PREVIEW: COTA entry lists include several IndyCar stars, plus upstart road racers
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
Motorports Business Management returns to Cup for the first time since 2022.
PHOTO: MBM, @MBMMotorsports
Saturday, March 23, 2024 (1:30 P.M. ET, FS1)
TRUCKS Race 5 of 23
XPEL 225 at COTA
2023 Last-Place Finisher: Ed Jones
ENTRY LIST
As the Truck Series kicks off this weekend’s action at Circuit of the Americas, there are 35 drivers entered for 36 spots, meaning all will qualify.
DRIVER CHANGE: #1-TRICON Garage
Jack Hawksworth will make his first Truck Series start on Saturday, which will be just his second in NASCAR. The former IndyCar driver and current race-winning sports car competitor made his XFINITY debut for Joe Gibbs Racing on August 10, 2019, finishing 15th after starting outside-pole. He this time takes the wheel of TRICON Garage’s #1 in place of 21st-place Bristol finisher William Sawalich.
DRIVER CHANGE: #7-Spire Motorsports
Connor Zilisch, fresh off racing on the winning LMP2 teams for both the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring for Era Motorsport, will make his NASCAR national series debut. Taking the place of Bristol runner-up Kyle Busch, Zilisch has one previous ARCA start, finishing runner-up to Jesse Love after dominating the Watkins Glen last year, leading 34 of 42 laps. The Austin Hatcher Foundation sponsors the ride.
RETURNING: #12-Young’s Motorsports
RETURNING: #20-Young’s Motorsports
Randy Young’s team brings back their two dormant entries for the first time in 2024, increasing their lineup from one to three trucks. In the returning #12 comes Dale Quarterley, who ran both COTA and Mid-Ohio last year for G2G Racing, finishing 28th and 35th. Van Dyk Recycling continues as the veteran’s sponsor. The team’s #20, which finished last in this race last year as Ed Jones failed to complete the opening lap due to a flat tire, will also be entered. The driver was not listed on the preliminary register of entries, but has since been announced as eNASCAR competitor Vicente Salas. Following in the footsteps of such drivers as William Byron, Salas will make his series debut with sponsorship from the Miramar Financial Group.
MISSING: #14-Trey Hutchens Racing
Trey Hutchens is not entered after suspension issues near the halfway point at Bristol left him 35th.
DRIVER CHANGE: #22-Reaume Brothers Racing
Taking the place of 32nd-place Bristol finisher Keith McGee is 19-year-old Pennyslvania-born driver Carter Fartuch, who made the jump from go-karts to road racing with to both an instructor and factory driver for the Skip Barber Racing School, which will sponsor him this Saturday.
DRIVER CHANGE: #45-Niece Motorsports
The lone Cup Series regular in Saturday’s Truck Series race is Ross Chastain, who won his first career Cup Series race at this very track two years ago. Chastain takes the place of 12th-place Bristol finisher Kaden Honeycutt, and carries sponsorship from MG Machinery, LLC. This will be Chastain’s 108th series start, his first since he ran 30th last summer at Pocono.
MISSING: #66-ThorSport Racing
Rookie driver Conner Jones is not among this weekend’s entries following his turbulent 19th-place finish in Bristol.
MISSING: #90-Terry Carroll Motorsports
Justin S. Carroll is likewise not entered following the brake issues that ended his Bristol race after 57 laps, leaving him with his first career last-place finish.
DRIVER CHANGE: #91-McAnally-Hilgemann Racing
After back-to-back starts by the now Cup Series rookie Zane Smith, Jack Wood returns to the #91 entry, his first start since a 31st-place finish at Atlanta following a hard mid-race crash. This will be Wood’s third COTA start in the last four years, following finishes of 28th and 32nd for GMS Racing.
RETURNING: #04-Roper Racing
Marco Andretti returns to the Truck Series for the first time since last fall’s early exit at Phoenix, where he finished 35th. Andretti made his first three series starts last year with a best run of 18th at Homestead. While he has yet to run a NASCAR race at COTA, he did finish 6th in the 2019 IndyCar Series race at this track.
