By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer
Sophomore NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Myatt Snider will drive the full 2021 schedule with Richard Childress Racing (RCR).
After splitting the 2020 season between RCR and RSS Racing, Snider will drive the No. 2 TaxSlayer Chevrolet Camaro SS for the championship winning organization. On top of the pit box for the Charlotte, N.C. native will be Andy Street. Snider worked with Street in all eight of his 2020 starts with RCR. The duo earned their best finish, fourth, at Pocono Raceway.
TaxSlayer first partnered with Snider in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2019. In 2020 the online professional tax and financial company moved back into the Xfinity Series for the first time since 2016, following the 25-year-old up the NASCAR ladder. TaxSlayer has four victories as a sponsor in the Xfinity Series, most recently with Chase Elliott in the 2016 season opener.
“We’re excited to continue our partnership with Myatt Snider and Richard Childress Racing to engage NASCAR fans across America,” said TaxSlayer President and CEO, Brian Rhodes. “It’s our goal to provide taxpayers with a high-quality, low-cost tax prep option so that they can file quickly and get back to the things they enjoy like watching NASCAR. We have been impressed with Myatt Snider both on and off the track and look forward to continuing our success in 2021.”
In 2020, RCR’s No. 21 was split among four drivers, including Snider. It marked just the third time in the organization’s history that the team went winless in the Xfinity Series. RCR’s most recent winless season in the Xfinity Series was in 2017. Snider will become the organization’s most recent full-time driver. That role last held by 2019 Xfinity champion Tyler Reddick.
“We’re proud to be continuing our relationship with both Myatt Snider and TaxSlayer for the 2021 season,” said Richard Childress, chairman and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. “TaxSlayer is a great tax and financial company, who prides themselves on being family-focused, much like RCR. We’re looking forward to showing our fans the benefits of using TaxSlayer, as we approach both the racing season and tax season. I know that Myatt will do a great job representing both TaxSlayer and RCR on and off the racetrack.”
In Snider’s eight races with RCR in 2020, he earned two top-five and three top-10 finishes. He also earned his first career Xfinity Series pole position with the team in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway. Snider’s fourth-place finish at Pocono is his best career result in Xfinity competition to date.
“It’s an opportunity that I’ve worked towards for a long time,” explained Snider. “It’s made possible by great partners like TaxSlayer, Louisiana Hot Sauce, Superior Essex, and Richard Childress Racing. Everybody involved with this played a pivotal role. I couldn’t be more stoked that this is what I’ll be doing next year.”
2021 marks a return to the No. 2 car number for Snider. The son of NASCAR on NBC’s Marty Snider drove that car number throughout much of his early career in Bandoleros, Legends Cars, and Late Models. Snider won the 2017 Short Track Nationals at Bristol Motor Speedway driving the No. 2.
RCR has three championships with their No. 2 Chevrolet. Kevin Harvick won the first Xfinity title for the team in 2001. Clint Bowyer earned the No. 2 its second championship in 2008. Reddick won the title in the No. 2 in 2019 prior to moving up to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2020.
“(Driving the No 2) definitely means a lot,” admitted Snider. “Looking back at what Harvick, Bowyer, and Tyler did in that car, it’s really important that the legacy is there for that number.
“For me personally, it means a lot too because I’ve won some of my biggest races in that number, the Short Track Nationals, Myrtle Beach 400. I’ve also won at Caraway Speedway, Southern National Motorsports Park, many short tracks in that number. I’ve run that number for a long time. To be able to go back to that number, it means a lot to me.”
Snider will debut in the No. 2 TaxSlayer Chevrolet Camaro SS at Daytona on February 13, 2021.
Photo by NKP / NKP Photo