PREVIEW: Clash the first test for big changes at SHR, Ware, Kaulig, and Spire

John Hunter Nemechek’s new #42 Dollar Tree Toyota. PHOTO: Legacy Motor Club

by Brock Beard

LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

Sunday, February 4, 2024 (4:30 P.M. ET, FOX)

MEXICO Race 1 of 13

King Taco La Batalla en El Coliseo

2023 Last-Place Finisher: Inaugural Event

ENTRY LIST

There are 22 drivers entered to compete in the first NASCAR Mexico Series race to take place in the United States, a precursor to the Clash itself. Since its latest incarnation in 2017, the series is the top division of a similar three-series format to that in this country. Many of the competitors developed through these ranks of both the NASCAR FedEx Challenge Series and the NASCAR Mikel’s Truck Series. Special thanks to the NASCAR Mexico Series’ press release for the following information condensed into this report.

#1

Andrés Pérez de Lara

Commscope / Telcel Chevrolet

Perez de Lara enters Sunday’s race fresh off a successful first full season in the ARCA Menards Series, where he finished runner-up to Jesse Love by 142 points and earned Rookie of the Year.

#2

Abraham Calderón

Commscope / Telcel Chevrolet

Running a paint scheme identical to de Lara’s, Calderon is a two-time NASCAR Mexico Series champion, claiming the title in 2014 and 2017. Last year, he ranked sixth in the points with a single victory.

#6

Rogelio “Roger” López

Ya Vas Chevrolet

Lopez has eleven NASCAR Peak Mexico Series victories, most recently at Autodromo de Chiapas in April 2022. He also won an ARCA East race at the Nashville Fairgrounds on July 22, 2007, where he inched ahead of runner-up Joey Logano by 0.110 second. He also twice raced in the NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Mexico City in 2006 and 2007, finishing 29th both times.

#7

Xavi Razo

The Salty / Prime Sports Chevrolet

In a decade running in the NASCAR Peak Mexico Series, Razo has a single victory November 12, 2017 at the Autodomo Hermanos Rodriguez, once site for the NASCAR XFINITY Series’ annual stop, where led 10 laps. A cancer survivor, Razo is the “capital driver” for Prime Sports Marketing and Advertising.

#9

Eloy “The Falcon” Sebastián

Volaris / Vazlo Auto Parts / SRI Chevrolet

Rookie of the Year in the 2023 NASCAR Challenge Series, Sebastian finished fourth in the standings that year and scored his first career victory.

#10

Regina Sirvent

Here4All / Dynamic Motorsports Chevrolet

The lone female driver on the circuit, Sirvent rose through the ranks from karting and is preparing for her fourth season in the NASCAR Challenge Series. She scored two wins in the Trucks Mexico Series. Her #10 entry is fielded by Escuderia Firme Racing-Dynamic, an alliance between Music VIP Entertainment and the Potosi team Dynamic Motorsports.

#14

Alex De Alba

Grupo Andrade / Symetry Chevrolet

Champion of both the NASCAR FedEx Challenge Series in 2023 and the Trucks Mexico Series in 2017, De Alba has four wins in the Challenge Series. Three of these came in 2021, when he finished runner-up in the standings to Noel Leon by just 28 points.

#19

Rodrigo Rejón

NucleoSepec / Coversa Chevrolet

Last year, Rejon and the GGG Racing Team scored three wins in the NASCAR Challenge Series, then finished runner-up in the standings. He was also part of a dramatic photo finish in Mexico City, where he was outdueled by just four-thousandths of a second. Rejón also competed in the 2019 Snowball Derby, where he finished 34th of 37 starters after a crash.

#22

Santiago “Torbellino” Tovar

Canel’s / Tueni Chevrolet

Tovar has more than 100 starts in the NASCAR Peak Mexico Series, where he scored two victories – the 0.875-mile oval Nuevo Autodromo de Aguascalientes on June 14, 2015, and the three-quarter mile oval Autodromo de Chiapas on May 5, 2019.

#23

Max Gutiérrez

Hidr-o-lock / SRC / Dycinsa / IUV Universidad Ford

The 2020 NASCAR FedEx Challenge Series Champion, a series where he won seven races, and the 2018 Trucks Mexico Champion, Gutierrez has already been building a racing career in the United States. In 2021, he scored his first ARCA Menards Series East victory in New Smyrna, and he’s made five starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with a best finish of 8th on the Nashville Superspeedway in 2022. He runs one of only six Fords in the field.

#24

Enrique Baca

Tame Racing Ford

One of the most experienced drivers in the series, Baca has pieced together part-time schedules in the series while also competing in the Whelen Euro Series. Baca drives what, at press time, appears to be the lone unsponsored entry in Sunday’s race – a dark brown Ford with a Hendrick-styled #24 on the doors.

#28

Rubén Rovelo

Grupo Andrade / Symetry Chevrolet

One of the series’ most successful drivers, Rovelo has scored 26 NASCAR Peak Mexico Series victories, five of which in his championship season in 2020. Running an identical paint scheme to Alex De Alba (#14) at Alessandros Racing, Rovelo was also a champion of the V8 Series in 2016.

