PREVIEW: For some this weekend, it’s their first Texas start in years
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
IMAGE: Motorsports Business Management, @MBMMotorsports
Friday, April 12, 2024 (8:30 P.M. ET, FS1)
TRUCKS Race 7 of 23
SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas
2023 Last-Place Finisher: Chad Chastain
ENTRY LIST
There are 34 drivers entered for 36 spots, meaning all will qualify for what is already the fifth short field in seven races this season.
DRIVER CHANGE: #1-TRICON Garage
Kris Wright is the latest driver to take a run with the “all-star” #1 entry at TRICON Garage, making his 46th Truck Series start and first since his 2023 campaign with Young’s Motorsports was cut short in Charlotte last May. Wright takes the place of William Sawalich, who finished 26th last week in Martinsville.
DRIVER CHANGE: #7-Spire Motorsports
Kyle Busch returns for his fourth Truck Series start and first since his closer runner-up finish to Christian Eckes at Bristol. Busch already has five Texas wins in this series. He takes the place of Sammy Smith, who finished 8th in Martinsville.
DRIVER CHANGE: #20-Young’s Motorsports
Taking the place of Blake Lothian, who finished last at Martinsville after a radiator hose came loose in the early laps, is a returning Memphis Villarreal, who last ran in this series last fall at Homestead, where he finished 29th for Reaume Brothers Racing. Villarreal makes his first start at his home track with Laredo Trailer Supply as sponsor.
DRIVER CHANGE: #22-Reaume Brothers Racing
Speaking of the Reaume team, Keith McGee makes his fifth start of the season and first since his 32nd-place finish in Bristol. He takes the place of Stephen Mallozzi, who finished 28th in his season debut last week in Martinsville.
DRIVER CHANGE: #45-Niece Motorsports
Another five-time Texas winner in the Truck Series joins the field as Johnny Sauter makes his 322nd series start, his second of the year and first since his 29th-place run in Daytona, where he started on the outside-pole for this same Niece team. Sauter takes the place of Kaden Honeycutt, whose eventful night in Martinsville ended with a 9th-place finish.
DRIVER CHANGE: #66-ThorSport Racing
Conner Jones will make his fourth start of the year and first since his 19th-place showing in Bristol, this time with TSport as sponsor. Jones takes the place of Cameron Waters, who finished 30th after a late stack-up ruptured the radiator. Waters is expected to return later this year in Kansas.
RETURNING: #75-Henderson Motorsports
Stefan Parsons carries sponsorship from Trophy Tractor in his own fourth start of 2024, his first since his 19th-place run in COTA. This will be Parsons’ first series start at Texas, a track where his best of five XFINITY starts was a 13th in the fall of 2022.
MISSING: #90-Terry Carroll Motorsports
Justin S. Carroll is not entered after crash damage left him 32nd in Martinsville.
DRIVER CHANGE: #91-McAnally Hilgemann Racing
Zane Smith runs double-duty with his rookie effort in the Cup Series, running race sponsor Speedy Cash for the third time and the first with the McAnally team. He most recently ran 14th here last year. Smith takes the place of Jack Wood, who finished 18th.
CUP INVADERS: #7-Kyle Busch, #91-Zane Smith
Saturday, April 13, 2024 (1:30 P.M. ET, FS1)
XFINITY Race 8 of 33
Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 at Texas
2023 Last-Place Finisher (September): Sam Mayer
ENTRY LIST
There are 38 drivers entered for as many spots, so all teams will qualify.
RETURNING: #10-Kaulig Racing
Daniel Dye will pull double-duty with the Truck Series in his first XFINITY start since the Daytona opener, where he ran 27th for this same Kaulig Racin team. Dye’s fourth series start comes at the scene of his debut last fall, when he ran a series-best 17th-place finish.
DRIVER CHANGE: #14-SS-Green Light Racing
After returning to the Cup Series last week in Martinsville, where power steering left him in last place, David Starr is back in the XFINITY Series driving SS-Green Light’s #14 with sponsor SHAR. Starr makes his 28th series start at his home track in place of Logan Bearden, who finished 30th in Martinsville. Starr most recently ran 22nd here last fall in SS-Green Light’s #07, then failed to qualify for MBM at Daytona this past February.
