Posted on by Eric Johnson

“I wish I had all the answers,” scoffed Kurt Busch during one of the many dog days of NASCAR summer 2018 when asked what the veteran driver had going for 2019. “I love the way that Monster Energy has supported me over the years in NASCAR. They’ve told me that they’re with me and we’re going to go to a competitive top-tier team in 2019. That’s where I’m at with all this. I’m hoping it works out.”

A slow train coming, it did.

As we learned earlier this week, Kurt Busch will climb into the No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet of the Chip Ganassi Racing outfit come the drop of the green at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 17. A former Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion, Daytona 500 winner and “That’s NASCAR” Entertainment fixture, we spoke with Busch from his winter house in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he and wife Ashley were putting in some time on her polo horses and soaking up the sun.

Not sure if Richard Petty did it this way, but Kurt Busch, as we’ve all come to learn, has his own way of doing things.

MORE: Busch makes big announcement

There’s been an impressive reaction to your move to Chip Ganassi Racing for 2019. The announcement seemed to wave the green flag on the rush to Daytona in a few months’ time. Thoughts?

Yeah, I think it went great. There has been a lot of support and enthusiasm from the fans about the switch. To have Monster Energy and to get the No. 1 car was a cool branding moment, but at the end of the day it’s about performance and as Chip Ganassi said to me, “Kurt, I want you. I want you, as a champion, to come over to this team.” And the Stewart-Haas Racing offer that I got for ’19 wasn’t all that exciting and we bounced. We made the move. I’m really looking forward to working with, what I believe is a future champion, in Kyle Larson and using my experience to get these cars dialed-in.

Do you and Kyle know one another at all?

A little bit. On-track experience has been solid with the respect that he has shown me and the times that I’ve helped him on-track has been, I think, solid. Now it is time to get together outside the track simply to just share a beer and get together and hang out and tell some war stories.

Kurt Busch Daytona 500 win
Jonathan Ferrey | Getty Images

You’re a NASCAR champion and Kyle is a potential champion. With all the collective racing wisdom and experience you’ve gleaned from a 20-year career, I would think that could be quite helpful to Kyle as well as the entire Ganassi race effort.

I agree 100 percent, and for me, I felt like it was one of the reasons to make a change and move away from SHR. After 20 years in the sport, I’m not necessarily passing the torch, but at least they can utilize the experience that I have to maybe teach somebody that is willing to learn about it. At SHR they’ve got a great fold of drivers that have experience, but this is a unique opportunity. There are also some IndyCar aspirations and also some sports car aspirations that I have. The way that Ganassi jut welcomed me in with open arms, it made a lot of sense.

RELATED: Rolex 24, Indy 500 starts coming for Kurt Busch?

As the summer burned off and you were somewhat undecided as to where you might race in ’19, did you come to a fork in the road? It could have been SHR, it could have been Ganassi, it could have been Formula E …

Yeah, I’ve been at the pros and cons intersection before. I’d stay with the team or I’d leave the team and this time around it was 99 percent pro-Ganassi when it came down to it, and so that’s how I looked forward. The decision was made pretty early this year and once we got all the little stuff settled… Man, I was running for a championship at SHR and Chip Ganassi said, “You know, while you’re still championship-eligible, we’ll just hold off on the announcement.” So that’s why it took a little bit, I looked at it like, “Man, we need to go big. We need to go with some fun and flashy announcement when we do switch.” Literally, my first day available to work for Chip Ganassi contractually was on December 1st and that’s why we launched now.

Did you know Chip previously? Obviously you know the man through walking through garageland, but has there been any sort of relationship?

Just in crossing paths. Whether it was sports car stuff when I raced in the Rolex or the time that I spent at Indianapolis running IndyCar, Chip and I always had that genuine smile and handshake when we saw each other. Then, there is Felix Sabates, who is a part owner of the team. I’ve known him over the last 15 years and we go to dinner and tell war stories together. It’s neat to jump in there.

As far as the shop and the team and all that, have you got your head wrapped around that or is a bit too early?

