PREVIEW: Cody Ware’s 100th start, Stephen Mallozzi’s double-duty, and Thad Moffitt’s new team among storylines in Pocono
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: Young’s Motorsports, @youngsmtrsports
Friday, July 12, 2024 (5:30 P.M. ET, FS1)
TRUCKS Race 14 of 23
CRC Brakleen 175 at Pocono
2023 Last-Place Finisher: Tanner Gray
ENTRY LIST
There are 36 drivers entered for as many spots in this week’s Truck Series race, meaning all will qualify.
DRIVER CHANGE: #1-TRICON Garage
Kris Wright will make his second start of the 2024 season and first sine Texas, where he raced with this same TRICON team to a 30th-place finish after a crash. Wright takes the place of Brenden “Butterbean” Queen, who finished 19th in his second series start last time out at Nashville. America’s Auto Auction and Esmark return as sponsors.
DRIVER CHANGE: #7-Spire Motorsports
Fresh off a solid 6th-place showing in last Saturday’s XFINITY race for JR Motorsports, Connor Mosack returns to the Truck Series for just his seventh series start and first since Gateway, where he finished 22nd for Niece Motorsports. Two of Mosack’s previous four starts in 2024 came with this Spire team, yielding a 30th in Kansas and an 8th in Charlotte. He takes the place of Clint Bowyer, who finished a disappointing 17th in Nashville after nose damage on a restart. Bowyer indicated that start will not be his last.
MISSING: #20-Young’s Motorsports
TEAM CHANGE: #46-Young’s Motorsports
When the Truck Series last ran in Nashville, Dawson Cram had unexpectedly been switched into Thad Moffitt’s ride at Faction 46, yielding a 20th-place finish in an unsponsored Chevrolet. Moffitt reported he’d be back in Pocono – which he is – but under new management. Randy Young will now field the #46 for the rest of 2024, which will likely be entered in place of their part-time #20, not entered this week after Akinori Ogata took 30th in Nashville. Moffitt will also debut a new paint scheme with primary sponsorship from Fastest Duck and Restaurant Depot.
DRIVER CHANGE: #21-Floridian Motorsports
DRIVER SWAP: #22-Reaume Brothers Racing
Sage Karam will make only the second Truck Series start of his career and first since 2021, when he finished 32nd for Jordan Anderson Racing in the fall race at Martinsville. He teams up with upstart team Floridian Motorsports, bumping their previous driver Mason Maggio to the Reaume Brothers #22 in place of Frankie Muniz, not entered after a 31st-place finish in Nashville.
MISSING: #26-Rackley-W.A.R.
Not among this week’s entries is the second Rackley-W.A.R. truck with which Dawson Sutton earned an 18th-place finish in Nashville.
DRIVER CHANGE: #27-Reaume Brothers Racing
While the preliminary entry list still showed Keith McGee, who failed to qualify the Reaume team’s #27 entry in Nashville, that was later changed to Stephen Mallozzi, who will also for the first time run double-duty with the XFINITY Series (see below). Mallozzi will make his seventh series start and first since Martinsville, where he ran 28th in the Reaume team’s #22.
DRIVER CHANGE: #45-Niece Motorsports
One of two Cup Series regulars in Friday’s race is Ross Chastain, who takes the place of 33rd-place finisher Kaden Honeycutt, victim of an early mechanical failure that robbed him of a strong run in Nashville. Chastain runs another watermelon-themed paint scheme in Mar-Del Watermelon Association. This will be Chastain’s fourth Truck Series start of the year and first since a 15th-place run in North Wilkesboro.
DRIVER CHANGE: #66-ThorSport Racing
Luke Fenhaus scored an impressive 10th-place finish in his series debut in Gateway earlier this summer. He now returns for his second career start, taking the place of 12th-place Nashville finisher Conner Jones in the #66. Soda Sense returns as sponsor.
MISSING: #75-Henderson Motorsports
Charlie Henderson’s team has not entered Stefan Parsons this week after a 26th-place finish in Nashville, where he and Layne Riggs traded contact in a tight on-track battle.
DRIVER CHANGE: #91-McAnally-Hilgemann Racing
The other Cup regular in the race is past series champion Zane Smith, who enters this weekend after a career-best runner-up finish in the Cup race at Nashville, then a 17th-place performance in Chicago, where he led his first three laps of the season. Smith pulls double-duty as he takes the place of 16th-place Nashville finisher Jack Wood in the McAnally #91, carrying sponsorship from SpeedyCash.com.
