrants with his top lap of 66.347mph (13.565 seconds) coming on his 99th of 102 laps turned. He qualified 17th that night in time trials, putting up a lap of 63.043mph (14.053 seconds), just over three-tenths off teammate Kyle Busch’s pole run. This would place Hamlin 5th in the lineup for Sunday’s 25-lap Heat Race #1.

Qualifying 36th and slowest overall was Ty Dillon, making his return to full-time Cup competition in the #42 Black Rifle Coffee Co. Chevrolet fielded by Petty GMS Motorsports. Dillon, who ran just 27th in practice, anchored Saturday night’s speed charts with a lap of 61.932mph (14.532 seconds), which ironically was just 0.787 second off the pole. This would place Dillon 9th and last on the grid for the fourth and final heat race on Sunday.

When Heat Race #1 rolled off, the 9th and final spot belonged to Ross Chastain in Team Trackhouse’s new second team, the #1 Howler Head Chevrolet. On the start, a three-wide battle for last ensued, shaking out B.J. McLeod in the #78 SkyView Partners Ford. Just three laps into the race, McLeod trailed the field by two seconds, and on Lap 11 was lapped by leader Kyle Busch in Turns 3 and 4. Busch then lapped McLeod a second time off Turn 4 with just three laps to go, and the #78 finished under power. This same heat saw Hamlin finish in the same 5th spot he started – one spot short of transferring – sending him into the first 50-lap Last Chance Qualifier.

In Heat Race #2, Martin Truex, Jr. started last in the #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, which couldn’t break the Top 30 in either of its qualifying laps on Saturday. On Lap 1, Truex held the low lane through Turns 1 and 2 when the outside line stalled behind outside-polesitter Cole Custer in the #41 HaasTooling.com Ford. This allowed Truex to slip under Brad Keselowski in the debut of his #6 Violet Defense Ford under the Roush Fenway Keselowski banner. Keselowski trailed Truex by a second on Lap 5, but began to reel in both the #19 and Harrison Burton in the #21 Motorcraft / Quick Lane Ford. Burton then fell into Keselowski’s clutches as both lost ground to Truex. Race leader Tyler Reddick in the #8 Guaranteed Rate Chevrolet was about two seconds behind the trailing Keselowski when Reddick took the win.

Heat Race #3 saw Cody Ware in last driving the #51 Nurtec ODT Ford. Unlike both previous heats, Ware elected to take a slower start, and caught 8th-place runner Corey LaJoie in the #7 NationsGuard Chevrolet. Ware then got under LaJoie during the first ten laps to drop the #7 to last place. Over the next five laps, Ware opened up the advantage over LaJoie, growing from a second with 6 to go to around three seconds with 3 to go. As in Heat Race 2, the leader – this time Justin Haley in the #31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet – was within sight of the last-place running LaJoie when the race ended, leaving all nine cars on the lead lap.

Heat Race #4 started with the aforementioned Ty Dillon – slowest in qualifying – rounding out the nine-car lineup. On the first lap, Dillon ducked under Kurt Busch in the #45 Monster Energy Toyota and nearly completed the pass by Turn 4 until teammate Erik Jones in the #43 FocusFactor Chevrolet washed up the track, causing Dillon to check up. Dillon still cleared Busch, but moments later both were suddenly ahead of outside-polesitter Landon Cassill in the #77 Voyager: Crypto for All Chevrolet. On Lap 5, Dillon suddenly slowed in Turn 4 and pulled into the infield, drawing a caution. The reason cited was an accident, but the driver said after he broke a transmission shifter linkage pin, requiring some repairs in the infield. The infield’s limited space allowed for only limited equipment for even more limited changes, and there was doubt he’d start the Last Chance Qualifiers. Dillon’s car sat in Box 17 in the infield before it was pushed to the last box on the outside line, well back of the others.

Aric Almirola, the first retiree, is also first to be towed
out of the track.