I was at the shop yesterday and we did a big announcement for the crew guys before it all went public. I think everybody was blown away by Monster’s energy level with girls brought in and product tastings of different flavors; we had a DJ with lights to kick it off. At the end of it all took the mic and said, “Guys, we’re here to win and it’s about teamwork and it’s about the dedication and commitment to making everything better.” Man, everybody absorbed it and everybody was chomping at the bit to get back to work and to polish up on all areas to take Chip Ganassi Racing to the next level.

You’re back to Chevrolet in 2019. What did you make of the Cup teams running Chevy in ’18?

I feel like right out of the box that Chevrolet struggled and then they made gains throughout the year and Kyle Larson was the fastest car at Darlington for the Southern 500. They didn’t quite execute on pit road to win that race. Yes, there were a few moments of speed, but what we need to have is tons more moments of speed to be in position to pick up the wins. I think that’s what everybody at Ganassi wants to do and what everybody at Chevrolet wants to do.

After 20 years of all of this, you have to start all over again. You good with that?

As fast as the contract came together with Chip Ganassi, that’s all the motivation I needed. He wanted me. There was a forward-thinking process through this. I mean I literally got some seats in cars yesterday and in my mindset, I felt like it was Feb. 1. I feel like Daytona is going to be next week and let’s go after this. There is no lack of motivation from me.

Posted on by Zack Albert

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Having had a few weeks to reflect on the 2018 NASCAR season, Alex Bowman said Thursday that he still has goals left unfinished after his first full season with Hendrick Motorsports. Though he checked another pole position and a first-time playoff berth off his list, he still wanted more — namely a tick mark in the win column.

Though the fortunes of the No. 88 outfit rose and dipped at points during the season, Bowman’s positive approach helped mitigate the sometimes team-wide struggles. It’s a characteristic that stood out for a vested outside observer — his predecessor, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

RELATED: Bowman, Dale Jr. reveal new-look No. 88 | Photos from the unveiling

“I think from outside the car, he handled it really well,” Earnhardt said. “You know, a young driver their first year, not performing the way you want to perform, he never put it on anybody, he never pointed fingers, never said anything that had a little attitude to it or anything like that. He just was like, ‘We’re going to keep working. We’re having some struggles, we’re going to get it right.’ I thought he kept his attitude great when he was frustrated. …

“And so I felt like that Alex proved this season that if they can get the cars where they need to be that they got the right guy in the seat. I think that that was important for Alex because the car did struggle.”

Bowman’s first campaign with the No. 88 team overlapped with the first season of the Chevy Camaro ZL1 in the Monster Energy Series. Teammate Chase Elliott broke through for his first three wins in the second half of the season, but the organization fought to replicate its trademark performance with the new Chevrolet model and a retooled driver roster.

RELATED: Bowman’s 2018 season in review | Bowman through the years

Still, Bowman was one of three Hendrick drivers claiming postseason berths, joining Elliott and seven-time champ Jimmie Johnson in the 16-car field. Bowman survived a harrowing first three races of the playoffs to advance to the Round of 12, an achievement he said may have changed people’s perceptions.

“I’m still on the same page of we didn’t win and that’s pretty frustrating to me, but we made it further than a lot of people thought we would in the playoffs, which was really cool,” Bowman said. “I really just wanted more, but it was a rough year for all of us at HMS. So to kind of start where we did and make the progress that we did was pretty cool.”

Bowman ended his year with the first three top-five finishes of his premier-series career, including a fourth-place effort at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course that helped him avoid the first postseason elimination. The 25-year-old driver said he hopes to improve on his stats in year two with Hendrick Motorsports, but acknowledged that some performance gains will be dependent on how quickly his organization adapts to a new rules package for 2019.

Earnhardt said Bowman’s progression has the potential to mirror his own. Earnhardt said he set modest goals in his first year with crew chief Steve Letarte (now his broadcasting colleague at NBC Sports) in 2011 of running among the top 15. When he was able to accomplish that on a regular basis, the team reset the bar at top-10 performance, methodically inching closer to being a threat to win.

