PREVIEW: Daytona sees many new faces in new places across Cup, XFINITY, and Craftsman Trucks

PHOTO: @KadenWHoneycutt

Thursday, February 16, 2023

CUP Exhibition Races

Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona

2022 Last-Place Finishers: Noah Gragson (Race 1), Jacques Villeneuve (Race 2) 

ENTRY LIST

There are 42 drivers entered to attempt Sunday’s Daytona 500, meaning the race will see the first 40-car starting lineup since this same race last year, 36 races ago. Two of the six “open” teams entered will be sent home after the Duel races on Thursday night.

NEW TEAM: #13-Kaulig Racing

First on track for tonight’s qualifying session will be Chandler Smith, who seeks his first Cup Series start. Smith made his first three XFINITY Series races last year with a best finish of 7th at Homestead for Sam Hunt Racing, and days later closed out a three-win season in the Truck Series with a 3rd-place finish in the Championship Four. Smith drives a new third team for Kaulig Racing, the first of four Chartered teams to field an additional “open” car this week. Smith will also pull double-duty in the XFINITY Series, where he drives Kaulig’s #16 in place of A.J. Allmendinger (see below).

DRIVER CHANGE: #15-Rick Ware Racing

After his third full season in the XFINITY Series, where he’s still winless after 109 starts, Riley Herbst will make his Cup debut in this week’s Daytona 500, driving Rick Ware Racing’s #15 Ford in place of Clash driver J.J. Yeley. Herbst trades sponsors this week, swapping Monster Energy for SunnyD.

RETURNING: #36-Front Row Motorsports

Entering a third car of their own is Front Row Motorsports, which brings back the #36 entry for the first time since David Ragan’s 37th-place showing in the 2021 Daytona 500. This time, the driver is defending NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion Zane Smith, who steered FRM’s Ford to a convincing win in last November’s Phoenix finale. Recall that this would not be Smith’s Cup debut – last summer at Gateway, he was a last-minute relief driver for Chris Buescher following a positive COVID-19 test. Smith parlayed this to an impressive 17th-place finish. Wellcare will sponsor Smith’s Ford.

RETURNING: #50-The Money Team

Also seeking his second Cup start is Conor Daly, who took his first laps in a Cup car last fall on the “Roval,” yielding a 34th-place finish. As in that race, Daly drives for The Money Team, which made its series debut in last year’s 500 after Kaz Grala’s last-lap pass on J.J. Yeley during his qualifying race. If Daly qualifies, this will be just his fifth start across NASCAR’s top three series.

RETURNING: #62-Beard Motorsports

Joining The Money Team as the only “open” entry not fielded by another team is Beard Motorsports. Continuing their focus on the superspeedways, the #62 entry returns with last year’s XFINITY Series standout on these tracks – Austin Hill. Hill finished a strong 18th in his Cup debut last summer at Michigan, and brings his sponsor Bennett Transportation on board. He takes the place of Noah Gragson, who has since become the full-time driver of Legacy Motor Club’s #42.

NEW TEAM: #67-23XI Racing

The third expansion team among the Chartered cars belongs to 23XI Racing, which has landed extreme sports superstar Travis Pastrana. A full decade after his full-season XFINITY effort with Roush-Fenway Racing in 2013, Pastrana will take his first laps in NASCAR’s top three series since 2020, when he ran his fifth and most recent Truck Series start in Las Vegas. Black Rifle Coffee is the sponsor of his plaid-decorated Toyota. The #67, made famous by the late Buddy Arrington, has not attempted a Cup Series race since November 2002 at Homestead, has not started one since Watkins Glen on August 11, 2002, and has not started the Daytona 500 since 1989 with Mickey Gibbs.

NEW TEAM / WITHDREW: #80-Finishline Motorsports Marketing

Late-breaking news this month was that of Finishline Motorsports Marketing, which at first appeared to be entering their #80 Safelite AutoGlass Chevrolet for driver J.J. Yeley in the Daytona 500. Serving as crew chief was Josh Reaume, who last year was part of the Team Hezeberg effort that is not entered this year. But those plans have since changed, and the team has withdrawn, planning a partial schedule this year. As of this writing, their first attempt will instead be Las Vegas on March 7th.

NEW TEAM: #84-Legacy Motor Club

The fourth and final “open” entry entered by a Chartered team belongs to Legacy Motor Club – the #84 Carvana Chevrolet to be driven by team investor Jimmie Johnson. This will be the seven-time series champion’s first Cup attempt since the conclusion of his “One Last Ride” tour in November 2020, the day Chase Elliott secured his first title at Phoenix in front of a COVID-19-reduced crowd. For the first time since his rookie season in 2002, Johnson enters the 500 without a guaranteed starting spot. But that year, he won the pole, the first of his career. If he qualifies, this will be the first start for the #84 in a Cup race since November 20, 2011 with Cole Whitt at Homestead. The number hasn’t started the Daytona 500 since 1989, when Mike Alexander drove for the Stavola Brothers in the Miller High Life Buick.

Friday, February 17, 2023

TRUCKS Race 1 of 23

NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona

2022 Last-Place Finisher: Dean Thompson

ENTRY LIST

Craftsman rejoins the Truck Series as title sponsor, where 42 drivers are entered in Daytona’s season opener, meaning six teams will fail to qualify.

TEAM UPDATE / DRIVER CHANGE: #1-TRICON Garage

RETURNING / DRIVER SWAP: #13-ThorSport Racing

David Gilliland Racing and businessman Johnny Gray have joined forces to create TRICON Garage, swapping from Ford to become the flagship Toyota team in the series. TRICON boasts four entries this week, first of them the #1 formerly driven by Hailie Deegan under DGR and now driven by the first of two drivers named Jason White on the entry list. Jason A. White – the series veteran from Richmond, Virginia with 156 Truck starts dating back to 2001 – now pilots the #1 with Celsius as sponsor. Deegan, meanwhile, moves to ThorSport, where the #13 returns to full-time competition after running part-time last year with Johnny Sauter. Sauter gave the #13 its most recent start last fall at Talladega, yielding a 25th-place finish.

NEW TEAM: #2-Rev Racing

TEAM CLOSED: #18-Kyle Busch Motorsports

On the heels of Kyle Busch’s departure from the #18 Cup Series team at Joe Gibbs Racing, the third KBM entry, the #18, is as gone from the series as it is in Cup. Chandler Smith, the team’s driver, has moved to Kaulig Racing in a combined Cup and XFINITY Series bid. Kyle Busch Motorsports has since formed an alliance with ARCA Series team Rev Racing, which brings last year’s champion Nick Sanchez into a full-time Truck Series ride. Sanchez, who also ran impressively for Big Machine Racing’s XFINITY team late last season, will continue to run the #2 he ran in ARCA, and carries sponsorship from Gainbridge.

DRIVER SWAP: #4-Kyle Busch Motorsports

MISSING: #61-Hattori Racing Enterprises

With John Hunter Nemechek rejoining the XFINITY Series with Joe Gibbs Racing as a full-time driver (see below), the #4 entry at KBM remained open for Chase Purdy. Purdy’s previous ride, the second entry at Hattori Racing Enterprises, is not on the entry list this week, and Purdy brings his sponsorship from Bama Buggies to the #4.

