Defending Daytona 500 champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has joined fellow NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson as a surprise entrant for the 2024 Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Stenhouse announced Wednesday that he will race inside the SageNet Center for the first time since 2022. The driver of the No. 47 JTG-Daugherty Racing Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series will compete in Friday’s preliminary night on the quarter-mile dirt oval known as Tulsa Expo Raceway as he looks to qualify for the championship feature on Saturday.
It all happened thanks to a text message exchange between Larson and Stenhouse. Larson told him to reach out to team owner Keith Kunz, whom Larson will drive for Thursday. After that, everything fell into place for Stenhouse to drive the Keith Kunz Motorsports-Curb-Agajanian/NOS Energy No. 71R.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. competes in the feature race during the 2022 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire at Tulsa Expo Raceway in Tulsa, Oklahoma on January 14, 2022. (Photo: Nick Oxford/NASCAR)
“I was texting with [Kyle] Larson, telling him, the same time you were trying to get your deal together, I was trying to get a deal together, and he said to call Keith [Kunz], which I’ve run for him one other time at the Chili Bowl, and I didn’t really perform the way I wanted to, so I wasn’t sure if he would let me back in one of his cars, but I shot him a text, and he said, let me get on that, so here we are,” Stenhouse explained. “Obviously, Keith has the best cars out there, and they show every night, so I’m looking forward to getting back in a Midget at the Expo to see what we can do.”
Stenhouse has competed at the Chili Bowl Nationals 16 times in the last 20 years, making the championship feature eight times. His best performance came in 2021, when he finished seventh in the Saturday night finale.
“Really looking forward to getting back to Chili Bowl,” Stenhouse said. “Obviously, took last year off and I missed it. I was sitting on the couch watching this week, and my wife looked at me and said, I can tell you really want to go; just go.”
All 2024 Chili Bowl racing action, including Stenhouse’s preliminary night on Friday, can be seen live on FloRacing, the streaming home of all NASCAR Roots racing.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article initially ran on Jan. 10, 2024. It has been updated in advance of Sunday’s debut of the short-track rules package at Phoenix Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
NASCAR officials announced in January updates to the NASCAR Cup Series rules package for short tracks and road courses in 2024, introducing aerodynamic changes designed to promote more competitive racing on those track types.
The changes — announced in a technical bulletin to Cup Series teams — are set to go into effect for the circuit’s first points-paying short-track race of the season Sunday at Phoenix Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The 1-mile Arizona track was the site of a two-day test session in December, when six teams tried out the rules configuration’s components and provided positive feedback about the results.
The key new component for short tracks and road courses is a simplified rear diffuser with fewer vertical strakes. The configuration will cut downforce up front by keeping the engine panel strake-free and retaining the splitter stuffers from last year’s package. To compensate for the reduced downforce, competition officials have introduced a slightly taller rear spoiler, up from two to three inches in height with the same length across the rear deck.
Dr. Eric Jacuzzi, NASCAR vice president of vehicle performance, thanked the six drivers who participated in the Dec. 5-6 test for helping competition officials formulate the new package. Jacuzzi also said the Phoenix test marked an improvement over another two-day session at Richmond Raceway last summer, when an experimental splitter produced too much of a reduction in downforce and stability.
That test, Jacuzzi said, helped competition officials learn those aerodynamic boundaries and find the right balance at Phoenix.
“One of the things going into the Phoenix test, we said, ‘let’s do a simplified diffuser,'” Jacuzzi told NASCAR.com. “‘Let’s see what it does when we put it in traffic,’ and what we actually found was it appeared to be an improvement. Then another interesting effect was that it did not lose rear downforce when it yawed, which is an issue we fight with the current car. So we felt that the car, the drivers would be able to slide around more on the short tracks and really have to be less careful about putting power down.
“We felt that would be a benefit, and that was the big takeaway from the driver feedback. At the test, they felt they could really tell that it was more forgiving. They felt they could slide the car, not crazy but certainly much more than they regularly could without having a performance penalty.”
