PREVIEW: Double-duty efforts, series and track debuts, and Halloween schemes on tap for Homestead
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: DGM Racing, @dgm_racing_
Saturday, October 26, 2024 (12:00 P.M. ET, FS1)
TRUCKS Race 21 of 23
Round of 8: Race 2 of 3
Baptist Health 200 at Homestead
2023 Last-Place Finisher: Zane Smith
ENTRY LIST
The Truck Series returns with another short field as 34 entries will attempt the field of 36, the 11th short field of 21 races in 2024.
MISSING: #6-Norm Benning Racing
Norm Benning is not among this week’s entrants after contact from Stefan Parsons on pit road in Talladega spun him out of a possible Top 20 finish, yielding a 21st-place run. Benning will return with his former Kevin Harvick, Inc. truck next week in Martinsville, and is already preparing to run his Talladega truck in next February’s opener in Daytona.
DRIVER CHANGE: #7-Spire Motorsports
DRIVER SWAP: #75-Henderson Motorsports
This Saturday marks Connor Mosack’s 10th series start and first since Kansas, when he started outside-pole and finished 10th for this same Spire Motorsports team. He takes the place of 33rd-place Talladega finisher Connor Zilisch, and carries logos for the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, which backs Sheldon Creed’s XFINITY entry. Zilisch will also run tomorrow, taking the place of 8th-place Talladega finisher Stefan Parsons in the Charlie Henderson entry.
MISSING: #16-Hattori Racing Enterprises
The Hattori team will not enter this week’s race with Johnny Sauter, who finished 34th after crash damage in Talladega.
MISSING: #21-Floridian Motorsports
The Floridian team is not entered this week with 18th-place Talladega finisher Mason Maggio. Maggio will instead attempt the XFINITY race later that day while Carl Long will partner with Joey Gase Motorsports in the same race (see below).
DRIVER CHANGE: #22-Reaume Brothers Racing
On the same week he announced his full-time effort for the team in 2025, Frankie Muniz will take to the track in place of 20th-place Talladega finisher Jason White. Muniz most recently competed in the Truck Series race at Kansas last month, when he earned a series-best 29th-place finish in his second start.
MISSING: #28-FDNY Racing
The future plans for Jim Rosenblum’s teams are still to be announced after a brutal Talladega weekend where last-minute driver substitute Keith McGee got in a wreck.
TEAM CLOSED: #32-Bret Holmes Racing
Similar to last year, the Bret Holmes and team scaling back at the end of the season and not among this week’s entries. Holmes finished a strong 9th his last time out in Talladega. UPDATE: As of Friday, the team has ceased operations for both 2024 and 2025, per the team’s Facebook. Holmes himself still looks to race in the series for another team next year.
DRIVER CHANGE: #44-Niece Motorsports
Conor Daly finished a series-best 17th in his last start at Kansas, and this week returns in place of 17th-place Talladega finisher Danny Bohn. This will be just the sixth series start of Daly’s career, and comes at a track where he didn’t compete in IndyCar.
RETURNING: #46-Young’s Motorsports
Homestead marks the third series start for Justin Mondeik as the Randy Young team brings back the former Faction 46 entry driven earlier this year by Thad Moffitt. El Bandido Yankee Tequila returns as a sponsor for Mondeik, who was yet another driver to most recently run the fall Kansas race, taking 26th.
RETURNING: #66-ThorSport Racing
Conner Jones is back in action for the first time since his last-place run under the lights at Bristol, where overheating issues stopped him after 126 laps. This would be Jones’ first series start at Homestead.
DRIVER CHANGE: #91-McAnally Hilgemann Racing
Corey Day embarks on his third series start and first since a crash left him 32nd in Kansas, taking the place of 7th-place Talladega finisher Ryan Reed.
MISSING: #95-GK Racing
Clay Greenfield and the GK team are not among this week’s entrants after a 15th-place run in Talladega.
DRIVER CHANGE: #02-Young’s Motorsports
Nathan Byrd makes only his second Truck Series start, his first since a 19th-place debut in Kansas with this same Randy Young entry. He takes the place of Keith McGee, who failed to qualify this entry’s joint effort with the Reaume team, then drove in place of Bryan Dauzat at FDNY Racing.
DRIVER CHANGE: #04-Roper Racing
Marco Andretti is still another driver returning to the Truck Series for the first time since Kansas, where he finished last after early brake trouble, and follows a season-best 16th-place finish for the team with Cory Roper in Talladega.
CUP INVADERS: None
Saturday, October 26, 2024 (3:00 P.M. ET, USA)
XFINITY Race 31 of 33
Round of 8: Race 2 of 3
Credit One NASCAR Amex Credit Card 300 at Homestead
2023 Last-Place Finisher: Ryan Newman
ENTRY LIST
There are 38 drivers entered for as many spots in Saturday’s XFINITY Series race.
DRIVER CHANGE: #14-SS-Green Light Racing
Austin Green will make only his second NASCAR oval track start, his first since a last-place run in Bristol. And or the first time in his brief XFINITY career, he won’t be driving for Jordan Anderson. This time, he brings his 3Dimensional.com sponsorship to Bobby Dotter’s team, taking the place of 25th-place Las Vegas finisher J.J. Yeley, who runs the Cup race (see below). The team runs a Chevrolet in place of their usual Fords, which may indicate continued support from the Peterson Racing Group.
DRIVER CHANGE: #19-Joe Gibbs Racing
Saturday also marks the NASCAR XFINITY Series debut of 13-time ARCA Menards Series race winner William Sawalich, who also pulls double-duty with his part-time Truck Series effort with TRICON Garage. Sawalich takes the place of Taylor Gray, who finished 33rd in Las Vegas.
