PREVIEW: Underdog Truck Series teams among those making the trip to Bristol
PHOTO: Stefan Parsons, @StefanParsons_
Saturday, March 16, 2024 (8:00 P.M. ET, FS1)
TRUCKS Race 4 of 23
Weather Guard Truck Race at Bristol
2023 Last-Place Finisher: Inaugural Event
ENTRY LIST
The Truck Series has run under the lights at Bristol since the inaugural championship in 1995, but after four dirt races in the spring, they run the track twice in a season for the first time. There are 36 drivers entered for as many spots, meaning all will qualify – the first full field since Daytona.
DRIVER CHANGE: #1-TRICON Garage
Fresh off his win from the pole in last week’s ARCA Menards Series race at Phoenix, William Sawalich makes his season debut in the Truck Series, replacing Las Vegas 5th-place finisher Christopher Bell in the #1. Sawalich made his first six truck starts last year, finishing Top Ten on the short tracks at Martinsville, Richmond, and IRP. Starkey and Soundgear return as sponsors.
RETURNING: #14-Trey Hutchens Racing
Trey Hutchens returns to the Truck Series for the first time since his DNQs last summer at Nashville and Richmond. Hutchens last took the green at Texas, where his Quality Roof Seamers Chevrolet was collected in a crash.
RETURNING: #21-Floridian Motorsports
Back in action after the team’s 24th-place debut in Atlanta, Mason Maggio and the Floridian Motorsports team bring continued support from Carl Long at Motorsports Business Management, who serves as crew chief.
DRIVER CHANGE: #45-Niece Motorsports
Kaden Honeycutt rejoins Al Niece’s #45 team for the first time since his 6th-place run in Atlanta, this time replacing 19th-place Las Vegas finisher Connor Mosack. Honeycutt finished 13th and 25th in the last two night races at Bristol, driving for On Point Motorsports and Young’s Motorsports, respectively.
RETURNING: #75-Henderson Motorsports
Stefan Parsons returns as the Henderson team continues their long tradition of competing at their home track in Bristol. Parsons, who finished 6th his last time out at Daytona, debuts new sponsorship from popsells.com, an online broker for RVs and boats.
RETURNING: #90-Terry Carroll Motorsports
Still another underdog team racing in Bristol is that of Justin S. Carroll, who broke through with his first four career Truck Series starts last season, claiming a season-best 23rd in his debut in Kansas.
CUP INVADERS: #7-Kyle Busch, #91-Zane Smith
Sunday, March 17, 2024 (3:30 P.M. ET, FOX)
CUP Race 5 of 36
Food City 500 at Bristol
2020 Last-Place Finisher (May): Ryan Blaney
ENTRY LIST
With red-and-white candy-striped walls, the Food City 500 returns to the concrete for the first time in four years - and only the 36 Chartered entries are at the track, the fourth-straight short Cup field in 2024.
DRIVER CHANGE: #16-Kaulig Racing
As Bristol sheds the dirt surface this time around, the Tide and Gain cars are conspicuously absent from this week’s entry list. Sponsoring the #16 this time around are Mountain Dew and Cheetos, which adorn the Chevrolet of A.J. Allmendinger. Allmendinger returns to the Cup Series for the first time since his 6th-place run in the Daytona 500, taking the place of 35th-place Phoenix finisher Derek Kraus.
Saturday, March 23, 2024
XFINITY Race 5 of 33
Focused Health 250 at COTA
2023 Last-Place Finisher: Carson Hocevar
The XFINITY Series now takes the week off and returns to action for the road race at Circuit of the Americas.
TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (March 15, 1970): Ken Meisenhelder picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in the Savannah 200 at the Savannah (Georgia) Speedway when his #04 1968 Chevrolet had ignition trouble after 1 lap. It was only the second last-place finish for the #04 in Cup, the first since Coo Coo Marlin fell out after 1 lap of the 1967 Daytona 500. Meisenhelder, a native of Springfield, Massachusetts, made 51 Cup starts from 1968 through 1971 with a best finish of 10th three times, including the 1970 spring race at Bristol. He passed away last June.