Implementation of the new aerodynamic changes is coming after a pair of additional tests — one in the wind tunnel Feb. 13 to ensure aero parity across the three manufacturers and another Feb. 20 back at Phoenix to collect data with wheelforce-equipped vehicles. The initial availability of parts for the teams was expected in early February, and Jacuzzi said the new simplified diffuser would signal a cost-savings for the teams.
Another critical portion of December’s test at Phoenix concerned the tires. Jacuzzi said Goodyear officials have worked closely with NASCAR’s competition counterparts to achieve the right combination of wear and performance for the race-ready rubber this season.
“Goodyear, I thought, did a really good job at the tests,” Jacuzzi said. “We had asked them — and the drivers did as well — to be extremely aggressive in bringing compounds and options, and they did do that. I think the one key thing that we’ve seen at Phoenix and at other locations is increasing the tread gauge, so actually making the tread of the tire a little thicker. … But adding that thickness, it seems to be every time we’ve done it has been very favorable from the driver standpoint, and Goodyear believes that added thickness will help contribute to tire fall-off.
“So that’s really a good learning out of there. I think we really proved out that we could continue to work on making the compounds we have softer, to where they have more grip initially, but then fall off more significantly. So I think that’s a big positive from the Goodyear side that came out of the test.”
The new aerodynamic configuration was not used for the Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum on Feb. 4 in Los Angeles. Bristol Motor Speedway and Dover Motor Speedway — two fast, high-banked concrete tracks measuring 0.533-mile and 1 mile respectively — are not currently slated to use the new aero configuration, pending evaluation of how it performs at Phoenix, Richmond (0.75-mile) and Martinsville Speedway (0.526-mile) in the first quarter of the Cup Series season.
Jacuzzi said no changes to the gearbox to eliminate shifting with the short-track package are anticipated this season, though he added that “there’s work ongoing on what can be done there and what will be beneficial to the racing.”
Netflix, NASCAR Studios, and the production studio Words + Pictures announced Wednesday the release date of Netflix’s newest sports docuseries, NASCAR: Full Speed, which revolves around the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
The show — set to premiere Jan. 30 — follows the 16 playoff drivers as they all fight for the NASCAR Cup Series championship, both on and off the track. The show will be comprised of five 45-minute episodes featuring exclusive access to the drivers and teams.
Headlined by drivers such as Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Ross Chastain and Tyler Reddick, the show will bring fans behind the scenes, exploring the physical and emotional challenges of competing for a championship at the top level of stock car racing.
“NASCAR has kicked down the door to an entirely new era recently — with new tracks, cars, team owners, and stars combining to deliver some of the best competition the sport has ever seen,” NASCAR Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer Tim Clark said. “Now is the perfect time to introduce people to the characters, competition and chaos that make NASCAR so compelling while still giving our most passionate fans plenty of new insights into their favorite teams and drivers.”
Helping to steer things for the docuseries is NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr., one of the program’s executive producers, himself a former NASCAR Playoffs competitor.
“The intensity of the elimination format in the NASCAR Playoffs is unlike anything else in motorsports,” Earnhardt Jr. told PEOPLE.
Connor Schell, executive producer and CEO of Words + Pictures, added that the “playoffs provide the perfect dramatic backdrop to tell a story filled with tons of tension and unforgettable characters. … After spending the last several months embedded with these drivers on and off the track … (he) can’t wait to bring both core and casual fans deep inside this incredible world.”
Three-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Justin Bonsignore has raced at all kinds of tracks during his near two-decade career.
Daytona International Speedway could not be further from the bullrings to which Bonsignore has grown accustomed in the northeast, but he is set to turn his first laps around the iconic facility this weekend during the ARCA Menards Series’ annual pre-race practice.
Bonsignore was selected as the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour representative of ARCA’s Road to Daytona program, which provides short-track competitors a chance to gain experience at the 2.5-mile oval. Despite the unknowns, Bonsignore is excited about driving a full-bodied stock car around one of the most famous tracks in the United States.
“This is all kind of new to me,” Bonsignore said. “I’m trying to process it all, but this is a cool opportunity NASCAR and ARCA have come up with during the past few years. It’s going to be a cool experience to make some laps around Daytona.”