Next came Hamlin’s own turn in the Last Chance Qualifiers, where he started on pole for the first 50-lap race. Rolling off 10th and last was Corey LaJoie – last in Heat Race #3. On the opening lap, LaJoie ran side-by-side with B.J. McLeod’s #78 until LaJoie cleared him. Once again, the #78 began to lose touch with the field until the caution flew on Lap 4. Aric Almirola in the #10 Farmer John Ford had traded bumps with rookie Todd Gilliland in the #38 First Phase Ford. The last exchange ended in Turn 4, where contact from Gilliland sent Almirola’s car into the outside wall, destroying his right-front. The race was red-flagged as Almirola’s became the first car towed from the garage. McLeod exited the race under the same caution, and was classified last behind Almirola – in part because caution laps didn’t count in any of the races. Hamlin went on to win the qualifier, earning him 17th in the 150-lap main.

Todd Gilliland debriefed with his father David, and apologized for the incident with Almirola. “He (Almirola) got really good momentum off (Turn) 2 and thought that he's going to be clear of me,” said Gilliland. “So I was looking in my mirror at the 17 (Chris Buescher) behind me, kind of inside, it was going to be close. I was trying to pinch him (Buescher) a little bit just as I was looking down left - I barely turned left - and it barely got a minute. It didn't take much. So I definitely apologize to those guys. I know no one has really has much equipment to put together, let alone tear up before the season, so I definitely feel really bad about that.”

Ty Dillon's car after his LCQ win was stripped.

The second and final Last Chance Qualifier did end up including Ty Dillon’s #42, which was able to join the tail end of the field despite reported crash damage in Heat Race #4. It did not include Martin Truex, Jr., who ended up electing an exemption from NASCAR for the highest-ranked driver in points not already qualified for the Clash. Truex ended up sitting out the race, locking up last place in the event, and the 23rd and final spot in the 150-lap main. This unofficially changed once more moments after Ty Dillon rallied from last on the grid to take the victory. Dillon incurred a post-race tail-end penalty for jumping the start a second time on the final green flag, crossing the stripe a full carlength ahead of the next car. This took Dillon out of the 150-lap main, and lifted 4th-place finisher Harrison Burton back into the finale.

“The very first one with Kurt (Busch), I thought I gave the spot back to the guy,” said Dillon of his first jumped restart. “We were nose-to-nose going into one, so I don't know what kind of advatage they thought I had from jumping that start. I might have fired, but I stopped. We got nose-to-nose. So, that one I'm a little more confused on. They've gotta make a call - I understand.”

“The second one, I was rolling, and knew I needed to get a good launch, and I'm sure I just got to the throttle just a little bit before the (restart) zone and I was just trying to make the most of it. I didn't want the guys behind me in a classic restart where the leader got punted. I didn't want to be that guy - I wanted to go out and finish. I agree with them a little more on the second one, but personally I don't. But they've gotta make a call and I'm not here to bad mouth them at all. . .When you're given a last chance at anything you make the most of it. You don't just sit back and watch things happen.”

Tyler Reddick bumps last-place Bubba Wallace,
about to put him a lap down.

The Busch Light Clash itself was all that remained, consisting of two 75-lap segments with a six-minute break for Ice Cube’s concert in between. Truex rolled off 23rd, though the spot nearly went to A.J. Allmendinger, whose #16 chevyliners.com Chevrolet briefly stopped on the track. Coming to the green flag, the last few spots arrived unevenly with Ryan Preece now last in a single-file line behind Truex and Allmendinger. Preece was the only driver with a pre-race penalty, his for unapproved adjustments. Truex was last again by Lap 8, when Harrison Burton was racing Bubba Wallace’s #23 Door Dash Toyota for 21st. First Burton, then Truex on Lap 11 passed Wallace, dropping the #23 to last for the first time. Tyler Reddick, the race leader, lapped Wallace on Lap 18. 