NEW TEAM: #5-TRICON Garage

MISSING: #5-Hill Motorsports

TEAM CLOSED: #40-Niece Motorsports

The five-truck TRICON team includes the #5, which last year belonged to Hill Motorsports’ second team, most often driven by Tyler Hill. Under its new branding as a Toyota, the driver is Dean Thompson, whose #40 entry at Niece Motorsports is likewise not entered this week, and returns for his second full-time season in Trucks.

DRIVER CHANGE: #7-Spire Motorsports

NEW TEAM / DRIVER SWAP: #11-TRICON Garage

DRIVER SWAP: #24-GMS Racing

DRIVER SWAP: #51-Kyle Busch Motorsports

Seeking only his third Truck Series start and first since 2014 is Cup regular Corey LaJoie, who will pilot the part-time #7 Schluter Systems Chevrolet once again fielded by his Cup team, Spire Motorsports. LaJoie takes the place of Rajah Caruth, who closed out his part-time season with Spire last fall in Phoenix. Caruth has since landed a full-time ride at GMS Racing, where he will carry logos for the Wendell Scott Foundation on the #24 entry, and will also continue to run part-time for Alpha Prime Racing in XFINITY (see below). Caruth takes the place of Jack Wood, who takes the place of Corey Heim in KBM’s #51 Toyota. In turn, Heim has become the third member of TRICON Garage, where he will join Dean Thompson in piloting a new entry, running the #11.

DRIVER CHANGE: #9-CR7 Motorsports

DRIVER CHANGE: #35-McAnally-Hilgemann Racing

TEAM CLOSED: #91-McAnally-Hilgemann Racing

NEW TEAM: #97-CR7 Motorsports

CR7 Motorsports expands from one truck to two this season, and Codie Rohrbaugh returns to the driver’s seat in time for the race where he finished 3rd in 2020, this time running the new #97 entry. Running CR7’s primary #9 is Colby Howard, who takes the place of Blaine Perkins, who has returned to the XFINITY Series (see below). Howard’s 2022 ride in the #91 for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing was shut down, but his sponsorship from Gates Hydraulics remains as sponsor of the team’s part-time #35, which is driven this week by Cup invader Chase Elliott instead of Phoenix starter Jake Garcia.

TEAM UPDATE / DRIVER CHANGE: #17-TRICON Garage

Completing the TRICON Garage lineup (along with the #15, still piloted by Tanner Gray) is the #17, one of the two original David Gilliland Racing entries. This week, the truck passes from Taylor Gray, who scored three ARCA Racing Series wins last year and made the most recent eight of his 13 Truck Series starts, to Joe Gibbs Racing’s XFINITY rookie Sammy Smith. Mobil 1 is the listed sponsor this week.

DRIVER CHANGE: #19-McAnally-Hilgemann Racing

DRIVER SWAP: #20-Young’s Motorsports

MISSING: #66-ThorSport Racing

DRIVER SWAP: #98-ThorSport Racing

Hailie Deegan’s arrival at ThorSport in the #13 isn’t the only shake-up on that team. After coming up just short of the Truck Series title last year, Ty Majeski moves from the #66 to the #98, taking the place of Christian Eckes. Eckes, in turn, moves to the flagship entry at McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, taking Derek Kraus’ place in the #19 Toyota. Kraus has now landed with Young’s Motorsports in the #20 Chevrolet, replacing Phoenix starter Armani Williams, who’s not entered. The ThorSport #66 will return later this year as a part-time entry with newcomer Conner Jones.

DRIVER CHANGE: #22-AM Racing

As AM Racing expands their presence in the XFINITY Series, Josh Reaume is entered in the #22 in place of Austin Wayne Self, who’s not entered this week. JAG Metals is the listed sponsor.

RETURNING: #28-FDNY Racing

Amidst tumultuous change, Jim Rosenblum’s FDNY Racing effort returns with its same lineup, again putting veteran Bryan Dauzat behind the wheel. Dauzat finished 23rd in this race last year and ran 35th after mid-race damage at Talladega.

DRIVER CHANGE: #30-On Point Motorsports

DRIVER SWAP / NUMBER CHANGE: #34-Reaume Brothers Racing

NEW TEAM: #43-GMS Racing

RETURNING / DRIVER SWAP: #04-Roper Racing

Joining Nick Sanchez and Rajah Caruth in ascending from ARCA is Daniel Dye, who unlike the other two racers has yet to make a start in any of NASCAR’s top three series. Dye will run the #43, which this season will be fielded by GMS Racing instead of Reaume Brothers Racing. The Reaume team, still rebuilding from a terrible shop fire over the winter, brings back the #34, which honors the Mooresville Fire Department for saving their shop. Driving is the second Jason White – Jason M. White – the Canadian who finished 10th in this race in 2020. Chris Hacker, who ran the #34 (formerly #43) last fall at Phoenix, moves to On Point’s #30 Toyota this week with Morgan & Morgan P.A. as sponsor. “Hackerman” moves Kaden Honeycutt, 9th in just his 9th career start with On Point last fall at Phoenix, to the returning Roper Racing #04 entry, which carries FlyAllianceCar Quest as sponsor. Team owner Cory Roper nearly won this Daytona race two years ago before he finished 3rd.

RETURNING: #32-Bret Holmes Racing

Bret Holmes returns to action for the first time since last fall at Homestead, and this time carries Pate Holdings as sponsor of his #32 Chevrolet.

DRIVER CHANGE: #33-Reaume Brothers Racing

Coming down from the XFINITY Series is Mason Massey, who last year drove DGM Racing’s #91 Chevrolet, which this year goes to Cup part-timer Josh Bilicki (see below). Massey lands in Josh Reaume’s primary #33 entry, a truck driven most recently by Keith McGee last fall at Phoenix. While McGee is not entered, Massey seeks his first Truck Series start since 2019, when he drove this same entry to a 32nd-place finish in Talladega.

RETURNING: #41-Niece Motorsports

While the team’s #40 has scaled back, Al Niece has brought back their #41 entry for the first time since last summer at IRP, where Chad Chastain finished 30th. This “all-star” entry will feature multiple drivers this season, starting with Travis Pastrana, who looks to turn more laps before his first bid at the Daytona 500 with 23XI Racing. Worldwide Express and BRCC are the listed sponsors.

RETURNING / DRIVER SWAP: #46-G2G Racing 

DRIVER SWAP: #02-Young’s Motorsports

The preliminary entry list first indicated that Johnny Sauter would reunite with G2G Racing for the first time since his run in this same race last year, where electrical woes left him a distant 34th. That news changed by Tuesday, when word broke that Norm Benning would drive in his place. Seeking his 245th Truck Series start, and his first at any track since 2021, this would be Benning’s first start for a team not his own since November 2016, when he raced for Mike Mittler at Phoenix. Driving the #02 Young’s Motorsports entry that Johnny Sauter most recently ran in last fall’s Phoenix race is Kris Wright, who rejoins the Truck Series after a challenging stretch of XFINITY races with Brandonbilt Motorsports (see below).