Justin Bonsignore’s career in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour includes 40 victories and three championships. (Photo: Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)
While he initially aspired to advance through the developmental ladder, Bonsignore quickly found a home with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at the start of the 2010s. That passion has translated into a stellar career; Bonsignore ranks fourth on the series’ all-time wins list with 40 victories alongside his three titles.
The idea of partaking in a practice run at Daytona was something Bonsignore never considered until he received an invite for the ARCA pre-race practice.
Bonsignore considered the invitation a pleasant surprise, but he admitted he does not have much data to rely upon since only a handful of competitors within the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour have Daytona experience.
One driver Bonsignore did speak with ahead of the ARCA pre-race practice was 2022 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Jon McKennedy, who participated in last year’s Road to Daytona program. The main piece of advice McKennedy provided Bonsignore was to stay true to key Modified principles such as being smooth and holding the wheel steady.
Bonsignore also plans to reach out to 2013 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion and current NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Preece for any recommendations on how to get the most out of his maiden trip to Daytona, which he hopes includes plenty of time drafting with other drivers.
Drafting is not a foreign concept to Bonsignore, but he is anticipating a much different environment compared to a Modified with at least a half-dozen cars running full throttle around Daytona.
“I want to have a good experience and hopefully make as many laps as I can,” Bonsignore said. “Hopefully I’ll get approved to run some laps in the draft and experience what that’s like. We do experience something similar to that at Loudon with the Modifieds, so we’re looking to see what it’s all about and have a better understanding of what the drivers are going through.”
Justin Bonsignore joins a long list of successful drivers who have participated in the Road to Daytona program, which uses cars from Andy Hillenburg’s Fast Track Racing team. (Photo: James Gilbert/NASCAR)
Fortunately for Bonsignore, the Road to Daytona program provides a sturdy foundation for its drivers through the cars supplied by Fast Track Racing owner Andy Hillenburg. Daytona was kind to Hillenburg during his time in ARCA, as he scored two of his three career victories at the track in 1995 and 1997.
Hillenburg’s leadership and equipment have been pivotal in helping several drivers understand the fundamentals of finding success at drafting tracks. Among the notable names who have gone through the Road to Daytona program include current NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Ty Majeski and defending ARCA Daytona winner Greg Van Alst.
Having seen what Hillenburg has done with other drivers who have extensive short-track backgrounds, Bonsignore is optimistic he and his six other Road to Daytona teammates are in for a solid two days of learning about how an ARCA car functions in both single-car and group runs.
Although there are currently no plans for Bonsignore to make a return trip to Daytona in February for the ARCA season-opener, he did not rule out the possibility of making his series debut that weekend if all the necessary circumstances come together.
“[Racing at Daytona] is something I’d have to work on funding for,” Bonsignore said. “We’ll see how this test goes, but if somebody comes back to us for an available car for the ARCA race and if I enjoy myself, which I’m sure I will, maybe we’ll try to put together some sponsorship. It’s a short turnaround, but we want to see how test unfolds, and then we’ll go from there.”
Even if his Daytona track time in 2024 is confined to just the ARCA pre-race practice, Bonsignore plans to cherish every moment alongside his father Tom and car owner Ken Massa, who has overseen all three of Bonsignore’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championships to date.
Not many Modified competitors have been in Bonsignore’s position, which is why he plans to proudly represent the discipline inside the ARCA garage area and build some early momentum before starting his pursuit of a fourth title.
“I have to thank NASCAR, ARCA and Ron Drager for what they have put together with this opportunity for the Modified guys.” Bonsignore said. “It’s really cool and not something that happens too often for us, so I’m real appreciative of that and Andy Hillenburg’s team for being a part of this.
“We’re looking forward to having some fun and taking it all in while we’re down there.”
The ARCA Menards Series pre-race practice officially commences for Bonsignore and more than 70 other drivers on Friday morning at 10 a.m. ET. There will be one continuous session for both Friday and Saturday, with each ending at 5 p.m. ET.
One of the best race car drivers on the planet will compete this week in the world’s biggest midget car racing event — though that wasn’t the initial plan.
Kyle Larson announced Tuesday he will race in the 2024 Chili Bowl Nationals. The two-time Chili Bowl champion (2020 and 2021) and driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series will compete on Thursday’s preliminary night at the SageNet Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma in an effort to qualify for Saturday’s championship feature.
