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Chip Ganassi Racing will not field No. 42 XFINITY Series team
Virtually one day removed from Roush Fenway Racing announcing they were ceasing their NASCAR XFINITY Series operations, Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) also announced that they would shutter their own NXS program.
Ross Chastain had previously been announced as the full-time driver for CGR in the No. 42 car for this season with primary sponsorship coming from DC Solar. The home of DC Solar CEO Jeff Carpoff was raided by the FBI only a few weeks ago.
“Due to a lack of sponsorship funding we will cease operation of the No. 42 Xfinity team in 2019,” car owner Chip Ganassi said in a team release. “This was a difficult decision for me to make and it comes with much anguish as this is a championship caliber team (having won six races and finished second in the owners championship) and more importantly because it affects a number of good people’s livelihoods. Running a car without proper funding is difficult to do.”
Chastain had become one of NASCAR fans’ favorite underdog stories as of late, making the most of the opportunity to run a handful of NXS races for CGR in 2018 after spending most of his career running mid-to-low tier equipment.
The 26-year-old driver affectionately known as “the watermelon farmer” made three starts for CGR last year, leading 270 laps across all three races, and finishing in the top two in two of those events. He earned his first career victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in September.
Chastain has not made any public comments on the announcement as of this writing.
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Bass Pro Shops will follow Martin Truex Jr. to Joe Gibbs Racing
As 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. transitions from Furniture Row Racing (closed down at the end of 2018) to Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2019 season, so too will longtime sponsor Bass Pro Shops.
Bass Pro Shops and JGR have signed a multi-year agreement for the outdoor retailer to serve as the primary sponsor for Truex and the No. 19 Toyota for 24 of the 36 races on the Cup Series schedule.
“I’m pumped to have Bass Pro with us again,” said Truex in a team release. “Johnny Morris has supported me throughout my career. I can’t thank him and the entire Bass Pro Shops organization enough for their support. I look forward to continuing our success together for many years to come.”
Bass Pro Shops has been a sponsor of Truex’s at various times throughout his NASCAR career since 2001.
Also following Truex from FRR to JGR is crew chief Cole Pearn. In addition to winning the 2017 championship, the two have combined for 17 victories and have finished in the top four in points three out of the last four seasons.
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Atlanta Motor Speedway provides up-close look at the worn-out racing surface
Even though we all know it’s inevitable, Atlanta Motor Speedway posted a not-so-subtle reminder to the racing community that a repave is a matter of “when”, not “if”.
The track was originally supposed to be repaved in 2017, but there was such an uproarious protest from the NASCAR community — most notably from many of the Cup Series’ star drivers — that they decided to delay it.
If the video is any indication, it is possible (and, one might argue, likely) that the February 24th Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 might be the final race on the track’s current surface.
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Front Row Motorsports has moved
According to NBC Sports, Front Row Motorsports has relocated from Statesville, North Carolina, to Mooresville, North Carolina.
The team owned by Bob Jenkins is expanding from a two- to three-car operation for the 2019 season, as Matt Tifft (No. 36) will join current FRM drivers David Ragan (No. 38) and Michael McDowell (No. 34).
Tifft has competed full time in the XFINITY Series for the last two seasons, earning eight top fives and 32 top 10s in that time frame. The 22-year-old driver has had quite the comeback story, after undergoing brain surgery in 2016 to remove a benign brain tumor.
2019 will be McDowell’s second season with FRM while Ragan will begin his sixth year with the team.
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Friday at the Roar Before the Rolex 24 at Daytona
A few notes from the first of three days at the “Roar Before the Rolex 24” at Daytona International Speedway:
- Heavy rains impacted the second practice session of the day. There were two WeatherTech Championship practice sessions.
- Oliver Jarvis had the fastest time in WeatherTech Championship practice with a lap of 1 minute, 35.989 seconds. He is piloting the No. 77 Mazda Team Joest Mazda RT24-P in the Daytona Prototype international class.
- Gabriel Autry earned the fastest time for the LMP2 class with a time of 1:39.575 driving the No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA.
- Davide Rigon was quickest in GT Le Mans with a lap of 1:44.718 in the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE.
- Jeroen Bleekemolen was fastest in GT Daytona with a lap of 1:46.452. He is in the No. 33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports GT3.
- Scott Pruett will serve as the Grand Marshal for the 57th Rolex 24 at Daytona on January 26th. Pruett is the winningest driver in IMSA history, with 60 career victories, including five times as the overall winner in the Rolex 24.
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Very good news to hear that Ross Chastain is still in good hands under CGR just in case Kurt Busch doesn’t perform any good this year. The No.1 Team’s sponsorship is good to go for the whole 36 races so kudos to management on keeping faith on a driver heavily reliable on talent rather than bringing $$$ dollars to the organization.
EDITOR’s NOTE: Don’t look for Ross Chastain to replace Kurt Busch in the No. 1 regardless of performance. Kurt’s allegiance with Monster Energy is very good and they are committed to him. –Jerry Jordan, Editor