“They can’t expect to just jump out there next year and they’re just going to miraculously start contending for wins,” said Earnhardt, who estimated that his own team’s transition to becoming a top-tier contender was a three-year process. “You’ve just got to move those standards up and push that team to believe in those standards and work toward that goal.

“Last year, I think his goal would be to run in the top 10 any time they could. I believe they could raise that up a little bit to a top five this year and just aim for that every single week until that is happening every week, and then you can change that goal.”

Posted on by RJ Kraft

Coming off a breakout season, Ruben Garcia Jr. is leaving no doubt about where his goals lie in 2019 when it comes to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.

“We really have to aim for the championship,” Garcia told NASCAR.com. “Every season I start I really focus on improving from last year and I think that’s what we’ve done the last five years. My first year in K&N I finished 10th, then fifth, then third. So now we are looking for the championship.”

The breakout season of 2018 continued to earn Garcia attention on Thursday as he was named to the 2019 NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development Class for the fourth straight year. The program counts current Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers Kyle Larson, Daniel Suárez and Bubba Wallace among its distinguished alumni.

RELATED: Meet the Drive for Diversity Class of 2019

Garcia will return to the K&N East Series for 2019 with Rev Racing. The K&N East has seen Harrison Burton, Justin Haley, William Byron and Ben Rhodes take home the championship in recent years. Tyler Ankrum captured the title in 2018.

Garcia, a 23-year-old native of Mexico City, Mexico, won his second NASCAR Peak Mexico Series championship this year and earned his first two wins in the K&N East (at Memphis and Dover) — his first victories outside his home country. The win at Dover gave him a third-place finish in the K&N Pro Series East final standings.

HOME TRACKS: Full touring series coverage

“Dover has been my favorite track since the very first time I drove it,” Garcia said. “It was pretty special to win there. It was the season finale and to have a good performance in front of all the Cup teams and the Xfinity teams, it was pretty good.”

Racing is in Garcia’s veins — his father competed in the NASCAR ranks — mainly in the touring series. And his father has been a big influence on his career. With three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts under his belt in 2014, the younger Garcia is no stranger to NASCAR’s national series and he knows 2019 is critical as he tries to move up the ladder.

“Everyone involved in the Drive for Diversity driver development program has done a great job of giving us all the exposure we need to move up and make it up through the ranks in NASCAR,” Garcia said. “We’re working hard to try to start running in the Trucks or Xfinity Series because that’s probably the next step. For sure, 2019 will be a pretty important year that we can find our way up into a national series.”

Posted on by Zack Albert

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Alex Bowman helped to take the cover off the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet he’ll drive next season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, capping off an afternoon of surprises at GoPro Motorplex. But those biggest surprises weren’t necessarily on the car itself.

Though his predecessor Dale Earnhardt Jr. was by his side for Thursday’s reveal, the paint scheme for Bowman’s 2019 ride signaled that he’s working to establish some of his own identity as the face of the No. 88. The new-look design featured some subtle changes, with many styling cues carrying over from his first full season with Hendrick Motorsports.

RELATED: More photos from the reveal

“He was still standing by it,” Bowman joked about Earnhardt’s presence. “I don’t know. I feel like everybody’s been really supportive and Nationwide’s really embraced me as well as Axalta, Llumar and Valvoline and everybody at HMS have been super-supportive. That hasn’t been too bad.

“Definitely there are a lot of Dale Jr. fans out there and it’s cool to kind of take over the 88 car, but it’s also really cool to have Dale’s support and all his help.”

Bowman said that the patriotic No. 88 design that he drove at the Coca-Cola 600 last May served as a starting point for creating the 2019 model. Both Bowman and Earnhardt expressed their adoration for the expanded sections of white on the side panels — all the better to show tire marks and race-worn grime, they agreed.

“For me, I don’t know that every driver’s the same, probably not, but man, I had to like the car I was driving, and I wanted to,” said Earnhardt, who estimated he had a hand in the design of 95 percent of the cars he drove during his career. “It made me want to drive it, made me want to race it, made me excited to do well with it.”