According to FloRacing, Larson called famed midget car owner Keith Kunz early Tuesday morning. After congratulating Kunz on driver Tanner Carrick’s Monday night preliminary A-Main feature victory, Larson asked if another ride was available for the week.
A positive response and a travel arrangement scramble later, Larson is set to wheel the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports No. 98K sponsored by DH Horton, FloRacing and HendrickCars.com.
Kyle Larson pictured during the 2022 Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa on Jan. 15, 2022. (Photo: Nick Oxford/NASCAR)
If all goes well Thursday, Larson could be in for a busy Saturday. Via FloRacing:
“If he locks-in to his 11th Chili Bowl Championship A-Main – via a top-two finish on Thursday – Larson plans to do the dirt double. He’ll race first that afternoon at Vado Speedway Park for the Wild West Shootout in Kevin Rumley’s Dirt Late Model, and then fly straight to Tulsa to drive the KKM No. 98K in the 55-lap main event with his third Golden Driller on the line.”
Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, won his first Chili Bowl title in 2020 after 13 attempts. He went back-to-back with another victory in 2021, and in 2022, he finished sixth in the championship feature. He did not enter last year’s Chili Bowl.
All 2024 Chili Bowl racing action, including Larson’s run Thursday night, can be seen live on FloRacing, the streaming home of all NASCAR Roots racing.
A busy and productive year is ahead for 17-year-old T.J. DeCaire.
Not only is the Land O’Lakes, Florida, native a member of NASCAR’s 2024 Drive for Diversity class, but he also has a full zMAX CARS Pro Late Model Tour season lined up with Highlands Motorsports, which has won the last two Pro Late Model championships with drivers Luke Fenhaus and Caden Kvapil.
DeCaire spent the 2023 season trying to learn as much as possible about being efficient in full-bodied stock cars. Now that he is partnered with a strong Pro Late Model operation, DeCaire is ready to keep building upon the momentum from last year.
“I’m really excited and grateful for the opportunity,” said DeCaire, who will also compete in select Late Model events for Rev Racing this season as part of the Drive for Diversity program. “Lorin Ranier is the one who really put this whole thing together and I’m really grateful for him and everyone that’s been a part of this deal so far.”
Racing has been a part of DeCaire’s life even before he was born. His great grandfather, grandfather and brother all turned at least one competitive lap on a track, which laid the groundwork for DeCaire to follow in their footsteps.
After getting his start in go karts, DeCaire took on a much heavier schedule in 2022 by competing in Legends cars at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway. He also broke into Pro Late Model competition that year, earning his first victory at Hickory Motor Speedway.
T.J. DeCaire will drive the same car Caden Kvapil piloted to a zMAX CARS Pro Late Model Tour title in 2023. (Photo: Susan Wong/NASCAR)
DeCaire continued to shine in Pro Late Models during the 2023 season by tacking on another win at Dillon Motor Speedway while also making his CARS Pro Late Model Tour debut. In four appearances, DeCaire finished inside the top-five three times, with his best run being a third at Dillon.
The initial transition from Legends into full-bodied stock cars was slightly peculiar for DeCaire as he adjusted to the heavier equipment. Despite this, DeCaire admitted the past two seasons have taught him many valuable lessons, particularly when it comes to conserving equipment for the end of a race.
Pairing up with Highlands Motorsports is something DeCaire believes will only lead to more on-track success. DeCaire knows there was a high standard set by Kvapil during his championship run, but he is determined to keep Highlands Motorsports at the top of the CARS Pro Late Model Tour standings for another year.
“There’s just a great group of guys [at Highlands Motorsports],” DeCaire said. “I’ve obviously got big shoes to fill with Caden doing such a great job last year. Hopefully we can go for the championship and emerge victorious just like he did.”
The first race for DeCaire in the Highlands Motorsports No. 96 will be the CARS Pro Late Model Tour season-opener at Southern National Motorsports Park on March 2.
23XI Racing announced Tuesday that the United States Air Force will be a primary sponsor for the No. 23 Toyota team and driver Bubba Wallace for multiple races in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series.