MISSING: #62-Halmar Friesen Racing

Not among the entrants this week is Layne Riggs, who turned heads in his part-time effort driving a second HFR truck last fall, most recently a 13th last November in the Phoenix finale.

RETURNING: #75-Henderson Motorsports

Last summer’s Mid-Ohio winner Parker Kligerman rejoins the Henderson team for the first time since his 9th-place showing at Homestead last fall, and this time arrives pulling double-duty with Big Machine Racing in the XFINITY Series (see below).

RETURNING: #84-Cook Racing Technologies

After a pair of DNQs, Clay Greenfield finally got his Cook Racing Technologies entry into its first race last fall in Talladega, where he was rewarded with a 12th-place finish. Now he returns to Daytona looking to make his first start in the race since 2019, when he also ran 12th.

RETURNING: #96-Peck Motorsports

Also looking to break through is Todd Peck, who has not started a Truck Series race since 2021 at Pocono, and returns with his persistent #96 team.

CUP INVADERS: #7-Corey LaJoie, #35-Chase Elliott

Saturday, February 18, 2023

XFINITY Race 1 of 33

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

2022 Last-Place Finisher: Caesar Bacarella

ENTRY LIST

There are 44 drivers entered for 40 spots in Saturday’s XFINITY Series opener, meaning four will fail to qualify.

MISSING: #5-B.J. McLeod Motorsports

NEW TEAM: #5-Big Machine Racing

DRIVER CHANGE: #48-Big Machine Racing

When we last saw B.J. McLeod’s #5 team, Matt Mills was the only DNQ for last November’s Phoenix finale. This week, McLeod has not entered the #5, and Mills is not among the entrants. Instead, Big Machine Racing has fielded a second car for Jade Buford, reuniting him with the Scott Borchetta team for the first time since Portland last summer. Appropriately, Buford will carry sponsorship from “Double Spiked Coolers.” After a mix of Cup regulars and a surprising Nick Sanchez took Buford’s place in the #48, the ride goes to Parker Kligerman, who finally earns a full-time ride after more than a decade of effort.

DRIVER CHANGE: #9-JR Motorsports

DRIVER SWAP: #19-Joe Gibbs Racing

DRIVER SWAP: #31-Jordan Anderson Racing

DRIVER SWAP: #02-Our Motorsports

David Starr returns to the XFINITY Series for the first time since last fall at Homestead, and this time takes the controls of Our Motorsports’ single entry, the #02 Chevrolet, bringing with him previous sponsor Special Report with Bret Baier. Starr takes the place of last year’s surprising part-timer Parker Retzlaff, 21st last fall at Phoenix, who this year joins Jordan Anderson Racing’s primary entry, the #31, retaining Funkaway as sponsor. Retzlaff’s full-time effort moves Myatt Snider and sponsor Tree Top to Joe Gibbs Racing’s new “star car,” the #19 formerly driven by Brandon Jones and now shared with multiple drivers. This ride became available as Jones had already committed to JR Motorsports’ #9 Chevrolet, replacing Noah Gragson after Gragson’s promotion to Legacy Motor Club’s #42 in the Cup Series.

DRIVER CHANGE: #10-Kaulig Racing

Last year, Landon Cassill came up just short of both his first win and a spot in the XFINITY Series Playoffs, and was originally expected to continue his full-time effort with Kaulig Racing in 2023. That changed over the winter with news that Cassill would only run part-time this year. The first of these openings is this week as Justin Haley comes down from Kaulig’s Cup team to run the #10 on Saturday. Five more races later this season will go to Kyle Busch, thanks to his move to Richard Childress Racing and Chevrolet.

DRIVER CHANGE: #13-Motorsports Business Management

DRIVER CHANGE: #66-Motorsports Business Management

Last summer at Daytona, Timmy Hill was either inches or seconds from pulling off an incredible upset, ultimately scoring a career-best runner-up finish to Jeremy Clements. Hill rejoins MBM and the #13 team this week with Klutch Vodka as sponsor of his Ford, looking to go one spot better. He takes the place of Dawson Cram, who’s not entered after he drove to a 31st-place finish with this team last fall at Phoenix. Running the second MBM entry in the #66 is a returning Dexter Stacey, whose most recent of 25 XFINITY starts came in 2016. Taking the place of J.J. Yeley, who’s not entered, Stacey rejoins the series after competing in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series in his native Canada. Just last year, he earned a career-best 3rd at Mosport.

DRIVER CHANGE: #16-Kaulig Racing

Now that A.J. Allmendinger has returned to full-time Cup duties for the first time since 2018, claiming the entirety of the previously shared #16 Cup effort’s starts, the ride is open for a new challenger. That challenger is former KBM Truck Series driver Chandler Smith, who will run full-time in this car and also attempt the Daytona 500 in Kaulig’s “open” #13.

RETURNING: #20-Joe Gibbs Racing

Joe Gibbs Racing resurrects the #20 team, which we last saw piloted by Harrison Burton in 2021. This time, the ride goes to former KBM driver John Hunter Nemechek, his first full-time XFINITY season since 2019. Nemechek carries Mobil 1 as a sponsor this week, and looks to set the tone early in his bid for the Playoffs.

MISSING: #23-Our Motorsports

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

RETURNING: #99-B.J. McLeod Motorsports

Our Motorsports has scaled back their #23 entry to part-time, freeing up Anthony Alfredo to take up a different full-time effort in the #78 at B.J. McLeod’s team, replacing McLeod himself. McLeod has also brought back his third entry, the #99, which Garrett Smithley will drive this week. The #99 hasn’t been entered in a race since last summer at Nashville, and hasn’t started one since Nick Sanchez took the green at Charlotte in May. Smithley’s most recent XFINITY start came in McLeod’s #78 last fall in Las Vegas, yielding a 25th-place finish.

RETURNING: #24-Sam Hunt Racing

Parker Chase made his first two XFINITY Series starts last year with Sam Hunt Racing’s flagship #26 team, taking 19th at COTA and 27th in Portland. This time, Chase tackles Daytona, where he finished runner-up to Corey Heim in last year’s ARCA 200. He now drives SHR’s second entry, the #24, a team whose only start last year was in the Daytona opener, yielding a 15th-place finish with Jeffrey Earnhardt.

RETURNING: #25-AM Racing

AM Racing expands to the XFINITY Series with the #25, but as on the Truck Series side, Austin Wayne Self is not entered. Last year, Self failed to qualify for the XFINITY race sat Watkins Glen and the Charlotte “Roval” during a combined effort between AM Racing and Jordan Anderson Racing. This year, taking the full-time ride is Brett Moffitt, who parted ways with Our Motorsports’ #02 team midway through last season, and made only a few starts after. 

MISSING: #27-Our Motorsports

NEW TEAM: #27-Jordan Anderson Racing

Speaking of Anderson’s team, his XFINITY effort expands to a second car, bringing Jeb Burton over from Our Motorsports. As Our closes down his struggling third team, Anderson picks up its car number, keeping both the #27 and sponsor State Water Heaters with the Burton family. Burton joins Parker Retzlaff as teammates this season.