DRIVER CHANGE: #26-Sam Hunt Racing
After the Miami Vice-inspired promotions and the iconic “go ryan” logo on the TV panel, Ryan Truex rejoins the Sam Hunt Racing team for his 101st series start, his first since a 5th-place run for JGR under the lights at Bristol. Truex last drove for SHR in the 2022 opener at Daytona, yielding a 12th-place finish. He takes the place of Corey Heim, who finished 11th in Las Vegas.
DRIVER CHANGE: #35-Joey Gase Motorsports
The aforementioned joint effort between Carl Long and Joey Gase brings in Armani Williams and returning sponsorship from Blue Sprig. This will be just the second XFINITY start for Williams, his first since his 33rd-place run in Loudon, which was also a joint effort with Carl Long and the now-shuttered JD Motorsports. Williams’ most recent Truck Series start came at this same Homestead track last year, when he finished 31st for G2G Racing carrying the same Blue Sprig sponsorship. He takes the place of 35th-place Las Vegas finisher Akinori Ogata.
DRIVER CHANGE: #45-Alpha Prime Racing
With Mason Maggio not entered in the Floridian Motorsports truck on Saturday morning, he instead takes the wheel of Alpha Prime’s #45 Chevrolet, replacing 29th-place Las Vegas finisher Garrett Smithley. Sparks Boat Works and F2 are the listed sponsors.
DRIVER CHANGE: #53-Joey Gase Motorsports
Taking the place of 30th-place Las Vegas finisher Joey Gase is a returning Thomas Annunziata, who makes his fifth series start and first since a crash left him 34th on the Charlotte “Roval.” Criswell Chevrolet joins him as sponsor for what will be only his second oval track start in XFINITY.
DRIVER SWAP: #74-Mike Harmon Racing
DRIVER CHANGE: #92-DGM Racing
With Halloween coming next Thursday, DGM Racing’s famous Halloween paint schemes hit the track a week early. Joining Kyle Weatherman’s skeleton-themed #91 is a returning Nick Leitz in the #92, his Precision Measurements, Inc. Chevrolet adorned with sharks. Leitz, who last finished 37th after a mid-race Talladega wreck, takes the place of 36th-place Las Vegas finisher Dawson Cram. Cram will also race this week, completing the “TBA” in place of 34th-place Vegas finisher Ryan Vargas in the Harmon entry. Cram will rejoin the DGM team for the season’s final two races in Martinsville and Phoenix.
RETURNING: #88-JR Motorsports
Connor Zilisch is another driver pulling double-duty on Saturday as he climbs aboard JR Motorsports’ #88 Chevrolet with Roto-Rooter as sponsor. This will be only his third series start, following his winning debut in Watkins Glen and 4th-place run in Kansas.
DRIVER CHANGE: #07-SS-Green Light Racing
Brad Perez returns to the site of the first race he attended as a fan in 2002 to make his first XFINITY Series start at the track, welcoming returning sponsorship from Space Beans. Perez made his first Truck Series start at the track last year, finishing 24th for Young’s Motorsports. This time, he takes the place of Myatt Snider, the 23rd-place finisher in Vegas.
CUP INVADERS: None
Sunday, October 27, 2024 (2:30 P.M. ET, NBC)
CUP Race 34 of 36
Round of 8: Race 2 of 3
Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead
2023 Last-Place Finisher: Harrison Burton
ENTRY LIST
There are 38 drivers entered for 40 spots, marking the 29th short field in 34 races this season.
DRIVER CHANGE: #15-Rick Ware Racing
Kaz Grala returns to the Cup garage for the first time since a 27th-place finish on the Charlotte “Roval,” his best in the series since the Chicago Street Course in July. He takes the place of Cody Ware, whose Evel Knievel paint scheme yielded a 21st-place finish in Las Vegas. This will be Grala’s first Cup start at Homestead.
DRIVER CHANGE: #16-Kaulig Racing
A.J. Allmendinger also returns to the Cup garage for the first time since the “Roval,” where he finished in 6th. He takes the place of teammate Shane van Gisbergen in the #16, one week after Shane struggled to a 29th-place finish. The car is also sponsored by Worldwide Express, a more familiar brand at Trackhouse Racing.
RETURNING: #44-NY Racing Team
J.J. Yeley rejoins the Jonathan Cohen team in a decidedly dressed-down paint scheme for the NY Racing Team, which posters on Twitter said resembled the Hendrick test car from the inception of the NextGen car. The Urban Youth Racing School is the listed sponsor of the white #44 entry. This will be Yeley’s 14th Cup start at Homestead following a 33rd-place run in this race last year for Rick Ware Racing.
RETURNING: #66-Motorsports Business Management
Chad Finchum makes his second Cup start of the season and first since his last-place performance in Nashville, this time with sponsorship from GreenLightPP.com on the same MBM entry. This will be Finchum’s first Cup start at Homestead.
MISSING: #84-Legacy Motor Club
Not among this week’s entrants is Jimmie Johnson, who clinched all seven of his Cup Series championships at this Homestead track. Johnson, who finished 28th in Las Vegas, is expected to return in two weeks for the Phoenix finale and is planning to continue a part-time schedule in 2025.
TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (October 25, 2008): Wayne Edwards picked up the 11th last-place finish of his NASCAR Truck Series career when his #0 ASI Limited Chevrolet fell out with handling issues after 2 laps of the E-Z-Go 200 at Atlanta. At the time, this finish tied Phil Bonifield for the most last-place runs in series history.