The partnership marks a reunion for the military branch and Wallace, who carried USAF sponsorship for eight Cup Series races from 2018-20 while racing for team owner Richard Petty. The sponsorship also produced a tandem skydive for Wallace on the eve of the Daytona 500 four years ago, when the driver leapt from a C-17 Globemaster with the USAF Wings of Blue parachute team into the speedway grounds.
“It’s really special to once again be partnered with the men and women who make up the United States Air Force,” Wallace said in a release provided by the team. “My previous experience with the folks from the Air Force was awesome, and I had the chance to meet a lot of great Airmen who do some amazing things each and every day. I’m looking forward to welcoming them to 23XI and showing them what we’re all about as we work together to try and accomplish the impossible.”
The U.S. Air Force has been a regular sponsor in at least one Cup Series race each season since 2000 and was teamed with Legacy Motor Club’s No. 43 team and driver Erik Jones for five events last year. 23XI Racing did not indicate which Cup Series events would include USAF sponsorship but that “several races” were scheduled for branding this season.
The organization indicated that the sponsorship deal would include paint scheme and fire suit designs to be revealed at a later date. 23XI Racing also said it planned to hold at-track events for Airmen across the country this season.
“The Air Force and 23XI recognize that teamwork is the most critical component in achieving success,” said Steve Lauletta, 23XI team president. “We look forward to moving forward together to achieve our collective goals both on the track and in the broader community.”
Chase Briscoe on Monday night didn’t lock himself into Saturday’s Chili Bowl Nationals championship feature, but he put himself in a great position to make the big race at the end of the week.
Briscoe, the driver of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Cup Series, came from 12th to finish fourth in Monday’s preliminary night main event that kicked off the 38th Chili Bowl Nationals midget car racing extravaganza at Tulsa Expo Raceway in Oklahoma.
It was far from an easy night for Briscoe, who started sixth and finished fourth in his heat race before starting seventh and finishing fourth in his qualifier. Utilizing the Chili Bowl’s unique passing points system, Briscoe earned enough to lock himself into Monday’s preliminary night feature in the 12th starting position.
Driving his own No. 5 midget car, Briscoe wasted little time gaining positions at the start of the 30-lap feature, slicing his way up to fifth by the time a caution flag waved with 19 laps left. He gained another position under caution due to a penalty issued to Shane Golobic.
When racing resumed, Briscoe moved up another position to third, leaving him one spot shy of a transfer directly into Saturday’s championship feature.
That was as close as Briscoe got to the front Monday. He spent the rest of the race battling with Golobic and Michael Pickens for second through fourth. He ultimately settled for fourth when the checkered flag waved for race winner Tanner Carrick.
“Kind of sickening there,” Briscoe told FloRacing with a smile. “I felt like if that caution would have come out with four to go, I felt like I was for sure going to get by Shane for second and maybe could have caught Tanner off guard running the bottom.
“I needed to run four perfect laps on the bottom, and I messed every single one of them up I could. Didn’t do a very good job there at the end.”
With his fourth-place finish, Briscoe locked himself into one of two B Mains on Saturday. Should he finish seventh or better in that race, Briscoe will advance to the 55-lap championship feature that headlines the Chili Bowl Nationals.
“Really proud of our Mahindra Tractors guys,” Briscoe added. “We don’t race very often; we literally run like four races a year. So to come here and outrun a lot of those guys and be as competitive as we were is a true testament.”
Briscoe’s night also included the annual Race of Champions, a 25-lap invite-only event that features champion drivers from across the dirt racing world.
After Briscoe qualified fourth, fast qualifier and defending Chili Bowl champion Logan Seavey drew a four for the invert, making Briscoe the polesitter for the event. He led the first dozen laps before Seavey passed him and drove away to the victory. Briscoe faded to fifth at the finish.
“We needed a little bit more,” Briscoe said. “But I definitely feel like we’re really close. This is the best I’ve ever been in this building. So hopefully we can get that extra little bit and be in the mix on Saturday night.”
Crew chief Matt Swiderski will move atop the pit box of the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing team with driver Daniel Suárez for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, the team announced Monday.
