PREVIEW: Road ringers young and old converge on Charlotte "Roval"

PHOTO: @AndyLally

by Brock Beard

LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

Saturday, October 7, 2023 (3:30 P.M. ET, USA)

XFINITY Race 29 of 33

Round of 12: Race 3 of 3

Drive for the Cure 250 at Charlotte “Roval”

2022 Last-Place Finisher: Kris Wright

ENTRY LIST

There are 42 drivers entered for 38 spots in Saturday’s return to action at the “Roval,” meaning four teams will fail to qualify.

DRIVER SWAP: #4-JD Motorsports

DRIVER CHANGE: #91-DGM Racing

Aside from A.J. Allmendinger, who isn’t entered in this race after winning its last four consecutive runnings, Alex Labbe posts one of the most impressive records in the “Roval’s” short history. He earned his career-best 4th here in 2020 during a soaking rainstorm, one of three top-ten finishes. He’s yet to finish worse than 14th. All five runs were with DGM Racing, with whom he again runs, this time in the #91 in place of 15th-place Texas finisher Kyle Weatherman. Weatherman will also run Saturday as he replaces Garrett Smithley, who failed to qualify in Texas, driving JD Motorsports’ #4 Chevrolet.

DRIVER CHANGE: #11-Kaulig Racing

Last time out in Texas, Layne Riggs recovered nicely from early damage to finish his XFINITY Series debut in the 19th spot. This week, the ride goes to sports car champion Jordan Taylor, who finished 27th in his only previous XFINITY start at Portland this past June, also with Kaulig Racing.

RETURNING: #17-Hendrick Motorsports

DRIVER CHANGE: #44-Alpha Prime Racing

One of the most surprising bits of news in recent weeks was Hendrick Motorsports’ decision to not enter any of its Cup drivers for their XFINITY team’s next two starts, but instead bring on Rajah Caruth for the championship race at Phoenix. While Caruth will this week rejoin Alpha Prime Racing, taking the place Daniel Dye, who finished a solid 17th in his series debut at Texas, the #17 this week goes to legendary “road ringer” Boris Said. Said has already reported this is the best NASCAR ride he’s yet earned – fellow “ringer” Ron Fellows’ ties to the Corvette team usually put him in any available Chevrolet entries – and that he’ll make this his last start if he finishes well. This will be Said’s first XFINITY start since COTA in 2021, where he ran 31st for Carl Long. 

DRIVER CHANGE: #19-Joe Gibbs Racing

While the preliminary entry list still showed Trevor Bayne in the #19 following his disappointing 33rd-place finish in Texas, this ride had already been set for a returning Myatt Snider with his sponsorship from TreeTop apple products. This will be only the third XFINITY start of the year for Snider, who in his previous two efforts finished 5th at Daytona and 6th in Portland.

DRIVER CHANGE: #24-Sam Hunt Racing

Running a paint scheme in honor of the late Sherry Pollex is a returning Connor Mosack, who finished 14th his last two times out at Kanas and Bristol, then two races earlier earned his first career top-five finish in his most recent road course start at Watkins Glen, finishing 5th. Mosack takes the place of Parker Chase, who finished 16th in Texas. 

DRIVER SWAP: #28-RSS Racing

MISSING: #29-RSS Racing

The Sieg team has decided not to bring back the #29 entry this week, moving its strong 12th-place finisher Kyle Sieg back to the #28 in place of 25th-place Texas finisher C.J. McLaughlin.

DRIVER CHANGE: #35-Emerling-Gase Motorsports

DRIVER CHANGE: #53-Emerling-Gase Motorsports

The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) and its mascot “Sparky” will adorn two slightly different flame-decorated paint schemes on the Emerling-Gase Motorsports entries in an all-“road ringer” lineup. Taking the place of team co-owners Joey Gase and Patrick Emerling - who finished 26th and 35th, respectively, in Texas – are Alex Guenette and Conor Daly. Guenette gets the #35 for what would be his third start of the year, a season which saw him finish 15th in his return at the Chicago Street Course. Daly gets the #53 and looks to rebound from a disappointing DNQ at Indianapolis, where he was driving for Alpha Prime Racing.

DRIVER CHANGE: #45-Alpha Prime Racing

Leland Honeyman returns with his sponsorship from Eighth Order, seeking his seventh XFINITY Series start and first since his 26th-place performance for Carl Long in Kansas. He last drove for Alpha Prime at Road America, where this same #45 finished 28th due to transmission issues. He this week takes the place of Jeffrey Earnhardt, who ran 32nd in Texas following a crash.

RETURNING: #50-Pardus Racing

Another road racing fixture for the XFINITY Series is Preston Pardus, whose family-owned team beat the odds to qualify inside the Top 20 at COTA, Chicago, and Indianapolis. Like Guenette, Pardus’ season-best run came on the street course, where he parlayed a 13th-place starting spot to finish 12th. His best of four previous “Roval” starts came in 2021, when he ran 7th for Mario Gosselin. Chinchor Electric continues its support of Pardus on the #50 as sponsor.

