PREVIEW: Austin Green’s oval track debut, new faces in Trucks, and Arby’s for Bilicki and MBM among Bristol storylines
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
IMAGE: Motorsports Business Management, @MBMMotorsports
Thursday, September 19, 2024 (8:00 P.M. ET, FS1)
TRUCKS Race 18 of 23
Round of 10: Race 2 of 3
UNOH 200 Presented by Ohio Logistics at Bristol
2023 Last-Place Finisher: Jack Wood
ENTRY LIST
The Truck Series returns for the second race of their first round of Playoffs with 38 drivers entered for 36 spots, meaning two will fail to qualify.
DRIVER CHANGE: #7-Spire Motorsports
Fresh off his first XFINITY Series win in his series debut at Watkins Glen, Connor Zilisch will make his third series start in the #7 Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet, his first since a 29th-place run at Richmond after a late-race crash. He takes the place of Sammy Smith, who ran 17th when the series last ran three weeks ago in Milwaukee.
DRIVER SWAP: #21-Floridian Motorsports
DRIVER CHANGE: #22-Reaume Brothers Racing
Keith McGee aims for his 20th series start tonight, his first since a 34th-place finish at Richmond, also due to a crash. He returns to Josh Reaume’s #22 entry, moving Mason Maggio back to Floridian Motorsports in place of Milwaukee last-place finisher Jayson Alexander. Maggio will be running a special “throwback” paint scheme in honor of recent NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Ricky Rudd. The truck resembles the Motorcraft / Air Force Ford that Rudd drove for the Wood Brothers in 2005.
DRIVER CHANGE: #41-Niece Motorsports
DRIVER SWAP: #44-Niece Motorsports
For the first time since Pocono, where he finished 15th, Connor Mosack will make a Truck Series race, and for the first time since Gateway, where he ran 22nd, it will be with Niece Motorsports. Carrying sponsorship from Crazy Al’s Wine and Spirits, Mosack takes the place of 29th-place Milwaukee finisher Bayley Currey, who slides over to the #44 in place of 33rd-place Milwaukee starter Matthew Gould.
DRIVER CHANGE: #46-Young’s Motorsports
After a difficult start to the season and the shutdown of Faction 46, after which his ride was picked up by Randy Young, Thad Moffitt is not entered in a Truck Series race for the first time this season, following a 32nd-place run in Milwaukee. Taking the controls tonight is Tyler Tomassi, who finished 31st, three laps down, in his series debut earlier this summer at IRP driving for the Reaume Brothers.
RETURNING: #75-Henderson Motorsports
It’s a home race for Charlie Henderson’s team, and Stefan Parsons is back to attempt his 20th series start, his first since a solid 11th-place run in Richmond. Popsells.com is again the listed sponsor as Parsons seeks his third Truck start at Bristol following finishes of 17th in 2018 and 18th this past spring. Parsons will also be running double-duty this weekend (see below).
NEW TEAM: #81-McAnally-Hilgemann Racing
While the preliminary entry list showed “TBA,” it is California’s sprint car standout Corey Day who will attempt his NASCAR national series debut. Day finished 15th in his ARCA Menards Series debut at Salem in July. He will run this new third entry for the McAnally team both tonight and at Martinsville, and in between run the team’s #91 at both Kansas and Homestead.
DRIVER CHANGE: #02-Young’s Motorsports
Also seeking his series debut tonight from the Super Late Model ranks is Justin Mondeik, who takes the place of 30th-place Milwaukee finisher Dexter Bean in Randy Young’s #02. According to his website, from 2020 through 2023, Mondeik and his family-owned team have tallied up 47 victories at five different tracks.
CUP INVADERS: None
Friday, September 20, 2024 (7:30 P.M. ET, USA)
XFINITY Race 26 of 33
Regular Season Finale
Food City 300 at Bristol
2023 Last-Place Finisher: Timmy Hill
ENTRY LIST
In total, 39 drivers are entered for 38 spots in the final race of the regular season, meaning one will fail to qualify.
MISSING: #13-Motorsports Business Management
Kyle Keller fought valiantly to make the field for his XFINITY Series debut last week, but fell short. This week, MBM isn’t entering a XFINITY car and instead focuses on Cup (see below).