#29

Jorge “Koke” De La Parra

MetaXChange Ford

The 2019 series champion, De La Parra was second in last year’s rookie standings for the NASCAR Challenge Series. Among his accomplishments is as a three-time Rotax Go-Kart Champion from 2013, 2014, and 2015.

#31

Jorge Goeters

Mecano / Viajes Aury / Pennzoil Ford

Longtime fans may know Jorge Goeters from his surprise pole position for the inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City in 2005. Goeters led 24 of the race’s 80 laps before engine trouble left him 38th. He’d go on to make another nine starts in the series with a best finish of 7th in his return to Mexico City. In 2005, he also made his lone Cup start for Arnold Motorsports, leading a lap at Watkins Glen before a spin left him 35th, one lap down. Prior to his NASCAR debut, Goeters was a motorcycle racer in Europe, claiming the Gold Medal in Germany and the Silver Medal in Sweden’s 6 Days of Enduro. He’s since competed in 19 seasons in Mexico’s stock car racing circuit.

#39

Víctor Barrales, Jr.

Metatron Specialized Lubricants Chevrolet

Among the newest teams on the NASCAR Mexico Series circuit is ANVI Motorsport, whose driver Barrales, Jr. earned an 8th-place rank in the 2023 standings. The driver won the 2022 NASCAR Challenge Series race at his home track, the Potosino Super Oval.

#48

Salvador De Alba

Red Cola Ford

The defending NASCAR Mexico Series Champion drives the bright red-and-black #48. De Alba received his trophy at last winter’s awards ceremony in Nashville, scoring three wins, eight Top Fives, and ten Top Tens. He drives for the Sidral AGA Racing Team.

#51

Jacobo “Jake” Cosío

Chevron / Ana Seguros Ford

Cosio is De Alba’s teammate at the Sidral AGA Racing team. In 2017, he ranked 27th out of 39 drivers in points despite starting just three races, and the next season was crowned Rookie of the Year. He’s remained a fixture in the Top 10 in points since 2020.

#55

Julio Rejón

Blue G Jet World / Office City Chevrolet

Teamed with his brother Rodrigo in the #19 at the same GGG Racing Team, Julio finished runner-up in last year’s Rookie of the Year battle, claiming two wins and three poles along the way. In 2022, Julio also became the first driver in the history of the NASCAR Challenge to score four consecutive wins, paving the way to a runner-up finish in points.

#63

Marco Marín

Canelo Mobile / +Poker / KPetrom Chevrolet

Marin is among the most consistent point finishers in the series. In three years running the Trucks Mexico Series, he ranked no wore than 9th, and has ranked no worse than 6th in four seasons running the NASCAR Challenge Series, including last year. Marin is entered in a third Sidral AGA entry alongside De Alba and Cosío.

#67

Andrik Dimayuga

Compaq / JEMZ Chevrolet

Just 19 years old, and driving for his family’s team, Dimayuga fought his way into a three-way battle for the championship last year against Alex de Alba and Rodrigo Rejon, only to be sidelined for a crash. Dimayuga also has Super Late Model experience in the U.S., ranking 4th at Lebanon an 3rd at Winchester.

#88

Rubén García

Canel’s / Tueni Chevrolet

The man in car #88 stands alone as the leader in championships with four, claiming them in 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2022. He very nearly picked up a fifth last year, scoring three wins, but ended up 3rd in points. Driving for Team GP Mexico Racing, Garcia is teamed with Santiago Tovar in an identically painted blue Chevrolet, #22.

#99

Daniel Suárez

Quaker State / Freeway Insurance Chevrolet

Completing the field is the lone full-time Cup Series driver in the field, who cut his teeth in this series. Suarez won ten races in five seasons in the NASCAR Mexico Series, and was runner-up in the 2013 standings.

Sunday, February 4, 2024 (8:00 P.M. ET, FOX)

CUP Exhibition Race

Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum

2023 Last-Place Finisher: Erik Jones

ENTRY LIST

The 36 Chartered entries are back for the third running of the season-opening exhibition at the L.A. Coliseum.

DRIVER CHANGE: #4-Stewart-Haas Racing

Last season saw Josh Berry make ten Cup starts as the season’s “super sub,” taking the place of Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, and Noah Gragson in separate Chevrolet entries. The result was three top-ten finishes, including a runner-up at Richmond, then a switch to Ford after landing the retired Kevin Harvick’s flagship #4 at Stewart-Haas Racing. Berry will run the SunnyD colors both on Sunday and in the Daytona 500. The team lost two of its sponsors: Busch Beer has now joined Ross Chastain at Trackhouse while Hunt Brothers Pizza is among those signed with Joey Logano.

DRIVER CHANGE: #10-Stewart-Haas Racing

Also gone as a sponsor is Smithfield, which left SHR after Aric Almirola concluded his full-time Cup career last fall in Phoenix. As Almirola prepares to share a XFINITY Series ride with Joe Gibbs Racing, the #10 falls to Noah Gragson, back in action for the first time since Legacy Motor Club released him for liking a NSFW meme. Gragson’s grayscale Ford carries sponsorship this week from team partner Rush Truck Centers.