Wallace had struggled in opening practice, running the slowest lap of the session, but improved to 18th in qualifying. Like his team co-owner Hamlin, he was one spot short of transferring from his heat, taking 5th in Heat Race #2, but also like Hamlin earned a strong finish in his Last Chance Qualifier, inheriting the runner-up spot to Ryan Preece after Ty Dillon’s penalty. In the main event, however, Wallace struggled from the moment he was lapped onward. He nearly clipped the backstretch wall on Lap 24, lost a second lap to Reddick on Lap 42, and was nearly spun five laps after that. So much of the field was lapped in the opening 53-lap green-flag run that Wallace did not get one of his laps back when Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. spun his #47 Slim Jim Chevrolet. However, Wallace would soon find himself passing several cars.

Hamlin in the infield. Back on the track, leader
Tyler Reddick (#8) and 4th-place Chase Briscoe (#14)
would also falter under this caution.

It was under this same caution that a rash of freak mechanical issues eliminated three contenders. Hamlin was the first, who after getting his lap back under green slowed in the high lane off Turn 2, then stopped in the infield with a reported overheating issue, reportedly after a belt came off the power steering pump. The crew looked under the hood, and the driver climbed out soon after, his helmet off. Moments later, Chase Briscoe pulled his #14 Mahindra Tractors Ford behind Hamlin, and the #11 crew pushed their car toward the tow truck stationed near Turn 4. On top of this, Tyler Reddick, who had dominated the race up to this point, stalled entering Turn 1 with a possible transaxle failure, and had to be pushed into the infield. While Reddick’s crew worked under the right side of the #8 for some time, Hamlin and Briscoe’s cars were parked at the far end of the infield when the race restarted. By Lap 56, the lapped Wallace had passed all three, dropping Hamlin to last place.

Ryan Preece took 20th after what the team reported to be brake issues (though listed in the results as “oil pressure”) at the halfway point resulted in his car parking next to Hamlin and Briscoe’s next to the tow truck. Rounding out the Bottom Five was Justin Haley, whose #31 was turned by Kyle Larson on the frontstretch, resulting in the final caution of the race. Haley’s car suffered heavy right-front damage in an impact that moved the infield barriers, and his car was the first to be towed out after Joey Logano took the checkered flag. Reddick and Hamlin rode in their cars as theirs were pushed out by trucks, followed some time later by Briscoe’s. Preece’s car managed to re-fire after the checkered flag, and followed a group of other cars out of the stadium moments earlier.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*With Hamlin’s finish, all four of Joe Gibbs Racing’s teams have now finished last in four consecutive runnings of the Busch Clash. Martin Truex, Jr. took last on the Daytona Road Course in 2021 driving the #19. The Daytona oval saw Kyle Busch’s #18 crash out in 2020, one year after Erik Jones in the #20 in 2019.

*This was the first time the #11 finished last in the Busch Clash since February 8, 2003, when Geoffrey Bodine’s turn in brother Brett’s #11 Hooters Ford ended after 3 laps around Daytona with suspension issues. The only other time the number finished last in the Clash was on February 8, 1986, when Darrell Waltrip finished under power and on the lead lap.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

23) #11-Denny Hamlin / 52 laps / power steering

22) #14-Chase Briscoe / 53 laps / drivetrain

21) #8-Tyler Reddick / 53 laps / drivetrain / led 51 laps

20) #15-Ryan Preece / 75 laps / oil pressure

19) #31-Justin Haley / 116 laps / crash

INTERVIEW: Cody Ware, Rick Ware Racing impress at the Coliseum

ALL PHOTOS: Brock Beard

Among the thirteen drivers who missed the field for Sunday’s 150-lap main event during the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum, perhaps none turned more heads than Cody Ware and the Rick Ware Racing team. 

Debuting a sleek black variant of his familiar Nurtec ODT #51 as part of a new technical alliance with Stewart-Haas Racing, Ware ran as high as 6th in opening practice and outpaced his teammate, modified champion Ryan Preece, by nearly a full tenth of a second. An early draw of 5th in qualifying left him in the back of the field for Heat Race #3, where he muscled past Corey LaJoie and opened up a gap by the end of the 25-lap affair. This culminated in the First Last Chance Qualifier, where Ware was in a tight battle for the final transfer spot for most of the 50 laps. He was still within striking distance of 3rd-place A.J. Allmendinger when the checkered flag dropped, just short of transferring into the big show. 