DRIVER CHANGE: #14-SS-Green Light Racing
Chad Finchum returns to his home track for his fifth XFINITY Series start of the year and first since Darlington, where he finished 33rd with this same Bobby Dotter team. Taking the place of “road ringer” R.C. Enerson, who finished 27th after struggling in the early laps at Watkins Glen, Finchum has eight previous XFINITY starts at Bristol, most recently a 29th in this race last year.
DRIVER CHANGE: #15-AM Racing
Logan Bearden returns to the XFINITY Series for his sixth start of the year and first since Michigan, when he drove the SS-Green Light #14 to a 26th-palcce finish. After driving for both Dotter and Joey Gase for the first part of this year, he this time drives for AM Racing in place of 9th-place Watkins Glen finisher Joey Logano. The Mullis Construction Group is the listed sponsor for Bearden’s first NASCAR start at Bristol.
MISSING: #17-Hendrick Motorsports
With no Cup drivers eligible to compete in this week’s race, William Byron and the Hendrick #17 are not among the entrants following a 12th-place finish at The Glen.
DRIVER CHANGE: #19-Joe Gibbs Racing
Tomorrow will mark Joe Graf, Jr.’s 130th series start and fourth of the season, his first since a season-best 11th in Darlington. He takes the place of Ty Gibbs, who finished 25th after late-race issues at Watkins Glen. Graf has five series starts at Bristol, but his best finish remains his track debut in 2020, when he finished 13th for Bobby Dotter.
DRIVER CHANGE: #20-Joe Gibbs Racing
Dover and Daytona winner Ryan Truex seeks his first Bristol victory in his 100th series start tomorrow. His best finish at this track were a pair of 10th-place finishes six years apart in 2012 and 2018. The former came with Joe Gibbs Racing, where he’s running this week in place of 26th-place Watkins Glen finisher Aric Almirola.
DRIVER CHANGE: #26-Sam Hunt Racing
Jeffrey Earnhardt will make only his fifth series start of the year and first since Daytona last month, where he took 28th with this same Sam Hunt effort. He this week takes the place of Ed Jones, who finished 24th at Watkins Glen. Earnhardt has ten previous XFINITY starts at Bristol with a best finish of 12th – twice, and ten years apart – in 2014 for JD Motorsports and 2022 for Hunt. He’s also not the only Earnhardt in this race (see below).
TEAM UPDATE: #32-Jordan Anderson Racing / Peterson Racing Group
MISSING: #87-Jordan Anderson Racing / Peterson Racing Group
While many of the “road course ringers” from last week are not in this week’s field, one significant exception is Austin Green, who in his road course exclusive debut season this year has finished no worse than 15th in all five of those races, including an 11th last Saturday. He now faces an entirely new challenge at Bristol, his first oval track attempt in NASCAR. Austin’s father David Green famously won at Bristol in the spring of 1994 when Mark Martin infamously pulled off the track a lap early while leading under the final caution. Austin is the lone Peterson Racing entry in the show as the second car of teammate and 30th-place Watkins Glen finisher Mike Skeen is not entered.
DRIVER CHANGE: #35-Joey Gase Motorsports
In a season that has seen Cody Ware return to NASCAR after an off-track legal matter, tomorrow’s race is slated to see brother Carson Ware do the same. Absent from the series since September 25, 2021 at Las Vegas, Carson takes the place of 29th-place Watkins Glen finisher Thomas Annunziata, who had to be replaced by team owner Joey Gase due to mid-race heat exhaustion stemming from a malfunctioning helmet tube.
MISSING: #36-DGM Racing
DRIVER SWAP: #91-DGM Racing
After early mechanical issues left Kyle Weatherman in last place at Watkins Glen, the #36 he drove isn’t entered this week, and Weatherman returns to the #91 he’s run for the rest of this season. He takes the place of Josh Bilicki, who joined teammate Ross Chastain in the Top Ten with a 10th-place finish. Bilicki isn’t in Friday’s race, and will instead focus on Saturday’s Cup race (see below).