CUP INVADERS: #45-Ross Chastain
Saturday, March 23, 2024 (5:00 P.M. ET, FS1)
XFINITY Race 5 of 33
Focused Health 250 at COTA
2023 Last-Place Finisher: Carson Hocevar
ENTRY LIST
There are 40 drivers entered for 38 spots, meaning two teams will fail to qualify.
DRIVER CHANGE: #4-JD Motorsports
The preliminary entry list had no driver listed for Johnny Davis’ #4 entry, driven to a 28th-place finish with Dawson Cram its last time out at Phoenix. Taking his place is Patrick Gallagher, whose sixth and most recent XFINITY start came on the Charlotte “Roval” on October 8, 2022. Completing a five-race road course stint for RSS Racing, Gallagher finished 33rd. His best run of 19th came earlier that year at Road America.
DRIVER CHANGE: #6-JD Motorsports
The other JD Motorsports entry goes to Ty Dillon, who pulls double-duty on Saturday with his full-time Truck Series effort with Rackley-W.A.R. Dillon’s 165th XFINITY start will be his first since Pocono last summer, where he ran 14th for Richard Childress. He takes the place of Garrett Smithley, who finished 26th the last time out at Phoenix, and carries sponsorship from Ollie’s Bargain Outlet.
DRIVER CHANGE: #14-SS-Green Light Racing
As with the Truck Series, IndyCar stars populate the XFINITY Series field. Among these is R.C. Enerson (originally TBA on the entry list), the next-to-last-place finisher of last year’s Indianapolis 500. Enerson, who carries sponsorship from Lucas Oil School of Racing as he takes the place of 19th-place Phoenix finisher J.J. Yeley, last made a NASCAR start on August 8, 2021, when he made his Cup debut with a 34th-place finish for Rick Ware Racing. He last competed in XFINITY for his series debut at Road America in 2020, when he finished 20th for SS-Green Light Racing.
DRIVER CHANGE: #17-Hendrick Motorsports
Hendrick swaps in Kyle Larson for 23rd-place Phoenix finisher William Byron in their XFINITY Series entry. Larson’s 115th series start will be his first since last fall at Darlington, where he finished last after mechanical issues.
DRIVER CHANGE: #19-Joe Gibbs Racing
Another Cup regular in Saturday’s race is Ty Gibbs, who nearly pulled off his first series win last Sunday in Bristol. Gibbs takes the place of 31st-place Phoenix finisher Aric Almirola and carries the “He Gets Us” backing.
RETURNING: #24-Sam Hunt Racing
DRIVER CHANGE: #26-Sam Hunt Racing
The aforementioned Ed Jones, who finished last in the 2023 Truck Series race at COTA without completing a single lap, will this year seek his XFINITY Series debut in the returning second entry for Sam Hunt Racing. The three-time third-place finisher in the IndyCar Series will be joined by fellow open-wheel star Sage Karam in the #26, both of them sponsored by CRC brand automotive products. Karam takes the place of 22nd-place Phoenix finisher Corey Heim.
DRIVER CHANGE: #28-RSS Racing
Kaz Grala will run double-duty with Sunday’s Cup Series race as he first takes the wheel of RSS Racing’s #28, taking the place of 25th-place Phoenix finisher Kyle Sieg. This will be Grala’s first XFINITY Series start of the year after he completed the full 2023 campaign with Sam Hunt Racing, finishing 10th in the season finale at Phoenix.
DRIVER CHANGE: #32-Jordan Anderson Racing
WITHDREW: #87-Peterson Racing Group
In place of 37th-place Phoenix finisher Ryan Vargas, who now sets his sights on the Whelen Euro Series with 3 Friends Racing, SCCA Trans-Am TA2 Pro Am Series competitor Austin Green will attempt to make his NASCAR debut. Green had originally been slated to drive for Peterson Racing Group, the #87 team which attempted its own last year on the Charlotte “Roval” with Andy Lally, but that team has since withdrawn.
DRIVER CHANGE: #35-Joey Gase Motorsports
Popular Canadian series veteran Alex Labbe will attempt to make his season debut this Saturday, kicking off his ninth season in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. Labbe mot recently ran on the Charlotte “Roval” last fall, finishing 15th for DGM Racing. This time around, he drives for Joey Gase, for whom he last raced to an 11th-place showing on the Indianapolis Grand Prix Circuit. Labbe takes the place of 30th-place Phoenix finisher Frankie Muniz.