After returning to the garage area, I caught up with Cody to talk about his weekend.

“It's just really overall been a dream coming true to start to see the early stages of the alliance with Ford and Stewart-Haas come to fruition,” he said. “Obviously, we had great pace in practice yesterday. So, from the beginning of the weekend, we've just been having a lot of fun reaping the benefits of this new alliance and this new car. And then we struggled in qualifying - we just were one of the first cars out, so it is what it is there. But to be able to come out in the heat races and then the Last Chance Qualifier and race with the best guys in the sport.”

“And coming up one spot shy was very bittersweet. I've never been so happy and torn up at the same time, just because it's a testament to our speed and how far we've come. But it's also - when you're right there within arm's reach of being in the big show. And being at the Clash. It was really, really heartbreaking. But I'm still very thankful for what we have. And it has me really, really excited going into the Daytona 500 and the rest of the season.”

Ware (center) racing Allmendinger for the last transfer spot.

While still a relative newcomer to the Cup Series – just 55 points-paying Cup starts since 2016 – Ware was able to tap into some experience on quarter-mile tracks. “I've probably run a dozen or so modified races at Bowman Gray, so I've got a little bit of quarter mile racing experience. Obviously, this still is a bit of a different animal compared to Bowman Gray, but driving a full-size car, your full-bodied car compared to an open wheel modified. But I think that definitely helped me to know how to keep my head cool when things get crazy and dicey, like they always do on a quarter mile.” 

Teammate Ryan Preece also proved invaluable. “Yeah, 100%. I mean, to have a modified champion - a top tier driver, and in every series, a race winner in XFINITY - to be teamed up with us, and here at the Clash was really helpful. Obviously, he's a fantastic driver, but also really good with the mechanics and the engineering side of the cars as well. So, to get his feedback and look over data with him and try to improve my craft as well - all in all, from every facet from the race team, to the drivers we're bringing on board, we're trying to elevate, and I think we've made that good first impression coming out here to Los Angeles.”

I asked if this weekend’s race changed his expectations for the upcoming 2022 season. “I don't know if this this is what we were expecting. I think that what it does do is it does give me a lot of confidence as a driver going into the next handful of races. Obviously, a little bit of uncertainty is kind of off the table. Now we know that we're getting a lot of good information from Stewart-Haas and from Ford. Obviously, with the engines as well, going to Daytona, you want to have good power. So, to have the Ford lease engine program behind us is going to be big. And we were down there with Stewart-Haas at the Daytona test just last month and so to be able to work off of that and know that we've got a really good car for the 500, I'm excited to see what we can get done in qualifying and heading into race day.”

FEATURE: Harrison Burton, Justin Haley, and Ryan Preece debrief after opening practice at the L.A. Coliseum

PHOTO: Brock Beard

Rarely in NASCAR history has so much changed in so short a time. In 1981, when rule changes narrowed the cars’ wheelbase to 110 inches, the season opener in Riverside still saw full-bodied Chevrolets and Oldsmobiles race against a smattering of smaller Pontiac Grand Prix and Ford Thunderbirds. In 2007, the rollout of the “Car of Tomorrow” involved just 16 of the 36 races. Even when the “Gen 6” made its debut in 2013 as a cosmetic upgrade to the “CoT,” the Busch Clash was still held at Daytona.

But walking casually past the parks and museums at the University of Southern California to see a NASCAR race has been a downright surreal experience. No amount of coverage could prepare me to see a fleet of 36 brand-new cars with unusually clean wheels and displaced door numbers, each lined up in a parking lot sectioned off with fencing. Cars that, hours later, would be lined up in parking spots of their own under shade trees. Only when the cars traveled leisurely through a winding tunnel to finally enter the tiny quarter-mile track – constructed in just 41 days – did anything feel even close to normal.  