Alex Bowman 2019 Paint Scheme
Zack Albert | NASCAR Digital Media

Earnhardt, who transitioned to the broadcast booth for NBC Sports this year after retiring from full-time driving, lent his support Thursday as an emcee for social-media streams of the car’s unveiling. He also gave the event his blessing as a longtime Nationwide endorser, surprising local fans recruited by the insurance company to attend.

Bowman gave his own surprises on the .7-mile karting track, making liberal use of his front bumper with fans and media alike. Guests watching the unveil were asked for a show of hands: “Who got spun out by Alex?” More than one hand shot up.

“It was fun. I tried to run into a couple of them to give them that authentic NASCAR experience,” Bowman said. “It was cool.”

Alex Bowman Paint Scheme1
Zack Albert | NASCAR Digital Media

MORE: Recap Alex Bowman’s season | Watch Bowman’s year in review

Posted on by @KESELOWSKI

Gracie Trotter would like to be like Kyle Busch one day.

The up-and-coming driver, who was announced as part of the 2019 Drive for Diversity class to drive a late model for Rev Racing on Thursday, admires Busch’s boldness for speaking his mind.

“I’ve always been kind of shy,” she told NASCAR.com. “The more I’ve been brought up into the racing ranks, the more my personality comes out now and I’m not as shy anymore.”

The opportunity for her personality to shine is wide open now; at 17 years old, Trotter is one of the youngest members of the Drive for Diversity class, a NASCAR program that aids and develops young drivers of different ethnicities, backgrounds and genders. In her young career, Trotter has won two Bojangles’ Summer Shootouts at Charlotte Motor Speedway and was the highest finishing woman in the 2018 Bojangles’ Summer Shootout.

MORE: Meet the 2019 Drive for Diversity drivers

Trotter has always had a passion for racing; her grandfather and father, Tracy Trotter, raced, and she grew up going to race tracks like Hickory Motor Speedway and Concord Speedway.

“My dad used to own a race team, so that’s what I grew up doing and one day, I just begged him to start racing,” she said. “He didn’t really want to do it because he knew how hard and expensive it would be to make it in the sport of racing.

“So, one day when I was about eight years old, he bought a go-kart, he rented it and we went and tested together and that’s kind of how it all started from there. He bought me a go-kart and I started racing the next year. Raced go-karts for about five years and then 2015, I moved to the oval and started racing bandos.”

“… He went ahead and took the risk because he knew I’d have a fun time and we could do it together as father and daughter and have a fun time with that,” she said later on her dad buying her a go-kart to race. “But a few years later, it ended up being I got a chance with Toyota Racing Development and now here with Rev Racing, so it’s a big opportunity, as my dad said I’m basically living his dream. So, me and him have been having fun.”

Trotter isn’t the only Drive for Diversity class member who grew up around local short tracks; Brooke Storer has spent her last few years racing a Sportsman around Central Florida. Among other titles, the 20-year-old driver was recently crowned Sportsman Champion at Auburndale Speedway and clinched the 2016 Desoto Speedway Sportsman Championship.

Like Trotter, she is a first-time member of the Drive for Diversity class and will race in a late model for Rev Racing in 2019.

“My mom and dad got me a go-kart when I was 8 years old,” she said. “I’ve been non-stop ever since. We moved up to stock cars when I was 12 and we’ve been racing locally in the sportsman division in Central Florida. …

“I’m very ready,” she said earlier about taking the next step in her career. “We had a really good 2018 season in Central Florida in the Wheel Man Series and Auburndale Speedway. … And I think that boosted my confidence a lot coming into Rev and run the NASCAR Late Model Stock Series.”

Storer and Trotter are the only female members of the 2019 Drive for Diversity class. Both drivers referenced the hardships — as well as the positive aspects — that come with being a woman racer.

But in the end, Storer and Trotter put on helmets, drive and race for wins, as they look to move up through the racing ranks.

Just like everyone else.

“Honestly, I look at myself as just another driver,” Storer said. “But I do like helping other females kind of get them up here in the sport and push them. It can be devastating at times with the way people can be and act toward you.