MISSING: #38-RSS Racing
The Sieg team has not entered its #38 car this week, a team that was the only DNQ for the series’ most recent race at Phoenix with C.J. McLaughlin aboard. News also broke this week that the team will return next week in Richmond with Matt DiBenedetto attempting his first NASCAR start of the year.
RETURNING: #45-Alpha Prime Racing
Alpha Prime fields three cars for the first time since Daytona, where Caesar Bacarella failed to qualify. This time, the ride goes to a returning Brad Perez, who made his NASCAR national series debut at this same COTA track in 2022 driving for Josh Reaume. Sponsored by WEISS Sand & Clay, plus new baker Sendero, Perez will pilot the #45 Chevrolet. His most recent start was a last-place finish after brake issues last summer at Indianapolis.
RETURNING: #50-Pardus Racing, Inc.
Like his fellow Spec Miata graduate Perez, Preston Pardus looks to make his season debut this Saturday as returning sponsor Chinchor Electric, Inc. sponsors his family’s white-and-red #50 Chevrolet. Pardus finished 36th in this race last year, the debut for the #50 team, and most recently ran Indianapolis for a 24th-place finish.
MISSING: #78-B.J. McLeod Motorsports
News broke this week that B.J. McLeod has decided to scale back his #78 entry to a partial schedule, and has thus not entered his Chevrolet for the first time in 2024. He finished a solid 14th his last time out at Phoenix.
DRIVER CHANGE: #92-DGM Racing
Josh Bilicki teams up with DGM Racing for the first time since his 32nd-place finish in the Daytona opener, this time taking the place of 17th-place Phoenix finisher Nick Leitz. Bilicki carries sponsorship from Halford Mobile Services in a race where he finished a track-best 28th last season.
DRIVER CHANGE: #07-SS-Green Light Racing
Filling another “TBA” slot on the entry list is a returning Daniil Kvyat, formerly the second driver to the now-shuttered Team Hezeberg effort in the Cup Series. Sponsored by GOTRAX, the former Formula One driver is back in NASCAR for the first time since 2022, when he made his XFINITY debut on the Charlotte “Roval,” finishing 15th, following a three-race stint in Cup with Hezeberg. This week, he takes the place of Phoenix last-place finisher Patrick Emerling.
CUP INVADERS: #17-Kyle Larson, #19-Ty Gibbs, #28-Kaz Grala
Sunday, March 24, 2024 (3:30 P.M. ET, FOX)
CUP Race 6 of 36
EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at COTA
2023 Last-Place Finisher: Ty Dillon
ENTRY LIST
There are 39 drivers entered for 40 spots, the biggest field since the Daytona 500, but still the fourth-straight short field in 2024.
RETURNING / DRIVER SWAP: #13-Kaulig Racing
DRIVER CHANGE: #16-Kaulig Racing
Shane Van Gisbergen runs double-duty with XFINITY in his first Cup start of the year, moving A.J. Allmendinger to the returning part-time #13 team. Since both are full-time XFINITY Series competitors, neither are eligible for points, but both must be considered favorites for the victory.
RETURNING: #50-23XI Racing
Fresh off a visit to Bristol, Kamui Kobayashi is back in what was the #67 from his debut last year at Indianapolis, where he ran 33rd. This time, the car is renumbered to celebrate sponsor Mobil 1’s 50th anniversary.
RETURNING: #66-Motorsports Business Management
After more than a year’s absence, Carl Long’s team returns to the Cup Series. Matt Jaskol was slated to drive, but couldn’t land a sponsor, so Timmy Hill will run double-duty with the Truck Series. Hill’s first Cup start since November 7, 2021 at Phoenix will also debut new sponsorship from solid state battery company Amptricity.
TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (March 22, 1992): A 51-year-old Mike Porter picked up the 6th last-place finish of his NASCAR Busch Grand National Series career when his #35 Williams Racing Chevrolet was collected in a three-car crash after 38 laps of the Miller 500 at Martinsville. The West Virginian made 87 series starts from 1982 through 1992, earning a best finish of 3rd at the same Martinsville track on March 23, 1986, trailing Morgan Shepherd and Larry Pearson. Porter died in 2010.