RETURNING / DRIVER SWAP: #28-RSS Racing

DRIVER SWAP: #38-RSS Racing

DRIVER SWAP: #39-RSS Racing

DRIVER SWAP: #07-SS-Green Light Racing

Coming up from CR7’s Truck Series team is Blaine Perkins, who rejoins the XFINITY Series in SS-Green Light Racing’s #07. Perkins takes the place of Joe Graf, Jr., who will not only run some races in Joe Gibbs Racing’s #19, but this week pilots the flagship RSS Racing entry, the #39, with Getcoverseal.com as sponsor. Graf bumps Ryan Sieg to RSS’ #38, which moves Kyle Sieg to their returning third entry, the #28. Graf’s future starts with RSS will be in the #38 as Ryan Sieg resumes his ride in the #39.

DRIVER CHANGE: #34-Jesse Iwuji Motorsports

Amidst a lawsuit against founding sponsor Equity Prime Mortgage, Jesse Iwuji takes the wheel of the #34 in place of Kyle Weatherman, who closed out the 2022 season with a 14th-place finish in Phoenix.

DRIVER CHANGE: #35-Emerling-Gase Motorsports

RETURNING / DRIVER SWAP: #53-Emerling-Gase Motorsports

The Emerling-Gase team makes another bid at fielding two full-time entries. This time, they bring C.J. McLaughlin from his part-time efforts with RSS Racing to pilot the flagship #35 Sci Aps Ford, bumping Joey Gase to the returning #53 National Crime Prevention Ford. Brad Perez, Natalie Decker, and team co-owner Patrick Emerling are among the drivers expected to fill out the schedule this year.

DRIVER SWAP: #36-DGM Racing

DRIVER CHANGE: #91-DGM Racing

DRIVER SWAP: #92-DGM Racing

Over at the Mario Gosselin team, Josh Williams and Alex Labbe have swapped rides, putting Labbe back in his familiar #36 and Williams back in the #92. Mason Massey, last year’s driver of the #91, moves back to the Truck Series, opening a seat for Josh Bilicki and his sponsorship from Zeigler Auto Group and Insurance King – at least on a part-time basis.

NEW TEAM: #43-Alpha Prime Racing

DRIVER CHANGE: #44-Alpha Prime Racing

DRIVER CHANGE: #45-Alpha Prime Racing

After a tumultuous transition year with multiple drivers, Alpha Prime Racing expands to three teams with an equally deep lineup. The new entry, the #43, goes to Ryan Ellis, who has brought multiple sponsors to expand what would have been a part-time deal into a full-season bid. The #44 goes to Jeffrey Earnhardt, who last year split time with three different teams, and continues to build on his relationship with sponsor ForeverLawn. The #45 stands as the team’s “star car,” beginning with team co-owner Caesar Bacarella this week and continuing with Sage Karam, Stefan Parsons, Leland Honeyman, Jr., and Rajah Caruth. Last fall at Phoenix saw Caruth and Parsons run the team’s two cars.

MISSING: #68-Brandonbilt Motorsports

With Kris Wright moving back to the Truck Series after a difficult final weeks in 2022, both Brandonbilt Motorsports and their former driver Brandon Brown are conspicuously absent from the entry list.

RETURNING / TEAM UPDATE: #74-CHK Racing

Gary Keller, previously a partner at JD Motorsports, now joins forces with Mike Harmon Racing, which rebrands itself as CHK Racing. After a rough 2022 season where the #74 team was sidelined after a testing penalty and the #47 suffered a litany of mechanical failures, CHK fields just one car, and brings back Harmon’s #74. Serving as anchor driver is Ryan Vargas – also formerly of JD Motorsports – who ran for Harmon last summer at Portland, yielding a 23rd-place finish.

MISSING: #77-Bassett Racing

The Bassett brothers are not making the trip to Daytona after Dillon Bassett qualified an impressive 12th in last fall’s Phoenix finale.

RETURNING: #00-Stewart-Haas Racing

Ousted from Stewart-Haas Racing’s #41 Cup Series entry late this offseason in favor of “reserve driver” Ryan Preece, Cole Custer makes his return to the XFINITY Series in the #00 that brought him to Cup in the first place. Like John Hunter Nemechek, Custer promises to be a strong Playoff contender in 2023, having finished 11th or better in three of his five XFINITY starts last year with SS-Green Light Racing, including the team’s first ever win at Fontana.

DRIVER CHANGE: #08-SS-Green Light Racing

Speaking of SS-Green Light Racing, Gray Gaulding reunites with the team that brought him the most success of his young NASCAR career, when he ranked 13th in points during the 2019 campaign. Taking the place of Brandon Brown, who drove the car last fall at Phoenix, Gaulding brings his longtime sponsor Panini and looks to reignite his competitiveness on the superspeedways.

CUP INVADERS: #10-Justin Haley

Sunday, February 19, 2023

CUP Race 1 of 36

Daytona 500 at Daytona

2022 Last-Place Finisher: Ross Chastain

TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (February 15, 1981): Blackie Wangerin picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR Winston Cup Series career when his #39 Wangerin / Clements Ford crashed in the tri-oval after 17 laps of the Daytona 500. This was Wangerin’s third and last start in the “Great American Race.”

OPINION: It’s not “The Kyle Busch Problem,” but there is a solution

PHOTO: Brock Beard

by Brock Beard

LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

Last Friday, amid video clips featuring other athletes who returned from retirement one time too many, Kyle Busch announced he would come back to run five XFINITY Series races this season. This comes less than two years after he scored the last five of his 102 series wins by sweeping his maximum allowed number of starts. Now in this, his first Cup season for Richard Childress Racing, Busch will drive for fellow Chevrolet team Kaulig Racing. He’ll fill in five open spots that were previously for full-timer Landon Cassill – that is, before it was announced last winter that Cassill would scale back to a partial schedule. 

You were probably expecting this article after the one I posted last year. Good news – here it is.

Kyle Busch has no business being in a XFINITY car, nor should he compete in the Craftsman Truck Series. “But it’s only for a few races,” you may say. “At least it’s not for a championship like a few years ago.” To that, I ask, how did that go in 2021? Were those five races that Busch won the best of the season, enhanced by his presence? Hardly. 

The experience of a Cup regular coming down to dominate a XFINITY or Truck Series race, while not a weekly occurrence, is still a regular enough irritation, and a distraction to full-season storylines. Most irritating is that such “start-and-win” drivers and their hollow victories are feted as actual accomplishments, not dismissed as the most tolerated sham in professional sports. 

The XFINITY Series doesn’t need Kyle Busch, either. This season promises to be the strongest in years in terms of the number of full-time entries, both large and small. A decade after his Cup ride with Swan Racing was snuffed out, Parker Kligerman finally gets a full-time ride with Big Machine Racing. Parker Retzlaff, impressive in his first few starts for RSS Racing and Our Motorsports, gets a full-time ride with Jordan Anderson, which expands to two cars. Even Joe Gibbs Racing has opened opportunities for Myatt Snider and Joe Graf, Jr. A Cup driver doesn’t add to this intrigue – it distracts from it – and the excuses for tolerating it just don’t stack up.

