PREVIEW: This week’s entry lists feature a new Truck Series team and several threats for a superspeedway upset

Cram Enterprises is the newest addition to the Truck Series field. RENDER: Ryan Pistana Designs, posted by @dawsoncram

Friday, August 28, 2020

XFINITY Race 22 of 33

Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola

2019 Last-Place Finisher (July): A.J. Allmendinger

ENTRY LIST

There are 37 drivers entered for 40 spots, one driver more than last week’s double-header in Dover.

RETURNING: #16-Kaulig Racing

A.J. Allmendinger returns to the site of his disqualification last July and his DNQ this past February having finished no worse than 10th in all seven of his starts this year. He looks for redemption after finishing 4th in his most recent start on Daytona’s infield road course.

DRIVER SWAP: #36-DGM Racing

DRIVER CHANGE: #90-DGM Racing

Caesar Bacarella makes his fifth start of 2020 and first since Talladega, where he ran a season-best 17th. He will again drive Mario Gosselin’s #90 Chevrolet, bumping Alex Labbe back to the #36 in place of Korbin Forrister, who isn’t entered after his return to the series last weekend.

DRIVER CHANGE: #47-Mike Harmon Racing

DRIVER CHANGE: #74-Mike Harmon Racing

While both Kyle Weatherman and Bayley Currey have enjoyed solid seasons this year with the Harmon team, neither will run this weekend in Daytona. Tim Viens will take Weatherman’s place in the #47 Thin Blue Line USA Chevrolet, a car he was erroneously reported to be driving in February when Joe Nemechek was behind the wheel. Team owner Mike Harmon will return to his #74 in place of Currey for just his third start of the year, all of them on superspeedways. Harmon ran a season-best 16th here in February.

DRIVER SWAP: #61-Motorsports Business Maangement

DRIVER CHANGE: #66-Motorsports Business Management

Drawing the final starting spot for Friday’s race is John Jackson, who returns to the #66 Jani-King Toyota in place of Timmy Hill, who moves back to the #61 in place of Stephen Leicht, who isn’t entered this weekend. This will be just the second start of the year for Jackson, who finished last with overheating issues in this year’s Talladega race. Timmy Hill will certainly be one to watch after he finished a career-best 3rd in February’s Daytona opener and ran well in this race last year before crash damage left him 20th.

DRIVER CHANGE: #99-B.J. McLeod Motorsports

Joey Gase makes just his second XFINITY start of 2020 and first since Las Vegas, where he ran 19th for RSS Racing. This time, he takes the controls of B.J. McLeod’s #99 in place of Stefan Parsons, who ran 26th and 28th in the twin rounds at Dover. EFX Corporation and Eternal Fan will back Gase’s Toyota.

DRIVER CHANGE: #07-SS-Green Light Racing

Two months ago at Talladega, Gray Gaulding finished 8th with SS-Green Light Racing’s #07 team, harkening back to his strong runs in 2019 capped by his runner-up performance at the same track. This weekend, he returns once more, taking the place of David Starr, who ran 27th and 20th at Dover.

CUP INVADERS: None

Saturday, August 29, 2020

CUP Race 26 of 36

Regular Season Finale

Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona

2019 Last-Place Finisher (July): Daniel Suarez

ENTRY LIST

There are 40 drivers entered for the Cup Series’ regular-season cutoff event, marking the third-straight full field in 2020 and the 15th in 26 races this year.

DRIVER CHANGE: #7-Tommy Baldwin Racing

DRIVER CHANGE: #51-Rick Ware Racing

DRIVER CHANGE: #53-Rick Ware Racing

It’s a dizzying series of driver swaps at Rick Ware Racing, where two of their teams, plus leasing affiliate Tommy Baldwin Racing, will trade lineups. James Davison returns from his unfortunate weekend in the Indianapolis 500 to tackle the Daytona high banks, taking the place of Joey Gase in the #51 Signing Day Ford. Gase will drive the #53 in place of Josh Bilicki, putting Gase in both Daytona races this weekend. Bilicki goes to the Baldwin #7 Ariens Chevrolet, taking the place of Garrett Smithley, who isn’t entered on the Cup side this weekend.

RETURNING: #62-Beard Motorsports

Brendan Gaughan returns after finishing last on the Daytona infield road course, and will roll off from the 40th spot on Saturday. This will mark Gaughan’s penultimate NASCAR start before he calls it a career this fall in Talladega.