“But to me, it just motivates me to be better and keep pushing forward and get other females in the sport.”

Posted on by Team Release

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) announces today its crew chief lineup for the 2019 season.

Chris Gabehart will serve as crew chief on the No. 11 MENCS Toyota. Gabehart spent the past three seasons as a crew chief in JGR’s Xfinity Series program, capturing a total of nine wins over that time. Eric Phillips will also make the move from the Xfinity Series to assume the role of car chief with the No. 11 team. He compiled eight wins over three seasons as crew chief on the No. 18 Xfinity Series team.

RELATED: On the Move for 2019 | Pearn, Truex to join JGR in ’19

In addition, JGR announces the addition of two crew chiefs to its Xfinity Series program.

Jeff Meendering returns to the organization to fill the role vacated by Gabehart as crew chief on the No. 19 Xfinity Series with driver Brandon Jones. Meendering spent the past two seasons with Stewart-Haas Racing as crew chief on the No. 00 car.

Ben Beshore will move from his current role as engineer on JGR’s No. 18 MENCS team to replace the vacancy left by Phillips as crew chief for the No. 18 Xfinity Series Toyota.

RELATED: Earnhardt gets nine-race deal with JGR | Hamlin: ‘Great ride’ with Wheeler

JGR’s ARCA Series team will also have an addition for 2019 with the hire of crew chief Mark McFarland. He joins the organization from MDM Motorsports where he served as team manager and crew chief in the K&N Series as well as ARCA.

“With such a short offseason it’s important to start work toward the 2019 season immediately and we are proud with the teams we have assembled now, both in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and in the Xfinity Series,” said Joe Gibbs, Owner of Joe Gibbs Racing. “With Chris Gabehart joining Adam Stevens, Chris Gayle and Cole Pearn on the Cup side we believe we have the right leaders in place to benefit our entire organization.

“In addition, we take a tremendous amount of pride in our accomplishments in the Xfinity Series and are excited to have Jeff Meendering and Ben Beshore join Jason Ratcliff to lead our efforts there, as well as bolster our developmental program in ARCA with the addition of Mark McFarland.”

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

Editor’s note: Today, Jan. 15, is the final day to attempt to qualify for the draft! Learn more here.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Dec. 6, 2018) – NASCAR, Race Team Alliance and 704Games announced today a collaboration that will create the first-ever NASCAR esports league on consoles, eNASCAR Heat Pro League. The newly formed esports league will feature up to 16 race teams and 32 drivers, each owned and operated by prominent NASCAR race teams.

Beginning today, fans across the nation owning NASCAR Heat 3 can begin to qualify for the first-ever eNASCAR Heat Pro League Draft, scheduled to take place early next year. Following the Draft, the esports league will feature a 16-race season beginning in spring 2019 and culminating during the 2019 NASCAR Playoffs. All eNASCAR Heat Pro League races will be live streamed online at NASCAR.com and Motorsport.com.

“We look forward to taking this first step with our teams to introduce NASCAR-style racing to the massive esports audience on consoles,” said Craig Neeb, Executive Vice President, Innovation and Development, NASCAR. “Our partners at 704Games have delivered an incredible product and we are enthusiastic about engaging gamers to create new fans and grow our sport.”

Many of NASCAR’s most successful teams are participating in the new esports venture, including: Chip Ganassi Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, JR Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing, Roush Fenway Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing and Team Penske. Each of the participating teams will field two drivers, one competing on Xbox One and the other on PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system.

“This is an exciting moment in NASCAR history,” stated Jonathan S. Marshall, Executive Director of the Race Team Alliance. “The race teams are taking this new league very seriously and will be looking for the best competitors in the nation to represent their respective teams. We expect the competition level will be high and we challenge these new esports drivers to become the best of the best.”

704Games, NASCAR’s exclusive esports partner for simulation-style video games, released NASCAR Heat 3 in September 2018. Shortly after, 704Games launched a NASCAR esports tournament on consoles that culminated at Homestead-Miami Speedway. With the eNASCAR Heat Pro League, 704Games, aided by an investment from international media and technology company Motorsport Network, whose platforms represent the largest audience of motorsport and auto enthusiasts in the world, looks to expand NASCAR’s presence in the growing popularity of esports.

