Stewart-Haas Racing (Finally!) announces Daniel Suarez as the new driver of the No. 41
Rumors had been surfacing that Daniel Suarez would be joining Stewart-Haas Racing in 2019 for so long that it seemed like the last people to know were the two parties involved!
Of course, that wasn’t the case at all.
On Monday, SHR finally announced that Suarez would be replacing Kurt Busch as the driver of the No. 41 Ford in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starting in 2019 with sponsorship from Arris and Haas Automation.
“This is definitely a huge opportunity,” said Suarez during a teleconference. “It’s a wonderful opportunity that I believe happens once in a lifetime. To have the opportunity to join a top caliber organization like Stewart-Haas Racing with great bosses, Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, and get an opportunity to work with great teammates Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer and Aric Almirola is gonna be a lot of fun to learn from these guys and learn together and hopefully put the new Ford Mustangs up front just like everyone did last year at Stewart-Haas Racing.
“That’s something that is very hard to do – win races with every single car of an organization,” Suarez continued. “In today’s competition it’s not easy to do and Stewart-Haas Racing was able to get it done, so I’m very proud to call myself part of this family and I’m really looking forward to working hard with my new crew chief Bill Scott and the rest of the guys to put the 41 Ford Mustang up front and hopefully to win some races.”
The announcement was made on Suarez’s 27th birthday and with 41 days remaining until the season-opening Daytona 500.
Suarez is entering his third year in the Cup Series, having driven for Joe Gibbs Racing during his first two seasons. The only non-American in the series, Suarez earned only four top fives and 21 top 10s in those two years. He was hastily moved up to the Cup Series in 2017 after Carl Edwards announced his retirement only a handful of weeks before the start of the season.
The Mexican-born driver was released at the end of 2018 in place of 2017 champion Martin Truex Jr., who himself was out of a ride due to his race team — Furniture Row Racing — closing down.
Suarez won the 2016 NASCAR XFINITY Series championship before moving up to the Cup Series, becoming the first foreign-born driver to win a championship in a NASCAR national series.
SHR drivers Kevin Harvick, Aric Almirola, Clint Bowyer and Busch combined for 12 race wins in the 36-race schedule in 2018 with all four drivers making the Playoffs.
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Cup Series Awards Banquet Could Be Headed to Nashville
For the past decade, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series awards banquet has been at the Wynn Las Vegas. Before that, the event was held at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City, with a 28-year run celebrating the annual NASCAR championship.
Now, NASCAR’s glitziest and most glamorous night of the year may be headed to Music City.
Nashville has already been making headlines in the NASCAR world as of late, after Speedway Motorsports Inc. struck a deal with Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway owner Tony Formosa to bring NASCAR back to his track, assuming the deal is approved by the Metro Board of Fair Commissioners.
The Tennessean confirmed with the CEO of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp, Butch Spyridon, that he has been speaking with NASCAR regarding the awards banquet but did not provide any further details.
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JR Motorsports confirms 2019 XFINITY Series driver, crew chief lineup
With a little over a month remaining before the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway, JR Motorsports has announced their driver and crew chief lineup for the 2019 NASCAR XFINITY Series season.
Justin Allgaier will be entering his eighth full-time season in the XFINITY Series and fourth with JR Motorsports. The 32-year-old driver won five races last season and finished seventh in points. Jason Burdett will continue as Allgaier’s crew chief and BRANDT Professional Agriculture will remain as the primary sponsor.
Michael Annett will enter his third season with JR Motorsports and sixth full-time season in the series. Travis Mack, who became Annett’s crew chief towards the end of last season, will return in 2018, along with sponsors Pilot Flying J, TMC Transportation, and Allstate Parts and Service. Annett finished 14th in the standings last year.
20-year-old Noah Gragson will begin his first full-time season in the XFINITY Series in 2019, replacing veteran Elliott Sadler driving the No. 1 car after he stepped away from full-time driving at the end of 2018. Gragson competed in three XFINITY Series races in 2018 for Joe Gibbs Racing and finished no worse than seventh. He has two career NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series victories and finished second in points in 2018. He will be joined by crew chief Dave Elenz.
JR Motorsports’ fourth entry — the No. 9 car — will see multiple drivers behind the wheel in 2019, with 19-year-old driver Zane Smith taking eight of those races. The remaining driver lineup will be announced later on. Taylor Moyer will serve as a rookie crew chief on the No. 9 car, after having worked as a race engineer at Hendrick Motorsports.
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Spencer Boyd joins Young’s Motorsports for the 2019 Truck Series season
After spending the 2018 season full-time in the XFINITY Series, Spencer Boyd will transition to a full-time ride in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series, driving the No. 20 Chevrolet for Young’s Motorsports.
“This is an amazing opportunity for me with a team that is committed to running up front,” said Boyd in a team release. “I learned a ton in my first full-time season in the Xfinity Series last year and the Young’s have given me the opportunity to build on that this year. For me and my career, it’s about continuing to gain experience and performing better, so that’s what we’re going to do in 2019.”
Young’s Motorsports began fielding the No. 20 truck as a second entry in 2018, with drivers Scott Laggasse Jr., Austin Dillon, Michel Disdier, Reid Wilson, Tanner Thorson, Bubba Wallace, Daniel Hemric, Tyler Young, Tate Fogleman, and Max Tullman all making at least one start behind the wheel. The team’s best finish was fifth with Lagasse in the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway.
The 23-year-old driver has 47 career starts between the XFINITY and Truck Series, with a best career finish of 13th in the 2017 race at Talladega Superspeedway.
The team also fields the No. 02 truck with driver Austin Hill, who earned one top-five and six top 10s in 23 races, finishing 11th in points.
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Brad Keselowski gets a new spotter in 2019
After Joey Meier’s tenure as 2012 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski’s long-time spotter came to an end in 2018, Coleman Pressley has now been announced as his replacement for the 2019 season.
The son of former NASCAR driver Robert Pressley, Coleman most recently served as AJ Allemdinger’s spotter with the No. 47 JTG-Daugherty Racing team.
Pressley has 12 career starts as a driver in the XFINITY Series, earning a career-best finish of 12th in the 2010 Federated Auto Parts 300 at Nashville Superspeedway.