Harrison Burton and his #21 Motorcraft / Quick Lane Ford were the first to roll onto the track in Saturday’s two-hour practice session. “(It's) a new car for the teams to work on,” he said afterwards. “And, it makes it challenging - you have limited time to try and figure all that out. So we tried a lot of stuff, got better throughout practice. And I think we'll be all right here - we just were a little off, but we know what we got to do to be fast enough. So try and move on from there.”

Since Burton’s group of 12 cars was the first to hit the track on Saturday, most tip-toed around the track for the first few laps, clocking in laps of over 14 seconds. By the next group, sub 13-second laps were the norm, and by the fifth group, a 14-second lap ranked just 29th overall. With this increase, drivers had to figure out how to navigate traffic. Those like Burton, who ranked 32nd of the 36 drivers in practice, found there was little one could do to get out of the way.

“There's not much room to move,” said Burton. “In the race itself, you're never gonna let somebody go too often. And if you're in a transfer spot especially. But if you are going to let somebody go, you pull down maybe on the straightaway and let them go on the outside so you don't get a freight trained. That's the problem - once you go on the outside, you're committed to the outside. So you might see guys - maybe it's first and second or third and second - where the position doesn't mean a ton, where they'll pull down and let the guy go on the outside and then keep going. Because if you pull to the outside, someone's gonna fill the hole. So there's not a lot of room, you kind of got to be smart about how you do it. And that's what makes these guys good is they know when and where to do what. So it's a good challenge.”

Burton did improve significantly in qualifying. He took 10th overall, far ahead of fellow rookie challengers Austin Cindric (20th) and Todd Gilliland (29th).

Kaulig Racing had a good showing through the first hour of practice. While A.J. Allmendinger finished the session 28th in his #16 chevyliners.com Chevrolet, teammate Justin Haley claimed 4th in the #31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet. Near the end of his group’s first run, Haley turned the fastest overall lap at 13.674. “It's good,” Haley said simply. “These guys at Kaulig Racing have been working really hard. It was just a feat to get out here for us. So to be that fast with how late they were working each night is pretty cool.” When asked what his expectations were, he shook his head. “We have no expectations. The good part about it is Matt (Kaulig) and everyone at Kaulig (Racing), we don't know where we're at. We don't know if we're a first place team or 15th place team or whatever. So we're gonna go into it and see what it gives us.” Haley continued to show speed in qualifying, taking the provisional pole through the first round of 16 cars. He ultimately ranked 3rd, bested only by the late draws of Kyle Busch and Tyler Reddick.

A surprising development over the offseason was the hiring of Ryan Preece to a reserve driver contract with Stewart-Haas Racing, which has itself entered a technical alliance with Rick Ware Racing. The net effect of this put Preece into Ware’s #15 Jacob Companies Ford for Sunday’s Clash, where after his first run he joined Daniel Suarez as the only two drivers in the 13-second bracket. “I think they went relatively well,” said Preece. “And obviously, we're just going to continue working towards getting a little better. But as far as maneuverability and how this track is - it's awesome. I enjoyed it. And I think a lot of people are enjoying it. And just - it's a lot of fun. So. . .I think the audience and everybody watching on TV are gonna be pretty pleased.”

Preece also believed NASCAR’s new NextGen car handled closer to a modified than the "Gen 6" car, retired at the end of 2021. “Oh, absolutely,” he said. “I mean, it drives - I mean, yeah, they're 1000 pounds heavier. But these cars drive so much closer to a modified than any stock car, I mean, other than a super late model, but I mean, they drive very similar. . .In any racing, you do whatever your car is doing. So if your car needs you to diamond it, you're going to diamond it. If you need to arc it, you arc it. But I think there's gonna be multiple different ways to skin a cat here and go about doing it.”

The same tide that lifted Preece also helped Cody Ware, whose #51 Nurtec ODT Ford ranked as high as 6th overall. The team showed equal determination. After Ware’s car stalled, requiring a push to the infield, the #51 returned to the track and ran its best lap near the end of the session. Ware ranked 13th overall, two spots ahead of Preece. Both will have to make up ground in Sunday’s heat races, however, as Preece ranked 28th with Ware in 35th – next-to-last ahead of a trailing Ty Dillon.