PREVIEW: Bell back in Trucks, JGR homecoming for Almirola, and Kraus’ Cup debut set to play out in Vegas
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: @KauligRacing
Saturday, March 1, 2024 (9:00 P.M. ET, FS1)
TRUCKS Race 3 of 23
Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 presented by Westgate Resorts at Las Vegas
2023 Last-Place Finisher: Josh Reaume
ENTRY LIST
There are 32 trucks entered for 36 spots, meaning all will qualify. This marks the series’ second-straight short field after sending home four entries from Daytona, and again breaks the record for fewest entries in a Truck Series race since November 2020 at Phoenix.
DRIVER CHANGE: #1-TRICON Garage
Joining Atlanta winner Kyle Busch among this weekend’s Cup Series invaders is his former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell, who makes his first Truck Series start since his 4th-place run for the Hattori team last summer at Pocono. Bell takes the place of 17th-place Atlanta finisher Colby Howard and shares Mobil 1 sponsorship with TRICON Garage teammate Taylor Gray in the #17.
MISSING: #21-Floridian Motorsports
Not making the trip this week is upstart Floridian Motorsports, which made their series debut with a 24th-place finish by Mason Maggio, one week after failing to qualify at Daytona. Carl Long’s Motorsports Business Management team has been helping with the Floridian program and using their equipment. Long, who served as crew chief in Atlanta, is searching for leads after his red dually was stolen in Georgia.
DRIVER CHANGE: #45-Niece Motorsports
After sharing a Sam Hunt Racing ride in the XFINITY Series last season, Connor Mosack returns for his first Truck Series start since Bristol in the summer of 2022, when he finished 31st in the night race driving for Bret Holmes. Mosack this time drives for Al Niece in place of 6th-place Atlanta finisher Kaden Honeycutt. Chevy Accessories is the listed sponsor for a #45 that has had piecemeal backing so far in 2024.
DRIVER CHANGE: #91-McAnally-Hilgemann Racing
Also returning to the Truck Series is 2022 series champion Zane Smith, who pulls double-duty with his full-time Cup Series ride for Spire Motorsports. Smith takes the place of Jack Wood, who qualified a strong 4th in Atlanta only to be eliminated in a crash that left him 31st. Instacoat Premium Products sponsors Smith, who most recently finished 25th in the Phoenix finale last year.
CUP INVADERS: #1-Christopher Bell, #7-Kyle Busch
Saturday, March 2, 2024 (5:00 P.M. ET, FS1)
XFINITY Race 3 of 33
The LiUNA! at Las Vegas
2023 Last-Place Finisher: Joey Gase
ENTRY LIST
There are 38 entries for 38 spots, meaning all will qualify.
DRIVER CHANGE: #19-Joe Gibbs Racing
The “all-star” #19 entry for the Gibbs team welcomes a returning Aric Almirola, who after retiring from full-time Cup competition returns to the XFINITY Series for the first time since his win at Sonoma last summer for RSS Racing. Almirola’s reunion with Gibbs raises eyebrows for longtime fans. He hasn’t driven for the team since November 17, 2007, a year which saw him pulled out of a winning car at Milwaukee for Denny Hamlin to drive, then joined Ginn Racing in a bid to make the jump to the Cup Series. Almirola kicks off his part-time schedule with “He Gets Us” as sponsor at Las Vegas, scene of his Cup debut with JGR in 2007 prior to the Ginn deal. He takes the place of 9th-place Atlanta finisher Ryan Truex.
DRIVER CHANGE: #26-Sam Hunt Racing
Corey Heim pulls double-duty with his Truck Series ride at TRICON Garage, taking the place of Jeffrey Earnhardt, who finished 8th in Atlanta. Sponsored by Gearwrench, Heim will make his fifth XFINITY Series start following a four-race stint last year where he impressed at Darlington. He finished 15th there in his most recent start and picked up his first career top-ten finish with a 10th in the spring.
DRIVER CHANGE: #32-Jordan Anderson Racing
While the preliminary entry list had no driver mentioned for the #32 with which Jordan Anderson finished last in Atlanta after issues stemming from a flat left-front tire, the entry now goes to Sage Karam. Karam picks up the ride for his second start of the season, following a 28th-place run in the Daytona opener for Sam Hunt.
WITHDREW: #36-DGM Racing
Mario Gosselin withdrew his #36 entry at the time of the entry list’s publication with no driver listed. The car was not entered in Atlanta following Natalie Decker’s 18th-place run in Daytona.
CUP INVADERS: None
Sunday, March 3, 2024 (3:30 P.M. ET, FOX)
CUP Race 3 of 36
Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas
2023 Last-Place Finisher: Joey Logano
ENTRY LIST
There are 37 drivers entered for 40 spots, marking the second-straight short field in 2024.
DRIVER CHANGE: #16-Kaulig Racing
It was a short afternoon for Kaulig’s #16 entry in Atlanta as Josh Williams turned just two laps before he was involved in the day’s first pileup, though NASCAR originally declared him in the garage due to mechanical issues. As Williams again focuses on Saturday’s XFINITY race, the Cup ride falls to Derek Kraus, who will make his Cup debut after 76 Truck starts and 8 in XFINITY. This will also be Kraus’ first start of the season in all three series. Kraus carries sponsorship from Western States Flooring.
RETURNING: #44-NY Racing Team
Rejoining the circuit following a narrow miss of the Daytona 500 field is J.J. Yeley and the NY Racing Team, which this week run a new paint scheme for the Urban Youth Racing School. Yeley has 15 prior Cup starts in Las Vegas with a best finish of 17th in both 2006 for Joe Gibbs Racing and 2018 for BK Racing.
MISSING: #78-Live Fast Motorsports
Not among this week’s Cup entrants is B.J. McLeod, who entered both the season’s first superspeedway races in Daytona and Atlanta, resulting in a close DNQ of his own in Florida, then a 24th last Sunday.
TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (March 1, 1997): Dan Press picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career when his #75 Spears Manufacturing Chevrolet completed 108 of 200 laps of the NAPA 200 at Tucson (Arizona) Raceway Park, stalling on Lap 97 and finishing under power. Press, from Washington state, made 19 Truck Series starts from 1996-1997 with a best finish of 3rd on May 11, 1996 at Evergreen (Washington) Speedway, trailing Mike Bliss and Ron Hornaday, Jr.