To be clear, this controversy is separate and apart from any discussion of drivers competing in NASCAR modifieds, the Indianapolis 500, your local dirt track, or any other series. Put those thoughts away. Those series and others like them are second to no one, and are completely different disciplines. In fact, in many ways, those races bring new fans to NASCAR by bringing NASCAR’s best to different parts of the country. But XFINITY and Truck Series races are different. These are feeder divisions for Cup. A top Cup driver’s presence brings nothing but predictability. They don’t bring fans, either. Most XFINITY and Truck races are hosted on the same weekend as Cup races. Any Cup driver’s fans are already on the track, if only to see how they run on Sunday.

I.    THE PROBLEM

Contrary to what you may think while reading this, this is not actually a “Kyle Busch Problem.” The same thing goes for any other driver of his caliber – Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott, the list goes on. And that right there is the problem. What are the proper parameters for a driver that should be excluded from the XFINITY or Truck Series? Should it be all Cup drivers? NASCAR has yet to create a firm definition. In its place are restrictions that affect all drivers in all three series, and only incidentally affect the biggest offenders. The rule that any driver can only declare for one championship between Cup, XFINITY, and Trucks has at least allowed series regulars to compete for the title, as has excluding Cup drivers from the Playoffs and bonus-paying races. But loopholes remain.

When it comes to “trophy hunting,” drivers with five full seasons’ worth of Cup experience can still run five races during the regular season in XFINITY and Trucks. This is not as much of a limit as it first appears. If, say, Hendrick Motorsports wanted to put all four of their drivers into XFINITY just for a lark, there’s nothing to keep Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Alex Bowman from each running their five races, occupying 20 of the year’s 33 races. This isn’t a mere hypothetical. Just last year, Hendrick debuted their #17 team in XFINITY – sponsored by HendrickCars.com itself – which gave all four of their Cup drivers a shot at replicating Busch’s dominance. 

Teams will always test the limits they are given. Changing the limits is the only solution. For that, I have a suggestion. And it’s not as restrictive as you might expect.

II.    THE “IF YOU’RE IN, YOU’RE OUT” SYSTEM

Do we have to have the Playoffs? Must we have the Charter System? If so, it’s about time we use both to do some good.

Earn your spot among the 16 drivers in the Cup Series Playoffs? You’re prohibited from running XFINITY or Trucks the following season. Win the Cup championship? You’re prohibited for the next two seasons.

Miss the Cup Series Playoffs? Eliminate the experience requirement. Base it on whether that driver runs for a Chartered team. Why? Because those are guaranteed starts with guaranteed paychecks. 

Miss the Playoffs and have a Charter? You only get one XFINITY or Truck start the next season – not both. Why one? Because multi-car teams dominate. They can have up to four drivers, which equates to four starts. It’s about time the Charters have strings attached. 

Miss the Playoffs and don’t have a Charter? No limits. These drivers need all the starts they can get.

III.    THE BENEFITS

First, and most importantly, this would keep drivers who are capable of winning Cup races or performing consistently enough to make the Playoffs from voluntarily taking a step down just to score an easy victory. This would dispel the myth of the “Kyle Busch Problem” and establish a common-sense definition of who should be excluded: Playoff drivers. In fact, if instituted today, it would exclude not just Bristol Dirt Race winner Busch, but all five first-time winners of Cindric, Chastain, Suarez, Briscoe, and Reddick. This shouldn’t be viewed as a punishment for winning, but a recognition of the significance of a Cup win beyond mere Playoff positioning. 

Second, this would eliminate the nonsense of a Cup team fielding XFINITY or Truck Series rides for the sport’s best Cup drivers. Under my system, which focuses on drivers instead of teams, Cup teams could still field entries, but can’t put their ringers behind the wheel. If teams can’t be trusted not to allow a sponsor to back a Cup driver in a lower series, then that ability should be taken away. Instead, those seats are open for rising talents, and those drivers can compete to earn them.

Third, even if it were instituted today, this wouldn’t interfere with current driver contracts. Consider the example of Ross Chastain, who came into 2022 without a Cup Series win, and would ultimately run XFINITY races for DGM Racing and Big Machine Racing. If this system were in place last year, Chastain would still be able to run the rest of his planned XFINITY and Truck races even after his first win at COTA. He would only be prohibited from continuing to do so this year. This also fits the natural rhythm the Playoffs have created. After that 26th race, drivers in the Playoffs set their sights on the title while non-Playoff drivers build momentum for the next year. If instituted this year, non-Playoff race winners Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace, and Erik Jones would not be excluded from running XFINITY or Truck races. A winless Ryan Blaney would. Whether or not any of these drivers could run XFINITY or Trucks in 2024 would depend entirely on their performance this year.

Fourth, it’s not an outright ban, but a flexible system that accounts for different phases of a driver’s career. By basing exclusion entirely on Playoff status (and mostly on winning), this becomes a storyline to follow from one year to the next. The option is left open for drivers who are struggling, or who have lost their rides – as it should. For once-winning drivers who struggle, this can be an opportunity to hone their skills in a lower series, then make another run at Cup (such as A.J. Allmendinger). For winless drivers or those on smaller Cup teams, they can also regain confidence or perhaps become series regulars in another division (such as Justin Allgaier, Matt DiBenedetto, etc.). We already see some of this movement today, which is why the XFINITY and Truck Series have become stronger. Codifying this process will turn an incidental effect of the current model into its intended purpose.

IV.    A CHANGE TO THE CHARTER SYSTEM

Now, I would like to speak to the XFINITY and Truck Series drivers who defend the current system, and want to be on the same track as a top-caliber Cup talent like Kyle Busch or Kevin Harvick.

Yes, this win-based exclusion I’m proposing would prevent that from happening. But you would still get to test your skills against Cup-level talent. It won’t be Kyle Busch or Kevin Harvick – unless they went winless the year before – but it doesn’t have to be. Both series already have drivers like Justin Allgaier and J.J. Yeley. And this talent will, in general, be on more equal footing with XFINITY and Truck Series regulars, leading to more learning and more competitive races. If a driver starts to dominate – regardless of their level of experience – they can and should earn a chance at making it into the Cup Series just as they always have.

Still want to race Kyle Busch? Well, then, what about Cup? Yes, seriously. Why run mid-pack in a XFINITY or Truck race being dominated by one or two Cup drivers when you could simply make a one-off start in Cup against all of them? Impossible? It shouldn’t be. Before the Charter System, this was extremely common. The far end of the garage area included teams like Donlavey Racing, which jump-started the careers of countless Cup drivers. One-off starts with unheralded teams gave NASCAR some of its greatest drivers, including Dale Earnhardt, who made his first race for owner-driver Ed Negre in 1975. Yes, we have six "open" cars this week in Daytona, but that number is certain to drop off in the weeks ahead. Last year's 500 was saw the season's only 40-car field. The other weeks left open up to four spots that could be filled by anyone, but are instead left empty. It’s a complete waste of a golden opportunity.