“This partnership creates a once in a lifetime opportunity for NASCAR Heat 3 players to work with a NASCAR race team and represent their team on a global esports platform” said Paul Brooks, CEO of 704Games. “We’re excited to bring competitive online console racing to NASCAR and promote a greater engagement between fans and gamers with the eNASCAR Heat Pro League.”

For more information and to register for the eNASCAR Heat Pro League Draft, players can visit eNASCARHeatProLeague.com. Additional details about the eNASCAR Heat Pro League including sponsors, broadcast partners, and league rules will be announced in early 2019.

Posted on by Staff Report

Jimmie Johnson enters 2019 with a lot of “news.”

New sponsor, new paint scheme and, perhaps most importantly, a new crew chief in Kevin Meendering.

Looking to get back to Victory Lane after failing to win a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race in a full-time season for the first time in his career, Johnson will have a new voice coming over his radio after nearly two decades with Chad Knaus.

MORE: Hendrick shakes up crew chief lineup

The 37-year-old Meendering, who called the shots for the JR Motorsports No. 1 Chevrolet of Elliott Sadler the last three Xfinity Series seasons, checked in with Sirius XM NASCAR Radio on Thursday afternoon to chat about his upcoming venture with one of NASCAR’s most successful drivers.

“It’s a great opportunity for me,” said Meendering. “The good part about it is we have so many resources and a lot of great people to support you over here (at Hendrick Motorsports) and that really helps with the pressure side of it. …

“ … I couldn’t be in a better situation or work with a better driver than Jimmie. He has the most experience and has had so much success. I think the biggest thing is, he knows what he needs, the feeling he’s looking for in the race car and we just gotta work hard to get that to him. I think being a young crew chief, first year in the series, I think having a veteran with that kind of experience to bounce ideas off of is just an incredible situation for me and I’m looking forward to it.”

RELATED: Recap Johnson’s 2018 season 

Meendering will be making a return to Hendrick Motorsports after previously having a 16-year association with the outlet, starting as a high school intern with the organization’s chassis shop. He eventually grew into the role of lead engineer for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 Chevrolet in 2011.

His first task? Figure out what went wrong in a 2018 season that ranks as the seven-time champion’s worst in an illustrious career — and find a way to ring that famous “Victory Bell” at the Hendrick shop once more.

Building a solid rapport with his new driver can’t hurt, either.

“What do we need to build in our cars and how are they going to race on track is what we’ve working on and on top of that, just spending as much time as I can with Jimmie and working on that communication,” Meendering said. “Hopefully we can work through all those bugs and issues and be ready for Daytona.”

After spending three years away from the HMS shop — albeit at the Hendrick-associated JRM headquarters in Moorseville, North Carolina — Meendering noticed right away how well all four Hendrick teams are collaborating to relocate the speed the longtime Chevrolet powerhouse had long held.

And when it comes to the No. 48 team, specifically, he’s getting a helping hand from a man with a pretty strong familiarity.

“I talk to (Chad Knaus) more now than the 17 years I was here prior. We always had a great relationship and I think we work well together,” he said. “All four of us (crew chiefs) are working well together this year to try and get what we need to go faster. I think that’s probably the biggest difference in the organization from when I was here before, is just how well the teams have bonded and how close they work together, which is great.

“It takes everybody to get the job done. It takes everybody’s input. You’ve got to surround yourself with smart people, intelligent people that know what it takes to get the job done. It’s not one person that’s going to win races. I think building those relationships with the people back here at the shop, the engineers and guys on the team, that’s a big part of it and that’s important for the offseason. … That’s what we’re here for, to win races.”

Posted on by Staff Report

GMS Racing announced Thursday that John Hunter Nemechek will drive the team’s No. 23 Chevrolet for the full NASCAR Xfinity Series season in 2019.

Nemechek will take over the ride that was primarily held by Spencer Gallagher last season. Gallagher announced his retirement from driving last October, saying he would take a managerial role for the organization owned by his father, Maury.