CUP INVADERS: #45-Ross Chastain, #91-Zane Smith
Saturday, July 13, 2024 (3:00 P.M. ET, USA)
XFINITY Race 19 of 33
Pocono Mountains 225 at Pocono
2023 Last-Place Finisher: Sage Karam
ENTRY LIST
Following the withdrawal of JD Motorsports’ #6 entry, there are exactly 38 drivers for as many spots, meaning all will qualify.
DRIVER SWAP: #4-JD Motorsports
DRIVER CHANGE: #6-JD Motorsports
RETURNING / DRIVER SWAP: #74-Mike Harmon Racing
News broke on Thursday that JD Motorsports would enter just one car for the first time in recent memory, withdrawing their #6. That car was originally listed for Garrett Smithley with Dawson Cram in the #4, replacing both Ty Dillon (#4) and Thomas Annunziata (#6) who each failed to qualify at Chicago. But Cram was then listed in Mike Harmon Racing’s #74, replacing Jade Buford, and Annunziata swapped back into the #4, leaving Smithley without a ride. This will give the Harmon team its first start as the #74, though Harmon’s cars did qualify for four races in the spring as the Jordan Anderson #32.
RETURNING: #10-Kaulig Racing
Daniel Dye will pull double-duty with Friday’s Truck Series race in what will be his seventh series start and first since a career-best 10th in Iowa. Champion Containers will sponsor the #10, the returning part-time entry from the Kaulig team.
DRIVER CHANGE: #14-SS-Green Light Racing
Mason Massey brings new sponsor Real American Beer to the Bobby Dotter #14, taking the place of 35th-place Chicago finisher Andre Castro. Unlike Castro’s entry, this will not be a joint effort with Jesse Iwuji Motorsports, so the car will be one of Dotter’s Fords instead of Iwuji’s Chevrolet. Associate sponsorship from the Control App will also make this Sunday’s “fan-controlled” car, as promoted by famous wrestler Hulk Hogan.
DRIVER CHANGE: #15-AM Racing
Following Joey Logano’s 8th-place finish after the team’s first driver change of the season, Hailie Deegan parted ways with AM Racing on Monday, cutting short a frustrating season for both driver and team. Taking Deegan’s place this week is another Cup regular in Josh Berry, who will pilot the VIVA Tequila Seltzer Ford. This will be Berry’s 96th series start and first since he closed out the 2023 championship driving for JR Motorsports at Phoenix.
DRIVER CHANGE: #17-Hendrick Motorsports
The other Cup Series regular in Saturday’s race is William Byron, who will make his 40th series start and third of the year, his first since an 11th-place finish in Darlington. Byron takes the place of Kyle Larson, whose thrilling battle with Shane van Gisbergen in the early laps at Chicago led to a 3rd-place finish.
DRIVER CHANGE: #19-Joe Gibbs Racing
Pulling double-duty with the Truck Series is Taylor Gray, who takes over for Chicago runner-up Ty Gibbs in JGR’s “all-star” #19. Interestingly, Taylor will continue to run sponsorship from Operation 300, the company that’s backing his brother Tanner Gray in Friday’s Truck Series race. This will be Taylor’s eighth series start of the season, his first since a 12th-place run in Charlotte.
DRIVER CHANGE: #20-Joe Gibbs Racing
Dover winner Ryan Truex is back in the XFINITY Series for just the second time since that victory, his first since a 27th-place showing in Portland. Truex takes the place of 25th-place Chicago finisher John Hunter Nemechek, and carries sponsorship from Certified Collision Center.
DRIVER CHANGE: #26-Sam Hunt Racing
Corey Heim has another double-duty weekend on hand as he takes the place of 33rd-place Chicago finisher Sage Karam in the #26. This will be Heim’s 13th series start and first since his 10th-place run in Loudon. He’ll carry sponsorship from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms hockey team of nearby Allentown, Pennsylvania, a team that previously backed both Timmy Hill and Reed Sorenson in Cup Series races here. Karam will focus on Friday’s Truck Series race.