Swiderski departs from Kaulig Racing, where he served as crew chief for the No. 16 Chevrolet full-time for each of the past two seasons. Replacing him at Kaulig Racing will be Travis Mack, who was the crew chief of Suárez’s No. 99 Chevrolet since 2021. Mack will serve a dual role at Kaulig, becoming the program’s technical director of Cup Series teams.
Swiderski brings a wealth of knowledge to the Trackhouse program having worked with numerous personalities across the Xfinity Series and Cup Series since 2017, working with drivers like AJ Allmendinger, Noah Gragson, Daniel Hemric as well as Cup champions Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney. Per the team’s press release, Swiderski previously served as crew chief for the No. 12 Team Penske NASCAR Xfinity Series Team and crew chief for the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Xfinity Series team where he also held vehicle performance and engineering management roles since 2005. He also served as an engineer in the Dynamics Group at SpaceX.
“Matt is a proven winner with a dynamic engineering background, and we are confident he will pair well with Daniel,” Justin Marks, Trackhouse founder and owner, said in a press release.
With Swiderski atop the box, Allmendinger scored two Cup victories — one in 2021 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and another at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course in 2023. Swiderski’s No. 16 team ended 2023 with one win, four top fives and seven top-10 finishes with 64 laps led and an average finish of 19.6.
Mack, an alumnus of JR Motorsports and Hendrick Motorsports, was Trackhouse Racing’s inaugural crew chief, heading the No. 99 team since the program’s inception ahead of the 2021 season. He and Suárez collected their first career NASCAR Cup Series victory in the 2022 event at Sonoma Raceway, where Suárez became the first Mexican-born driver to win a Cup race and only the fifth international driver to claim victory at the sport’s highest level.
Before joining Trackhouse, Mack crew chiefed the No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet for 15 races with driver Kasey Kahne in 2018. The second half of that season was spent atop the No. 1 team’s pit box at JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series, where he found a home with driver Michael Annett through the 2020 season, leading Annett to his lone victory in the season-opening race at Daytona in 2019.
Though Mack and Suárez advanced to the playoffs and finished the 2022 standings 10th in points with a win, six top fives and 13 top 10s, the No. 99 team didn’t see the same success in 2023. Suárez netted three top fives and 10 top 10s in 2023 with an average finish that dipped from 16.5 in 2022 to 19.0 in 2023.
Mack will now oversee both Cup teams at the shop in Welcome, North Carolina. AJ Allmendinger will drive the No. 16 Chevrolet in the 2024 Daytona 500, but the program’s plans beyond the season opener have not yet been announced. Trent Owens will return to crew chief the No. 31 Chevrolet in 2024 as Daniel Hemric, the 2019 Sunoco Rookie of the Year, slots into the seat to replace Justin Haley.
Spencer Boyd announced Monday at Charlotte Motor Speedway that he and co-owner Chris Miller have formed Freedom Racing Enterprises (FRE), a new NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team slated to begin full-season action in 2024.
The organization will utilize the No. 76 on its Chevrolet Silverado, with Boyd scheduled to drive behind the wheel. The full-time Truck endeavor will be one of familiarity for the 28-year-old Missouri native, who has 108 career starts in the circuit and additionally possesses a 2019 Truck win at Talladega Superspeedway, his first national series victory.
Jeff Hammond, a FOX Sports analyst and former crew chief for Darrell Waltrip, will serve as general manager, while Greg Ely and Rick Bourgeois will serve as crew chief and car chief, respectively.
“This is a wildly proud moment for me,” Boyd said in a press release. “If you asked a wide-eyed 20-year-old me at Martinsville Speedway if I was going to start my own NASCAR team in the next decade, I might have laughed it off. I have been blessed to be able to race cars for a living and remain part of the NASCAR family for as long as I have. I wouldn’t be here without a small group of very important people to my career, so I definitely want to thank them for believing in me through thick and thin. They know who they are and hope they are sharing in this feeling of pride.”
Pride additionally serves as a foundation for the team’s name, with Boyd’s love of country, in combination with Miller’s company and Boyd’s sponsor, Freedom Warranty, making up the framework.
FRE’s full sponsorship lineup for 2024 will be announced at a later date.