TEAM UPDATE: #44-Alpha Prime Racing
In honor of Cliff Bowman of sponsor Macc Door Systems, who passed away September 6th at age 69, Brennan Poole’s car will carry the message “For Cliff” on his #44 Chevrolet.
DRIVER CHANGE: #45-Alpha Prime Racing
While the preliminary entry list had the driver name left blank, but TruShine Car Wash as sponsor of a blue-and-yellow #45 Chevrolet, it is Stefan Parsons who will drive, pulling double-duty with the Truck Series. Parsons takes the place of Alon Day, who had late-race brake trouble that left him 36th in Watkins Glen. Parsons finished 19th in this race last year, but in his last start for Alpha Prime at this track in 2022, finished 8th.
RETURNING: #53-Joey Gase Motorsports
Joey Gase has entered his second car for the first time since Atlanta earlier this month, and this time brings on Garrett Smithley. This will be Smithley’s 19th start of the year, but only his fourth since the closing of JD Motorsports, and his first since Atlanta two races ago, where he finished 23rd for Alpha Prime.
RETURNING: #74-Mike Harmon Racing
Speaking of former JD Motorsports drivers, Dawson Cram and the Harmon team return to action, the team seeking its third start since Pocono and first since a 37th-place finish due to engine trouble at Atlanta. Cram has yet to start a XFINITY Series race at Bristol, site of his team owner’s dramatic escape from a freak accident in 2002.
DRIVER CHANGE: #88-JR Motorsports
Last year, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. seemed in position to win this race before fire in the cockpit began to singe the leg of his firesuit, forcing an early exit. This year, Junior and the same Hellmann’s sponsorship return for the driver’s 14th series start at Bristol with designs on picking up where they left off. Last month marked 20 years since he last won a XFINITY race at this track, beginning a weekend sweep that made “It’s Bristol, Baby!” the track’s new tagline. The team certainly has the momentum after Connor Zilisch scored his first series victory in his dramatic debut last Saturday, and this week focuses on the Truck Series (see above).
DRIVER CHANGE: #07-SS-Green Light Racing
Greg Van Alst seeks his third series start tomorrow, following his most recent 29th-place showing at Darlington with this same SS-Green Light Racing effort. The ARCA 200 winner takes the place of Jade Buford, who was among the DNQs last week in Watkins Glen.
CUP INVADERS: None
Saturday, September 21, 2024 (7:30 P.M. ET, USA)
CUP Race 29 of 36
Round of 16: Race 3 of 3
Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol
2023 Last-Place Finisher: Ryan Newman
ENTRY LIST
As the first four drivers are eliminated from Playoff contention, 37 drivers are entered for 40 spots, marking the 25th short field in 29 races this season.
MISSING: #13-Kaulig Racing
DRIVER SWAP: #16-Kaulig Racing
It was another frustrating Cup race last Sunday for A.J. Allmendinger, who was among the leaders after a 6th-place qualifying run, only to suffer a transmission failure during the race’s first restart, leaving him 36th. This week, he moves from Kaulig’s part-time #13, which isn’t entered this week, and back to the #16 that nearly won The Glen with Shane van Gisbergen. Perhaps a change of luck can come from his sponsor, Barger Precast, which was Allmendinger’s backer when he and Austin Cindric waged their dramatic battle for the XFINITY race win here in 2021.
MISSING: #50-23XI Racing
Juan Pablo Montoya had a spirited run in last Sunday’s early laps, but a flat tire sent him back in the order for a 32nd-place finish, one lap down at the checkered flag. His third “open” entry from 23XI Racing is not among this week’s entrants.
RETURNING: #66-Motorsports Business Management
Arby’s Restaurants has joined forces with Carl Long’s MBM team to back Josh Bilicki in Saturday’s race, which will be Bilicki’s 99th series race and first since a 28th-place finish with the team on the Chicago Street Course. Bilicki has three previous Cup starts at Bristol with a best finish of 31st his last time out in 2021.
TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (September 19, 1998): Tony Raines picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career in the Ram Tough 200 Presented by Pepsi at Gateway when his #19 Pennzoil Ford lost the engine after 49 laps.