DRIVER CHANGE: #15-Rick Ware Racing

Over the offseason came news that J.J. Yeley will not return to Rick Ware Racing’s Cup team in 2024, one year after he qualified for 26 of the 36 races and earned his first top-ten finish in more than a decade. This season, 25 of the 36 races will see Kaz Grala drive the #15, one year after he finished 17th in the XFINITY Series standings driving for Sam Hunt Racing. Grala’s sponsor this week is N29 Capital Partners, which previously backed Natalie Decker in the Truck Series.

DRIVER CHANGE: #16-Kaulig Racing

After a hot-and-cold 2023 Cup season where he continued his dominance at the Charlotte “Roval,” A.J. Allmendinger returns to full-time XFINITY competition. Allmendinger will still run as a part-time Cup driver this season, starting with the Daytona 500. For Sunday, the driver is freshly hired Josh Williams, who makes the jump from DGM Racing’s XFINITY team and brings with him sponsor Alloy Employer Services. This new “all-star car” will also see Chicago winner Shane van Gisbergen make seven starts, beginning with COTA.

DRIVER CHANGE: #31-Kaulig Racing

DRIVER SWAP: #51-Rick Ware Racing

One of the most surprising moves last season involved Justin Haley, who left Kaulig Racing to sign with Rick Ware Racing as the new driver of the #51. Haley takes the place of Ryan Newman, who returned to action part-time, and carries sponsorship from Wal-Mart Health & Wellness. Filling the seat of the #31 is still another promotion from the XFINITY Series. After a rough 2023 season in Kaulig’s #11 on the XFINITY side, Daniel Hemric brings sponsor Cirkul to the #31 for 19 races. Hemric last ran a Cup race in the 2022 finale, when he was called on as a last-minute substitute for a grieving Ty Gibbs.

DRIVER CHANGE / MANUFACTURER CHANGE: #42-Legacy Motor Club

MANUFACTURER CHANGE: #43-Legacy Motor Club

DRIVER SWAP: #77-Spire Motorsports

John Hunter Nemechek returns to the Cup Series for the first time since his 2020 rookie campaign with Front Row Motorsports, and after a breakout XFINITY campaign where he won seven races last season for Joe Gibbs Racing, only to rank 4th in points after a bad Phoenix race. Nemechek runs the #42 – a number his father Joe piloted to his first Cup Series victory with Team SABCO in 1999 – but this time in place of Carson Hocevar in Legacy Motor Club’s second entry. Nemechek’s arrival coincides with the team’s swap from Chevrolet to Toyota, along with teammate Erik Jones and a soon-to-be-returning Jimmie Johnson in the Daytona 500. Nemechek and Jones this week debut the team’s newest sponsor in Family Dollar and Dollar Tree. Hocevar is likewise entered this week as he begins his rookie campaign in Spire Motorsports’ #77, replacing Ty Dillon, who likewise ran LMC’s #42 in 2022. Zeigler Auto Group joins Delaware Life as Hocevar’s sponsor.

NEW TEAM: #71-Spire Motorsports

MISSING: #78-Live Fast Motorsports

Spire will field not one, but two Rookie of the Year candidates. Zane Smith leaves Front Row Motorsports, with whom he claimed the 2022 Truck Series Championship and made his first few Cup starts last year, and climbs aboard Spire’s new third team, the #71. Focused Health, which backs the car for 20 races this year, will also sponsor Smith on Sunday, followed by WeatherTech in the Daytona 500. Spire, which also bought Kyle Busch Motorsports’ Truck Series team last season, acquired their third Charter from Live Fast Motorsports’ single-car #78 program. Team co-owners B.J. McLeod and Matt Tifft have parted ways, though McLeod will continue to field the team part-time as an “open” effort in 2024, likely starting with the Daytona 500 as they are not entered this week.

Thursday, February 15, 2024

CUP Exhibition Races

Can-Am Duels at Daytona

2023 Last-Place Finishers: Ty Dillon (Race 1), Travis Pastrana (Race 2)

Friday, February 16, 2024

TRUCKS Race 1 of 23

Fresh From Florida 250 at Daytona

2023 Last-Place Finisher: Dean Thompson

Saturday, February 17, 2024

XFINITY Race 1 of 33

United Rentals 300 at Daytona

2023 Last-Place Finisher: Bayley Currey

Sunday, February 18, 2024

CUP Race 1 of 36

Daytona 500 at Daytona

2023 Last-Place Finisher: Ty Dillon

Next up, the week following the Super Bowl, comes the action in Daytona!

TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (February 2, 2003): In the Winston West Series, Takuma Koga finished last in the Bosch Spark Plug 150 at Phoenix when his #09 Zenrin Chevrolet crashed after 1 lap. Koga drove for team owner Dick Midgley, who from 1974 through 1992 got his cars into 26 “companion races” with the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. This included the first four Cup races at Sears Point, including 1990, when Terry Fisher qualified 37th and rebounded to finish 15th.