TEAM UPDATE: #66-Motorsports Business Management

The union of Sage Karam and Carl Long’s Motorsports Business Management team has continued to bear fruit as Karam continues to show signs of improvement. With new sponsorship from Custom Patch Hats this time, Karam will once again drive following his solid 23rd-place showing in Texas. The team has also just announced that Cup veteran Ryan Newman will run this car in the upcoming race at Homestead.

DRIVER CHANGE: #74-CHK Racing

Mike Harmon’s team also survived the sweltering heat to earn a respectable Texas finish with Dason Cram battling on the lead lap before settling back in 21st. This week, as reported here, the CHK effort hires “road ringer” Devin Jones, whose only previous XFINITY start was back in 2017 at Watkins Glen, where he ran 26th for Bobby Dotter. Verinext and HPE are the listed sponsors of his Chevrolet.

NEW TEAM: #87-Peterson Racing Group

This Saturday also sees the attempted debut of a new team as the Peterson Racing Group enters the 3Dimensional.com bright yellow Chevrolet. Climbing behind the wheel is a man who is no stranger to road racing, and will in fact run “double duty” this weekend – Andy Lally. Lally looks to put the Peterson car through its paces this weekend in what would be his first series start of the year. His most recent race was in this event last season, when he ran 31st for Bobby Dotter.

DRIVER CHANGE: #07-SS-Green Light Racing

Dotter’s team has also changed its entire driver lineup once more, bringing another “double duty” racer in Josh Bilicki. Engine Parts Plus and DBAutomotivePlus.com are the listed sponsors for Bilicki, who in his last time out at Bristol finished 27th for Mario Gosselin. His last road race in Watkins Glen saw him finish 25th for the Dotter team.

DRIVER CHANGE: #08-SS-Green Light Racing

Alongside Bilicki as teammate is Stefan Parsons, who drove in relief of an exhausted Josh Williams near the halfway point of the Texas race, bringing the car home in 20th. Parsons this time gets a ride of his own, taking the place of 28th-place finisher J.J. Yeley, who celebrated a birthday this week.

CUP INVADERS: None

Sunday, October 8, 2023 (2:00 P.M. ET, NBC)

CUP Race 32 of 36

Round of 12: Race 3 of 3

Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte “Roval”

2022 Last-Place Finisher: Daniil Kvyat

ENTRY LIST

There are 37 drivers entered for 40 spots this week, marking the 31st straight short field in 2023.

MISSING: #13-Kaulig Racing

MISSING: #36-Front Row Motorsports

Both “open” teams from Talladega are not entered, including both Chandler Smith in the Kaulig #13 and Riley Herbst, whose Front Row #36 ran near the front all day before a last-lap, last-moment wreck left him 9th.

DRIVER CHANGE: #15-Rick Ware Racing

The previously mentioned second leg of Andy Lally’s weekend will take place with Rick Ware Racing as he concludes his Camping World sponsored effort in the #15 Ford. He this time takes the place of Brennan Poole, who in Talladega came home 30th, two laps down.

DRIVER CHANGE: #38-Front Row Motorsports

DRIVER SWAP: #51-Rick Ware Racing

Before he faces a must-win scenario in the upcoming Truck Series elimination race at Homestead, Zane Smith will go Cup racing once more this weekend, climbing aboard the #38 entry with which Todd Gilliland finished 12th in Talladega. Gilliland will also race, taking the place of 36th-place finisher J.J. Yeley in Rick Ware’s #51. This bumps Yeley out of both races this weekend.

DRIVER CHANGE: #42-Legacy Motor Club

With news that Carson Hocevar will drive the #42 for the rest of the season, as expected, this final road course of the year will once again see Mike Rockenfeller take the wheel of the Sunseeker car. What will be Rockenfeller’s fifth series start follows a career-best 19th last time out at Watkins Glen.

RETURNING: #62-Beard Motorsports

After skipping the most recent superspeedway race in Talladega, Austin Hill will likewise pull double-duty in the team’s first road course race since August 16, 2020 on the Daytona Infield Road Course. On the Cup side, Hill and the Beard team finished 14th their last time out under the lights at Daytona.

DRIVER CHANGE: #78-Live Fast Motorsports

Completing his double-duty weekend is Josh Bilicki, who again runs for 29th-place Talladega finisher B.J. McLeod in the #78 with Zeigler Auto Group as sponsor. Bilicki has started the last three Cup races on the “Roval,” but is still looking for his first finish better than 28th, which came last year.

Saturday, October 21, 2023

TRUCKS Race 22 of 23

Round of 8: Race 3 of 3

Baptist Health 200 at Homestead

2022 Last-Place Finisher: Spencer Boyd

The Truck Series returns in two weeks at Homestead, where with just two races to go, the LASTCAR championship could be decided.

TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (October 6, 2001): Mike Harmon picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR Busch Series career in the Little Trees 300 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway when his #44 www.firehero.org Chevrolet had rear end issues after 7 laps.