PREVIEW: Richmond marks a fresh start for some after two-week break
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
IMAGE: Hendrick Motorsports, @TeamHendrick
Saturday, August 10, 2024 (7:30 P.M. ET, FS1)
TRUCKS Race 16 of 23
Clean Harbors 200 at Richmond
2023 Last-Place Finisher: Josh Reaume
ENTRY LIST
The Truck Series will kick off NASCAR’s return from the Olympic Break, where there are 38 drivers entered for 36 spots, meaning two will fail to qualify.
DRIVER CHANGE: #7-Spire Motorsports
Newly signed with JR Motorsports’ XFINITY program for 2025, Connor Zilisch looks to continue his meteoric rise through the ranks in his second career Truck Series start, his first since winning the pole and finishing 4th in his sterling debut at COTA. Silver Hare Racing is the sponsor as Zilisch takes the place of Sammy Smith, who was 6th last time out at IRP.
RETURNING: #14-Trey Hutchens Racing
Trey Hutchens returns to the Truck Series for the first time since North Wilkesboro, where transmission issues left him in last place. He also failed to finish his only other start of the season at Bristol, coming home next-to-last with suspension issues. This would be Hutchens’ first series start at Richmond.
MISSING: #16-Hattori Racing Enterprises
Not among this week’s entrants is Johnny Sauter, who finished 23rd at IRP in what was the first start of the season by the Hattori team.
RETURNING: #20-Young’s Motorsports
Last season, Jerry Bohlman failed to qualify for both his first attempts to make a Truck Series field, missing the show in the Bristol Dirt Race, then again at this Richmond track. Those attempts came with the now shuttered G2G Racing. This time around, he’ll seek that elusive debut in the returning part-time entry at Young’s Motorsports with Bowl4Life as sponsor.
RETURNING: #21-Floridian Motorsports
Mason Maggio and the Carl Long supported Floridian Motorsports effort are back, seeking their fifth start of the season and first since a 35th-place finish in Nashville after mechanical woes. Maggio has one previous Truck Series start at Richmond in 2022, when he finished 33rd for the Reaume team.
DRIVER CHANGE: #22-Reaume Brothers Racing
Speaking of the Reaume team, Keith McGee will pilot the #22 that Maggio shared in three other starts earlier this season. McGee takes the place of Tyler Tomassi, who at IRP finished 31st, three laps down, in his series debut. McGee seeks his eighth start of the year and first since Gateway, when he drove this same entry to 27th and led only the second lap of his career.
WITHDREW: #27-Reaume Brothers Racing
The Reaume team also had their third entry, the #27, on this week’s entry list, but withdrew by midweek with no driver listed.
MISSING: #44-Niece Motorsports
Also not making the trip this week is Al Niece’s part-time #44 entry with which Conor Daly finished 29th at IRP.
DRIVER CHANGE: #45-Niece Motorsports
Kaden Honeycutt looks to make another bold step toward his first series victory on Saturday as he takes the place of Cup regular Ross Chastain, who finished 11th at IRP. Honeycutt last raced this truck in his most recent start at Nashville, where early mechanical troubles dropped him from 8th on the grid to a disappointing 33rd.
DRIVER CHANGE: #66-ThorSport Racing
Conner Jones rejoins the circuit for the first time since his 12th-place finish at Nashville, taking the place of Luke Fenhaus, who finished a career-best 7th in just his third series start. Fenhaus already has two top-ten finishes in those three races and has finished on the lead lap in all three.
RETURNING: #75-Henderson Motorsports
Stefan Parsons is another driver returning to action for the first time since Nashville, his a 26th-place finish that night. Popsells again sponsors Parsons, who seeks to make his first Richmond start in a truck.
RETURNING: #90-Terry Carroll Motorsports
Justin S. Carroll returns for the first time since Pocono, where he rebounded from a pair of DNQs at Charlotte and Nashville to finish a season-best 28th, his first race of 2024 where he came home under power. Carroll qualified here last year and finished 31st, five laps down.
DRIVER CHANGE: #91-McAnally Hilgemann Racing
In place of 15th-place Pocono finisher Jack Wood comes Connor Hall, who currently holds a slim 12-point lead in the zMAX CARS Tour Late Model Series. The defending national champion scored 11 straight feature wins in 2023, and now will make his NASCAR national series debut. Taking the wheel of the McAnally #91, Hall carries sponsorship from A-All Mini Storage and TowneBank.
MISSING: #04-Roper Racing
Marco Andretti and the Cory Roper team are not among this week’s entrants following a 25th-place showing in IRP.
CUP INVADERS: None
Sunday, August 11, 2024 (6:00 P.M. ET, USA)
CUP Race 23 of 36
Cook Out 400 at Richmond
2023 Last-Place Finisher: B.J. McLeod
ENTRY LIST
There are 37 drivers entered for 40 spots, meaning all will qualify. This will be the 20th short field in 23 races in 2024 and the third in a row.
TEAM UPDATE: #9-Hendrick Motorsports
This was to be the final race of the season that Hooters would sponsor Chase Elliott, and the first since Elliott’s lone win this season in Texas. However, since sponsor and team have since parted ways over reported payment issues, the #9 will carry sponsorship from Coca-Cola.
DRIVER CHANGE: #15-Rick Ware Racing
Fresh off the three-week vacation following his thrilling win in the XFINITY race at Indianapolis, Riley Herbst will take the place of Cody Ware, the 18th-place finisher of the Brickyard 400. Herbst will make his eighth series start and fourth of the season, his first since a 37th-place showing in Nashville.
DRIVER CHANGE: #16-Kaulig Racing
MISSING: #33-Richard Childress Racing
Ty Dillon continued his series of strong Brickyard 400 finishes with a solid 19th last month. He will again race this week – not in the #33 from RCR, which isn’t entered, but in the Kaulig #16, taking the place of 37th-place Brickyard finisher A.J. Allmendinger. Dillon last drove this car in Loudon, earning a 20th-place finish. Chevy Accessories is the listed sponsor.
TEAM UPDATE: #20-Joe Gibbs Racing
Adam Stevens, crew chief for Chirstopher Bell, had surgery on both knees following an injury suffered on vacation. In Stevens’ place comes car chief Chris Sherwood, who will sit atop the pit box these next few weeks.
DRIVER CHANGE: #66-Motorsports Business Management
Parker Retzlaff, already set to make his Cup debut at Daytona this month for Beard Motorsports, was required to make one non-superspeedway start in Cup beforehand. Thus, he will make his Cup debut on Sunday taking B.J. McLeod’s place in the #66 and welcomes sponsorship from XInsurance. McLeod finished last after early engine woes in Indianapolis.
MISSING: #84-Legacy Motor Club
Jimmie Johnson’s partial schedule does not include this week’s event after a 33rd-place finish in the Brickyard 400.
Saturday, August 17, 2024
XFINITY Race 21 of 33
Cabo Wabo 250 at Michigan
2023 Last-Place Finisher: Sammy Smith
The XFINITY Series will be off one more week before returning in Michigan.
TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (August 9, 1997): John Blewett III picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career in the Stevens Beil / Genuine Parts 200 at the Flemington (New Jersey) Speedway when his #05 Maguire Auto Parts Chevrolet fell out with brake issues after 37 of 200 laps. This was the second of Blewett’s four series starts. His career-best 22nd came in his debut at the same Flemington track in 1996, when he drove for future Carl Long team owner Thee Dixon.