MISSING: #32-Jordan Anderson Racing / Peterson Racing
The joint effort between Jordan Anderson and Peterson Racing will not run this weekend following another strong run, a 10th-place finish in Chicago. Green does plan to run some oval races in addition to the road courses later this season.
DRIVER CHANGE: #35-Joey Gase Motorsports
MISSING: #53-Joey Gase Motorsports
The second leg of Stephen Mallozzi’s double-header will include his XFINITY Series debut in the Joey Gase entry that failed to qualify with Brad Perez in Chicago. Up until mid-week, the car had “TBA” in the driver’s column, after which Mallozzi went from having no rides to running both races. He will not have a teammate, however, as the Gase team has not entered the #53 with which Kenko Miura failed to qualify after multiple practice incidents at Chicago.
MISSING: #36-DGM Racing
MISSING: #45-Alpha Prime Racing
MISSING: #50-Pardus Racing
MISSING: #88-JR Motorsports
Trimming the entry list this week are four other teams not entered. Among these are 27th-place finisher Daniel Suarez in DGM Racing’s part-time #36 entry, Alon Day whose hard practice crash cut short his weekend in Alpha Prime’s part-time #45, plus 32nd-place finisher Preston Pardus for his family’s team and 6th-place finisher Connor Mosack in JR Motorsports’ part-time #88.
TEAM UPDATE: #92-DGM Racing
While the preliminary entry list also showed “TBA” for the driver of Mario Gosselin’s #92 entry, Josh Bilicki is again listed to drive following a 36th-place finish after a crash in Chicago.
DRIVER CHANGE: #07-SS-Green Light Racing
Nashville last-place finisher Patrick Emerling returns to action this week, taking the place of 29th-place Chicago finisher Alex Labbe, who lost multiple laps for a mechanical issue during the race.
CUP INVADERS: #15-Josh Berry, #17-William Byron
Sunday, July 14, 2024 (2:30 P.M. ET, USA)
CUP Race 21 of 36
The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono
2023 Last-Place Finisher: Daniel Suarez
ENTRY LIST
After only the third 40-car field in the 2024 season, there are just 37 drivers entered for Sunday’s race.
MISSING: #13-Kaulig Racing
DRIVER SWAP: #16-Kaulig Racing
With the #13 not entered this week, 38th-place Chicago finisher A.J. Allmendinger returns to the #16 in place of Shane van Gisbergen, the surprise last-place finisher. Cirkul returns as sponsor.
DRIVER CHANGE: #15-Rick Ware Racing
Sunday will mark the 100th Cup Series start for Cody Ware, his first since his 33rd-place showing in Gateway. He takes the place of Kaz Grala, who finished 26th in Chicago. This would be Ware’s fifth start at Pocono, where his best finish of 25th came in 2021.
MISSING: #33-Richard Childress Racing
Not among the entrants this week is Austin Hill, who finished 31st in Chicago, as he focuses on his full-time XFINITY Series effort.
RETURNING: #44-NY Racing Team
Welcome back to the Jonathan Cohen team with J.J. Yeley, back in action for the first time since steering issues ended their effort in the Coca-Cola 600. Yeley teams up with sponsor Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, a frequent sponsor in one-off starts. This will be Yeley’s 24th Cup start at Pocono, where his best finish of 11th occurred in 2006.
MISSING: #60-RFK Racing “Stage 60”
Also not entered is RFK Racing’s “Stage 60” entry with which Joey Hand nearly pulled off an impressive upset in the hands of road race ace Joey Hand. Staying out on old tires, Hand led seven laps before Alex Bowman’s winning pass with eight to go and finished a career-best 4th.
MISSING: #66-Motorsports Business Management
Carl Long has not entered his Cup Series entry after Josh Bilicki quietly had a solid run in Chicago, earning the first “Lucky Dog” after a pass-through penalty at the start and finishing on the lead lap in 28th.
TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (July 12, 1997): Robbie Pyle picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career in the Link-Belt Construction Equipment 225 at the Louisville Speedway when his #6 Central Fastener Dodge fell out with transmission issues after 13 laps. While this was Pyle’s first and only Truck Series start, he would go on to win an ARCA race at Kil-Kare in 1999 – also while driving a Dodge - then won four more in ASA.
Robbie Pyle wins at Kil-Kare in his Dodge, 1999. (SCREENSHOT: Bluegrass Railfan on YouTube)