Nemechek competed in 18 Xfinity races last season for Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 42 team in his first taste of the series. The 21-year-old driver netted one pole position and six top-five finishes, including his first Xfinity Series win — Oct. 20 at Kansas Speedway.

RELATED: Drivers on the move for 2019 

“I am very grateful for the opportunity that Mr. Gallagher and the entire GMS Racing organization has presented to me to be able to run full time in 2019,” Nemechek said in a team release. “The results that GMS Racing showed last year in their NASCAR Xfinity Series program were impressive. Their goal is to create a championship-caliber team, like their Truck Series program, and I believe that we can achieve that goal in the 2019 season.”

Nemechek earned his way up the stock-car ladder through the Late Model ranks, scoring prestigious wins in the Snowball Derby and the All American 400 as part of a productive 2014 campaign. Those successes came as Nemechek made the transition to a part-time tenure in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving for family-owned NEMCO Motorsports with his father, Joe, at the helm.

After breaking through with a 2015 victory at Chicagoland Speedway, Nemechek has won at least one Truck Series event in each of the last four seasons. His most recent triumph — at Martinsville Speedway in March — pushed his career total to six Truck Series wins.

The GMS No. 23 team competed in all 33 Xfinity Series races last season, with a total of eight drivers splitting the seat time. Gallagher made the most starts (19), scoring his only Xfinity win at Talladega Superspeedway in April.

“John Hunter (Nemechek) is a wheelman,” said Mike Beam, president of GMS Racing. “We are excited to have him on board for the 2019 season. With how much progress we showed last year in our NASCAR Xfinity Series program, I know that John Hunter will take us to the next level.”

Monster Energy Series regular Chase Elliott drove the No. 23 for seven races, and the car was also home to a one-race comeback from his father, NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, last summer. Johnny Sauter made two starts in the GMS No. 23, while AJ Allmendinger, Alex Bowman, Justin Haley and Casey Roderick also took the wheel for one start each.

IN HIS OWN WORDS: Nemechek on his move to Xfinity in 2018

Posted on by Team Release

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — NASCAR Next member Anthony Alfredo will join DGR-Crosley next season, the team announced Thursday. Alfredo will compete part-time in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series with support from his partners Ceco Building Systems, Meccanic Shop North and Oxford Energy Group.

The 19-year-old Ridgefield, Connecticut native most recently competed in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (NKNPSE) where he finished fifth in overall point standings in his rookie season. Alfredo ended the 2018 NKNPSE season with a win at South Boston Speedway, five top-five and nine top-10 finishes throughout the 14-race season. Before moving to the NKNPSE, Alfredo raced late model stock cars in the CARS Tour where he collected two wins and finished second in overall point standings. He is also a member of the prestigious NASCAR Next program which highlights emerging up-and-coming drivers.

NASCAR Next: See full class

“Going to DGR-Crosley next season is a huge opportunity for me,” said Alfredo. “To be able to work with David (Gilliland), who’s not only the owner but also someone who has a lot of racing experience, is going to be very beneficial. They have a great group of hardworking, knowledgeable people in their shop which is going to make the transition to trucks a lot smoother for me. They’ve had a lot of success at every level they’ve competed in, and it’s a dream come true to be able to race for them at the national level. Making it to the Cup Series is the end goal, and I feel like I’m one step closer to where I want to be. I can’t thank everyone who has made this possible and supported me throughout my career enough, especially my family and sponsors who continually believe in me.”

Team co-owner David Gilliland is excited about the newest addition to DGR-Crosley’s 2019 driver lineup.

RELATED: Alfredo quickly finding his way in racing

“I’m excited to have Anthony on board next season,” said Gilliland. “I watched him all year in the K&N Series and he did a great job. He’s a talented racer and has shown that he has the drive to keep getting better. He’s a great fit for our program at DGR-Crosley and going to do a very good job for us next season in the Truck Series.”

Alfredo is expected to make his NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series debut at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway. A full schedule will be released at a later date.

MORE: Decker joins DGR-Crosley, to race across three series