By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
Each week, Kickin’ The Tires will highlight the 20th-place finisher from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Standing as the middleman in weekends with 40-car fields, there is sure to be a story behind each one.
Through two short tracks in 2018, we’ve seen far more than just two weather conditions. Both Martinsville and now Bristol saw racing on Monday and they each gave teams a roll of the dice that was tough to predict.
For Landon Cassill and StarCom Racing — experienced driver with a new team and a small budget — these difficulties are generally expected to really pack a punch. However, Monday’s Food City 500 gave the No. 00 team something to really take to the bank… a career-best day.
After 500 laps spread out over 24 hours, Cassill didn’t miss a beat, dodging multiple accidents on the day in that mid-pack position and kept up with the track’s changes from start to finish. It resulted in the team’s best finish in its short history, ending the day 20th, only two laps down on a half-mile track.
Additionally, the car was ready for Cassill’s feedback through the tricky PJ1 traction compound in the banked Bristol corners.
“The StarCom Racing Team gave me the best car I’ve had with them right off the truck,” Cassill told Kickin’ The Tires. “It was a good effort for us all weekend long. The PJ1 on the bottom groove gave drivers a lot of options which definitely helped us to take advantage in the race as well.”
Thanks to StarCom, Cassill made his return to the Cup Series last month at Martinsville. A 38th-place DNF in Virginia led him to Texas Motor Speedway two weeks later where Cassill took advantage of attrition to grab 21st, tying the team’s best-ever finish previously scored by Jeffrey Earnhardt in the Daytona 500 this year.
The partnership between StarCom and the social media savvy 28-year-old took off running with the fans to start; now the results are starting to show.
“I’m looking forward to Richmond and continuing the progress,” Cassill said.
This improvement has been noticed no better than from Derrike Cope. The 1990 Daytona 500 champion got the team off the ground in 2017, running their first races at Kansas and Phoenix last fall before switching to team manager role in 2018.
Having back-to-back strong finishes, the No. 00 team is riding high on momentum in this opening quarter of the year. Cassill will make his fourth start with the team this weekend at Richmond before Joey Gase takes over the ride at Talladega.
“Being a new organization, getting two good finishes under our belt does quite a bit for the morale of the team and the owners,” Cope told Kickin’ The Tires. “More importantly, it maintains the integrity of the charter.
“Personally, it was very rewarding having all our hard work show itself. There is a lot more to come.”
List of 20th-Place Finishers So Far in 2018
Daytona: Gray Gaulding
Atlanta: Alex Bowman
Las Vegas: Trevor Bayne
ISM: Trevor Bayne (2)
Auto Club: Darrell Wallace Jr.
Martinsville: William Byron
Texas: Gray Gaulding(2)
Bristol: Landon Cassill
Mid-Pack With Zach: Landon Cassill, StarCom Racing
By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
Each week, Kickin’ The Tires will highlight the 20th-place finisher from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Standing as the middleman in weekends with 40-car fields, there is sure to be a story behind each one.
Through two short tracks in 2018, we’ve seen far more than just two weather conditions. Both Martinsville and now Bristol saw racing on Monday and they each gave teams a roll of the dice that was tough to predict.
For Landon Cassill and StarCom Racing — experienced driver with a new team and a small budget — these difficulties are generally expected to really pack a punch. However, Monday’s Food City 500 gave the No. 00 team something to really take to the bank… a career-best day.
After 500 laps spread out over 24 hours, Cassill didn’t miss a beat, dodging multiple accidents on the day in that mid-pack position and kept up with the track’s changes from start to finish. It resulted in the team’s best finish in its short history, ending the day 20th, only two laps down on a half-mile track.
Additionally, the car was ready for Cassill’s feedback through the tricky PJ1 traction compound in the banked Bristol corners.
“The StarCom Racing Team gave me the best car I’ve had with them right off the truck,” Cassill told Kickin’ The Tires. “It was a good effort for us all weekend long. The PJ1 on the bottom groove gave drivers a lot of options which definitely helped us to take advantage in the race as well.”
Thanks to StarCom, Cassill made his return to the Cup Series last month at Martinsville. A 38th-place DNF in Virginia led him to Texas Motor Speedway two weeks later where Cassill took advantage of attrition to grab 21st, tying the team’s best-ever finish previously scored by Jeffrey Earnhardt in the Daytona 500 this year.
The partnership between StarCom and the social media savvy 28-year-old took off running with the fans to start; now the results are starting to show.
“I’m looking forward to Richmond and continuing the progress,” Cassill said.
This improvement has been noticed no better than from Derrike Cope. The 1990 Daytona 500 champion got the team off the ground in 2017, running their first races at Kansas and Phoenix last fall before switching to team manager role in 2018.
Having back-to-back strong finishes, the No. 00 team is riding high on momentum in this opening quarter of the year. Cassill will make his fourth start with the team this weekend at Richmond before Joey Gase takes over the ride at Talladega.
“Being a new organization, getting two good finishes under our belt does quite a bit for the morale of the team and the owners,” Cope told Kickin’ The Tires. “More importantly, it maintains the integrity of the charter.
“Personally, it was very rewarding having all our hard work show itself. There is a lot more to come.”
List of 20th-Place Finishers So Far in 2018
Daytona: Gray Gaulding
Atlanta: Alex Bowman
Las Vegas: Trevor Bayne
ISM: Trevor Bayne (2)
Auto Club: Darrell Wallace Jr.
Martinsville: William Byron
Texas: Gray Gaulding(2)
Bristol: Landon Cassill