DRIVER CHANGE: #77-Spire Motorsports

Ross Chastain will return to the #77 this week while defending race winner Justin Haley, who ran this car last year, isn't in the field. Reed Sorenson ran this car in both Dover races last week, and had been entered until the driver change was revealed late this week. Also revealed was Moose Fraternity as sponsor.

MISSING: #78-B.J. McLeod Motorsports

B.J. McLeod will focus exclusively on his XFINITY Series run with JD Motorsports, and has not brought his #78 Chevrolet to this weekend’s Cup Series field. McLeod finished 38th last Saturday in Dover, then improved to a solid 31st in the Sunday round – the third-best finish for his fledgling Cup effort in 2020.

Sunday, August 30, 2020

TRUCKS Race 14 of 23

CarShield 200 Presented by CK Power at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway

2019 Last-Place Finisher (June): Greg Rayl

ENTRY LIST

There are 34 drivers entered for 40 spots, down one entry from last week’s Dover event.

WITHDREW: #7-All Out Motorsports

The #7 team wasn’t entered last week in Dover, where their driver Korbin Forrister made a surprising return the XFINITY Series with DGM Racing for the weekend. The team had been entered without Forrister or any other driver listed behind the wheel, but the team then withdrew by Tuesday. Forrister is likewise not entered in the XFINITY race in Daytona.

MISSING: #28-FDNY Racing

Bryan Dauzat is also not entered in Gateway after the Jim Rosenblum effort withdrew prior to last week’s round in Dover.

RETURNING: #30-On Point Motorsports

Danny Bohn turned heads last fall with an 8th-place finish in his series debut at Martinsville, but had yet to make a single Truck Series start in 2020. That changes this weekend as North American Motor Car sponsors his return to the #30 team. This also marks a return of the On Point team after they didn’t enter the Dover race following Scott Lagasse, Jr.’s surprising season-best 9th-place finish on the Daytona infield road course.

NEW TEAM: #41-Cram Enterprises

MISSING: #55-Long Motorsports

Dawson Cram’s big news broke on Tuesday when he revealed he would co-own his new Truck Series entry, the #41 Chevrolet, fielded under his family’s Cram Enterprises. Magnum Contracting, Inc. will sponsor the hood of Cram’s white-and-blue machine. Boyd Long, who had Cram drive for him part-time through their final start together at Dover, has not entered the #55 this week following their 25th-place performance on the “Monster Mile.”

DRIVER CHANGE: #44-Niece Motorsports

Natalie Decker is back in place of Bayley Currey, who will be running neither the XFINITY race in Daytona nor the Truck Series race in Gateway. Currey ran 18th in Dover.

DRIVER CHANGE: #49-CMI Motorsports

DRIVER SWAP: #56-Hill Motorsports

Roger Reuse gives it another shot after finishing last without starting the Daytona road course, taking the place of Tyler Hill in Ray Ciccarelli’s #49. Tyler Hill will also take the controls of his family’s #56 while brother Timmy pulls double-duty in Daytona. Hair Club sponsors Tyler’s effort.

MISSING: #75-Henderson Motorsports

Parker Kligerman is not entered after a frustrating engine failure in Dover left him 34th last Friday.

MISSING: #83-CMI Motorsports

The second Ciccarelli truck is likewise not entered after Tim Viens finished 31st with it in Dover. Viens will instead run the XFINITY race for Mike Harmon (see above) while Ciccarelli will not race on Sunday.

DRIVER CHANGE: #00-Reaume Brothers Racing

While J.J. Yeley elected to run for Truck Series points prior to Dover, he will not run Sunday’s race in Gateway as he focuses on his Cup ride with Rick Ware Racing. Taking Yeley’s place is Kyle Donahue, whose brother Kevin ran for the Reaume team earlier this summer. Sunday marks Kevin’s first start since 2018, when he ran 22nd for the late Mike Mittler at Martinsville.

TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (August 27, 1983): Johnny McFadden, who would later take the 1992 LASTCAR Cup Series Championship driving a second car for Jimmy Means, scored his first Cup Series last-place finish at Bristol when his #45 McFadden Racing Buick fell out with brake issues after 44 laps of the Busch 500.