The solution is simple, but not easy – make operating a Cup “open” team more financially feasible. If the Charter system is going to stay in place, this should be the number one priority. We already know that simply having the spots available isn’t enough. The “open” teams – both new and old – should receive a fair share of the purse. Is it going to be as much as the Chartered teams? No – especially since none are guaranteed of securing one of the final four spots in the field. But they must be afforded a chance to qualify and compete. NASCAR has done this before, dating back to the “plan money” awarded to owner-drivers in the 1980s. They’ll have to guide the hand of the RTA to make it happen, but that is work well worth doing.

The result of this will finally settle the “Buschwhacker” debate, make qualifying more consequential, bring back the one-off teams that used to add extra intrigue to each field, and most importantly give aspiring XFINITY and Truck drivers a better chance at competing on the sport’s biggest stage.

CUP: Chain-reaction incident leaves Erik Jones last in caution-filled Clash

ALL PHOTOS: Luis Torres, @TheLTFiles

by Brock Beard

LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

Erik Jones finished last in Sunday’s Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum when his #43 Allegiant Chevrolet fell out with suspension issues after 16 of 150 laps.

The 2022 season proved pivotal in the careers of both Jones and his team. Over the offseason, Truck Series powerhouse GMS Racing decided not to start their own Cup team and instead merged with Richard Petty Motorsports, bringing the #42 made famous by Lee Petty to run alongside the iconic #43. This, Jones’ second season in the #43, saw him enjoy a strong race at Fontana, then break through with his second career Southern 500 victory. By season’s end came news that Jimmie Johnson had joined the team as investor, rebranding the Petty GMS Racing team to Legacy Motor Club. Jones would remain in the #43 with rookie Noah Gragson replacing Ty Dillon in the #42, plus Johnson himself as an “open” #84 entry for the Daytona 500.

Before the 500, there was still NASCAR’s return to the L.A. Coliseum for the Busch Clash. In this race, last year, both Legacy cars performed well at different phases. Ty Dillon was the star of the Last Chance Qualifier, where he bulldozed his way through the field to an apparent win, only to be penalized for jumping the start. Jones made the main event, and carried the #43 to a 4th-place finish.

Running slowest in practice was B.J. McLeod, whose Live Fast Motorsports team switched from Ford to Chevrolet for their #78 Celsius-sponsored entry. This would put McLeod last in the second of Sunday’s four nine-car, 25-lap heat races. In qualifying, McLeod improved to 34th of the 36 Chartered entries due to misfortunes by two other drivers. When Ryan Blaney slid his #12 Menards / Great Lakes Flooring Ford through Turns 3 and 4, he executed the now-banned maneuver of turning his car around to try the lap again. Not taking time was Ty Gibbs, who suffered Saturday’s scariest incident. During practice, flames and thick black smoke breached the driver’s compartment of Gibbs’ #54 Monster Energy Toyota. The team had to replace the charred passenger-side door foam with a replacement piece from Stewart-Haas Racing. Gibbs would roll off last in Heat Race 4 with Blaney last in Heat Race 3.

None of those heats would send any drivers to the rear for pre-race penalties, which included both Gibbs and two other drivers involved in practice incidents. Chase Briscoe’s #14 Mahindra Tractors Ford suffered minor right-front damage after a door-banging battle with A.J. Allmendinger’s #16 Action Industries Chevrolet let to Allmendinger stuffing Briscoe into the Turn 3 wall. The other was defending Clash winner Joey Logano, who received no visible damage after he spun his #22 Shell / Pennzoil Ford.

Starting last in Heat Race 1 was Ty Dillon, whose #77 NASCAR Fan Rewards Chevrolet was fourth-slowest in single-car qualifying. Dillon remained in touch with the field through the first two laps before contact from Noah Gragson’s #42 Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet spun Harrison Burton in the #21 Motorcraft / Quick Lane Ford. Though Burton slotted behind Dillon in line, only green-flag laps counted in timing and scoring, keeping Dillon in last until the restart. When the heat restarted, Burton and Dillon came around and crossed the stripe just seven-thousandths of a second apart. Burton cleared Dillon by Lap 7, and by Lap 11 Dillon had pulled alongside new 8th-place runner Chris Buescher in the #17 Fastenal Ford, which he passed on the 13th circuit. From there, Buescher continued to lose ground, falling to 1.573 seconds back of Dillon at the end of the heat.

Heat Race 2 saw McLeod in last, and his #78 stayed clear of the battles ahead of him. On Lap 3, he nearly caught Chase Elliott, whose #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet was squeezed out of a three-wide battle that nearly put him into the Turn 4 wall. But after Elliott cleared Kevin Harvick’s #4 Busch Beer Ford, the gap between Harvick and last-place McLeod steadily increased. It was 1.567 on Lap 6, 2.363 on Lap 9, 3.624 on Lap 11, and 4.892 on Lap 14. By Lap 16, NASCAR advised McLeod’s spotter to watch for the fast-closing leaders, who put him a lap down on the 20th circuit. That time by, the caution fell as Harvick spun Austin Cindric’s #2 Freightliner Ford, and McLeod reported he had issues with the rear brakes. McLeod’s crew suggested their driver make a bid in the high lane to try for the transfer spot. McLeod did pass Cindric, who was bumped by Chase Elliott, but Cindric passed McLeod back as the #78 struggled with both rear grip and the drive off. By the checkered flag, McLeod crossed the line a full 2.039 seconds back of Cindric’s Ford. 

In Heat Race 3, Ryan Blaney’s #12 rolled off 9th, but made quick work of J.J. Yeley in Rick Ware Racing’s #15 C.W. & Sons Infrastructure Ford. That first time by, Yeley was just 0.050 apart from Todd Gilliland, whose #38 gener8tor Skills Ford was alongside. Gilliland pulled away by Lap 4, when Yeley was 0.318 second behind and concerned about a possible flat right-rear tire. Yeley’s deficit quickly grew to 2.473 seconds by Lap 9, then 2.907 on Lap 13. By then, Gilliland had dropped Brad Keselowski to 8th in the #6 Kings Hawaiian Ford. When Keselowski passed Daniel Suarez’ #99 Jockey Chevrolet, Yeley closed the gap to 2.818 seconds before the yellow came out for Keselowski’s spin after contact from Suarez. Despite the caution, Keselowski still lost a lap – much to his team’s surprise – putting the #6 behind Yeley for the restart. He wouldn’t get his lap back until Lap 23, when Christopher Bell’s #20 Interstate Batteries Toyota spun in a chain-reaction incident in Turn 2. Back with the leaders, Keselowski dropped Yeley to last on the final restart, the two 0.496 apart at the finish. 

Jones spins after contact early in the main event.

Ty Gibbs rolled off last in Heat Race 4, and at the end of Lap 1 was in a side-by-side battle with Cody Ware in the #51 Biohaven Ford, the two just one-thousandth of a second apart at the stripe. Gibbs opened an advantage by Lap 4 as Ware struggled with a car that had no forward drive. By Lap 12, Ware fell 3.615 seconds back of new 8th-place runner Corey LaJoie in the #7 Animal Control Chevrolet. As Ware called for timing and scoring from his team, he gained a couple tenths on LaJoie, then fell back again with a loose-handling car. By the finish, he was 5.106 seconds back of LaJoie.