DRIVER CHANGE: #20-Joe Gibbs Racing
Ryan Truex is back driving for Joe Gibbs Racing for the first time since his 9th-place run in Atlanta, and this time takes the place of Martinsville race winner Aric Almirola in the #20. The Toyota Gazoo Racing is the listed sponsor for what will be Truex’ sixth series start at Texas and first since 2022, when he ran 6th for JGR.
DRIVER SWAP: #35-Joey Gase Motorsports
MISSING: #53-Joey Gase Motorsports
Moving forward from his eventful Richmond race, Joey Gase is back in the #35 in place of Akinori Ogata, whose brake issues took him out of the race before the night’s biggest pileup whittled down the field. Gase finished 28th in the #53 that night, but he hasn’t entered the car this week. Donate Life Texas is the listed sponsor of Gase’s Chevrolet.
RETURNING: #66-Motorsports Business Management
While Carl Long’s Cup team will not run on Sunday, their XFINITY team was already slated to return with Chad Finchum and sponsor HART GVAC & Electric. Finchum has six previous XFINITY starts at Texas, most recently a 34th-place finish in the fall of 2020 with this same team. He last ran in this series last fall at Martinsville, where he ran 27th for SS-Green Light Racing in the #08 after a late-race crash.
MISSING: #74-Mike Harmon Racing
Ryan Vargas is not entered as he kicks off his Whelen Euro Series (Pro) season for 2024 following his DNQ in Martinsville.
MISSING: #88-JR Motorsports
Also not entered is the #88, which enjoyed back-to-back top-ten finishes with the series debuts of late model stars 6th-place Richmond finisher Bubba Pollard and 4th-place Martinsville finisher Carson Kvapil.
DRIVER CHANGE: #92-DGM Racing
Josh Bilicki returns for the first time since his series-best 19th-place run in Richmond, taking the place of 20th-place Martinsville finisher Dexter Bean. Milestone is the listed sponsor for Bilicki, who has just three XFINITY starts at Texas and none since 2019, when he finished 21st for B.J. McLeod.
DRIVER CHANGE: #07-SS-Green Light Racing
Sesh Products is the listed sponsor for Patrick Emerling, set for his sixth XFINITY start of the year and first since his 36th-place finish after brake issues in Richmond. Emerling takes the place of 19th-place Martinsville finisher Myatt Snider.
CUP INVADERS: None
Sunday, April 14, 2024 (3:30 P.M. ET, FS1)
CUP Race 9 of 36
Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas
2023 Last-Place Finisher (September): Austin Dillon
ENTRY LIST
There are 38 drivers entered for 40 spots – one more than last week in Martinsville, but still the eighth-straight short field in 2024.
DRIVER CHANGE: #16-Kaulig Racing
Ty Dillon will make his 240th Cup Series start on Sunday, returning for the first time since his 29th-place finish in Richmond. He takes the place of Josh Williams, who took 27th in Martinsville, and carries sponsorship from Sea Best Seafood.
RETURNING: #33-Richard Childress Racing
XFINITY Series standout and two-time race winner Austin Hill will make his first Cup start of the year and his seventh of his early career. He pilots a third entry from Richard Childress Racing with sponsor United Rentals. While Hill’s most recent Cup start was with Beard Motorsports last fall at Charlotte, taking 27th, his Cup debut at Michigan in 2022 saw him finish 18th for RCR.
MISSING: #66-Motorsports Business Management
David Starr is not entered following his last-place run last week in Martinsville, and Carl Long said on Dirty Mo Media that Timmy Hill will drive the car in the upcoming All-Star Open at North Wilkesboro. Starr is instead entered in Saturday’s XFINITY race (see above).
RETURNING: #84-Legacy Motor Club
The next leg of Jimmie Johnson’s 2024 Cup campaign comes this Sunday, scene of seven of his series victories. AdventHealth sponsors Johnson, who returns to the series for the first time since early crash damage hampered his Daytona 500, leaving him 28th.
TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (April 12, 1958): Neil “Soapy” Castles picked up the 1st of his 16 career Cup Series last-place finishes after his #86 1956 Ford lost an oil line after 6 laps around the Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds in Spartanburg, South Carolina. For more on Castles, check out my video on his life and career.