Back in the garage, work was underway. McLeod talked about a possible issue with the transaxle, and discussed adjustments to the rear springs and sway bar. Yeley said his car was running too hot at 240 degrees. Ware said he couldn’t steer without losing the rear of the car, which cost him on the drive-off. All three would be among the 16 drivers to start one of the two eight-car, 50-lap Last Chance Qualifiers, of which only seven would transfer into the 27-car main event.

The first Last Chance Qualifier saw Yeley roll off last. The car still proved a handful, and by Lap 4 had dropped a full second behind the next car of Chris Buescher. Yeley mounted a charge by Lap 6, drawing within 0.733, but fell back again by Lap 10. On Lap 12, he was 1.707 seconds behind, then 3.593 on Lap 19. The race stayed under green through Lap 32, when Yeley was lapped by race leader Michael McDowell in the #34 Fr8Auctions.com Ford. Yeley was in some danger of losing a second lap when the race ended on Lap 50, leaving his the only car off the same lap as the leaders.

In the second Last Chance Qualifier, McLeod and Ware rolled off in the final row. McLeod remained in the spot as Ware charged up to 5th, only to fall back to 7th by Lap 11. By then, the gap between the final two cars was 2.128 seconds. McLeod shaved the gap back to 1.909 two circuits later, but Ware pulled away again by Lap 22, opening it to 2.912 seconds. On Lap 23, race leader Chase Elliott swung under McLeod through Turns 3 and 4, putting the #78 the first car one lap down. Ware, too, lost a lap by the 36th circuit, and McLeod lost a second lap by the checkered flag. McLeod and Ware would join the list of DNQs with Buescher, Ty Dillon, LaJoie, Keselowski, Burton, and the #47 Velveeta Chevrolet of Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.

As for Erik Jones, he qualified for the main event with a 5th-place finish in Heat Race 4, securing him 20th on the grid for the 150-lap main event.

Jones in the infield for repairs after his spin.

Starting 27th and last was Austin Cindric, who recovered from multiple spins in his #2 Freightliner Ford to secure his place. No drivers were sent to the back for pre-race penalties, so when the race started, Cindric found himself 0.508 second behind 26th-place runner Todd Gilliland. As Gilliland raced Bell for 25th, the gap back to last-place Cindric increased to 0.364 on Lap 4, then shrank to 0.212 on Lap 8. Cindric then got alongside Gilliland on Lap 12, and by just three-hundredths of a second, Gilliland took over last place. Just two laps later, race leader Aric Almirola in the #10 Smithfield Ford caught the #38, then worked under him off Turn 2 on Lap 16. Just as Gilliland was being passed, the first caution fell.

Jones’ #43 was racing just ahead of Michael McDowell when McDowell’s #34 got into the back of him, spinning Jones into the back of Kevin Harvick’s #4. Jones’ right-rear wheel made contact with Harvick’s rear bumper, causing Jones’ wheel to point the wrong way. Under the ensuing caution, Jones lost a lap, and on Lap 17 took the spot from Gilliland after his “Lucky Dog.” Jones said the tire was up, but the contact “definitely bent the lower or the upper” toe link. When the race restarted, Jones said simply, “Broke.” Rick Carelli, Jones’ spotter, helped him enter the infield with a wide arc into Turn 2. Jones stopped in his stall, but the team realized they couldn’t complete repairs. “We’re done here, Carelli,” said the crew on Lap 22. Jones thanked his crew and climbed out, expressing his frustration with the contact from McDowell. Jones’ car was pushed to one end of the infield to a designated spot between a forklift and the grand marshal’s car. NASCAR declared Jones out on Lap 43, during a caution for A.J. Allmendinger’s spin.

Ty Gibbs took 26th due to a broken spindle suffered in a frontstretch incident just after the halfway break. Austin Cindric’s night ended with a blown engine. Rounding out the Bottom Five were Front Row Motorsports teammates McDowell and Gilliland, who each ran out of fuel between the race’s 16 cautions.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This was Jones’ second last-place finish in the Clash. On February 11, 2019, when driving for Joe Gibbs Racing at Daytona, he was involved in a crash during the closing stages. This began a streak of four consecutive last-place runs in the Clash by the JGR team which Jones ended on Sunday. 

*This marked the first time the #43 finished last on track in the Busch Clash. In 1998, 2000, and 2004 at Daytona, the #43 entry was classified last, but each time didn’t take the green flag. The Petty family had made a longstanding commitment to not run alcohol sponsorship on their cars, and thus never carried the pole award sticker due to the Anheuser-Busch sponsorship. In those three editions of the Clash, the #43 would have otherwise been eligible to run the race.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

27) #43-Erik Jones / 16 laps / suspension

26) #54-Ty Gibbs / 81 laps / suspension

25) #2-Austin Cindric / 106 laps / engine

24) #34-Michael McDowell / 137 laps / fuel

23) #38-Todd Gilliland / 137 laps / fuel

PREVIEW: It's back to the Clash, where a few new faces are in new rides

PHOTO: Brock Beard

Sunday, February 5, 2023 (Heat Races 5:00 P.M. ET, Main Event 8:00 P.M. ET)

CUP Exhibition Race

Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum

2022 Last-Place Finisher: Denny Hamlin

ENTRY LIST

Just like last year’s inaugural, only the 36 Chartered entries will be making the trip to Los Angeles. This year's race will be held under the lights, featuring a main event with 27 starters instead of last year's 23.

TEAM UPDATE: #4-Stewart-Haas Racing

As announced earlier this month, the 2023 season will mark Kevin Harvick’s 23rd and final season in Cup competition, during which he will cross the career mark of 800 Cup Series starts. The 2007 Daytona 500 winner and 2014 series champion kicks off his final season in team sponsor Busch Light’s race, where he finished 10th in last year’s inaugural.

DRIVER CHANGE: #8-Richard Childress Racing

DRIVER SWAP: #23-23XI Racing

DRIVER CHANGE: #45-23XI Racing

DRIVER AND NUMBER CHANGE: #54-Joe Gibbs Racing

Last year’s surprising announcement that Tyler Reddick would leave RCR to join 23XI Racing in 2024 changed abruptly with Kansas winner Kurt Busch’s decision to step aside from full-time competition after his concussion suffered in Pocono. Reddick drives the #45, which most recently was run by Bubba Wallace after the 23XI teams swapped numbers to continue Busch’s battle for the Owner’s Championship. Wallace returns to the #23 in place of Daniel Hemric, the eleventh-hour substitution at Phoenix for Busch’s original relief driver Ty Gibbs. Gibbs stepped out of the car following the tragic death of his father Coy Gibbs just hours after celebrating Ty’s XFINITY Series Championship. Ty races in his memory in the #54, his own XFINITY number and Monster Energy sponsorship taking the place of Joe Gibbs Racing’s #18 entry previously driven by Kyle Busch since 2008, a partnership ended after the departure of longtime sponsor M&M’s. This marks the first season without the #18 as a full-time JGR entry since 1991, just before the team’s founding. Kyle Busch slides into Reddick’s former ride at RCR, and carries many of his predecessor’s sponsors, including Lenovo, 3CHI, and Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen.

TEAM UPDATE: #10-Stewart-Haas Racing

While Aric Almirola originally planned to retire from full-time competition last year, he changed those plans well before the 2022 season ended. He will again run with Smithfield as sponsor of his #10 Ford.

DRIVER CHANGE: #15-Rick Ware Racing

J.J. Yeley will make his first trip to the L.A. Coliseum as driver of Rick Ware’s Ford, taking the place of Garrett Smithley, who finished 33rd in last fall’s Phoenix finale. Yeley made 19 Cup starts last year, most often in the RWR #15 entry, and most recently finished 30th at Martinsville.

TEAM UPDATE: #16-Kaulig Racing

For the first time since 2018, A.J. Allmendinger is a full-time Cup Series driver. After finding a new home at Kaulig Racing, Allmendinger has become a regular XFINITY Series championship contender. He now takes over the #16 entry on the Cup side, which last year Allmendinger shared with Daniel Hemric and Noah Gragson. This will be Allmendinger’s second start in the Coliseum, where he finished 9th in last year’s main event.

DRIVER CHANGE: #41-Stewart-Haas Racing

After one year as Stewart-Haas Racing’s reserve driver, Ryan Preece gets his second and best chance at competing full-time in the Cup Series. After paying his dues at both Premium Motorsports and JTG-Daugherty Racing, then breaking through with two Truck Series wins, Preece now takes the wheel of SHR’s #41 Ford, taking the place of a struggling Cole Custer. As Custer returns to the XFINITY Series in SHR’s #00, Preece looks to further improve on his 2022 performance the Coliseum, where he tapped into his extensive NASCAR Modified Series experience. Preece qualified for last year’s main event, where a loss of oil pressure left him in 20th.

DRIVER CHANGE / TEAM UPDATE: #42-Legacy Motor Club

TEAM UPDATE: #43-Legacy Motor Club

DRIVER CHANGE: #77-Spire Motorsports

Last November’s announcement that Jimmie Johnson had joined Petty GMS Racing as partner was followed this offseason by a complete rebrand of the two-car team, now called Legacy Motor Club. As Johnson prepares for his series return in this month’s Daytona 500, his first Cup start since the 2020 finale at Phoenix, Legacy’s other two entries make the trip to Los Angeles. While Darlington winner Erik Jones returns as driver of the #43, Ty Dillon has parted ways with the #42 team, joining Spire’s #77 entry most recently run by Landon Cassill. Taking Ty’s place in the #42 is Noah Gragson, who like Preece and Allmendinger moves from part-time to full-time Cup competition. Gragson will compete against Ty Gibbs for Rookie of the Year just weeks after Gragson and two of his JR Motorsports teammates came up just short of besting Gibbs for the XFINITY title.

TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (February 2, 2000): Happy Birthday to Lawless Alan, the last-place finisher of the 2021 Truck Series finale at Phoenix, where his #45 AutoParkIt.com Chevrolet crashed after 11 laps. Lawless will return to run another season with Niece Motorsports. 

OPINION: What more can Michael Andretti do?

PHOTO: @FormulaArgOK on Twitter

by Ben Schneider
LASTCAR.info Staff Writer

EDITOR'S NOTE: Congratulations to Ben, who thanks to the increased support of the LASTCAR.info Patreon was promoted to Staff Writer this offseason, joining William Soquet. This opinion piece kicks off our coverage for 2023.

A few months ago, I wrote an opinion piece here arguing that if Formula One wanted an American driver badly enough, they would have had one by now. That piece mainly focused on Andretti Autosport IndyCar driver Colton Herta’s inability to qualify for an FIA Super License, which ultimately cost him a reported opportunity in F1 with AlphaTauri. Ironically, this missed opportunity may have been what opened the door for another young American driver to get his chance. Mercedes junior Nyck de Vries, who made one Grand Prix start with Williams in 2022, ended up getting the AlphaTauri seat instead, which kept the door open for Logan Sargeant to step into the seat of the departing Nicholas Latifi. When Sargeant makes his debut this upcoming season, the United States will have its first F1 driver since Alexander Rossi made five starts with Manor Marussia in 2015.

But while America finally has an F1 driver of its own, that wasn’t the only issue I brought up in my piece in September. I also mentioned the struggle of the Andretti Global project, spearheaded by Herta’s IndyCar team owner, Michael Andretti. For over a year now, Andretti has been determined to find a way into F1 ownership, which would allow Herta the easiest path to earning a spot as a driver on the F1 grid. First, Andretti spent the final months of 2021 attempting to purchase an existing team, only for a proposed deal with the Sauber-owned Alfa Romeo team to fall through at the eleventh hour. Determined to find a way into F1 by any means necessary, Andretti then announced plans to start his own team, Andretti Global.

As was noted in September, the response from existing team principals and owners has been lukewarm at best. The name “Andretti” on its own, they argue, does not add value to the sport, and an entry from a new manufacturer such as Audi or Porsche would make for a better option should the FIA allow for a new team to expand the grid.

Undeterred by these setbacks, Andretti pressed on. Last month, he broke ground on a $200 million facility for the team’s headquarters, a 575,000 square foot project that had previously been announced in August. And finally, just last week, Andretti made good on the manufacturer demand, surprising the motorsports world with an announcement that Cadillac was onboard with the Andretti Global project.

And yet, despite meeting every demand, it appears the goalposts may very well be moving yet again. A tweet from Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern highlighted a quote in an article from the BBC’s Andrew Benson earlier this week: “Within F1, there is a general sense that many of those racing in America in categories where teams buy cars off the shelf and run them with fairly small-scale operations don't quite grasp just how high the level is in F1, how complex the task.”

We could go in many directions with this quote. We could bring up how Red Bull won only two NASCAR Cup Series races in five seasons before pulling out. We could bring up the time McLaren got bumped from the Indianapolis 500 by Juncos Racing, who had spent the prior 48 hours converting a road course backup car to a speedway car. If we really wanted to dig deep, we could bring up Ferrari’s lone attempt at the “500” in 1952, where Alberto Ascari retired after just 40 laps with a wheel collapse, resulting in Ascari’s only non-win of the year in championship events he entered.

But those are neither here nor there. Instead, let’s recap what Andretti’s application brings to Formula One. A $200 million headquarters. A brand new American manufacturer with an already established presence in motorsports. The name Andretti. We’re not talking about an unknown or sketchy “Rich Energy” kind of deal here. We’re talking about an established name in the motorsports world, one that is practically synonymous with the sport of motor racing, joining forces with General Motors to build what Andretti believes will be “the biggest story of the year.” Even FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem tweeted Sunday that the adverse reaction to the news has been “surprising,” reaffirming his support for “encouraging prospective F1 entries from global manufacturers like GM and thoroughbred racers like Andretti and others.”

Enough is enough. As IndyStar’s Nathan Brown wrote on Friday, “Michael Andretti’s answered every F1 challenge.” As far as I’m concerned, that leaves only one more question left to be answered.

What more can he do?