Need your NASCAR and other motorsports news delivered quickly and easily? Do you like your news in “bite-size” quantities with only the “need to know” information? Do you want to skip the “fluff” and get straight to the facts?
If so, this column was written with you in mind. Rather than a full-length news story designed to give you the whole picture, this column compiles the most important news stories from the previous day and gets you straight to the facts.
If you decide you would like more details and a bigger picture of what you have just read about, we provide that too. Just look at the links beneath the bullet points for each news story.
Without further ado, here is what you need to know today…
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What you need to know …
… about Kyle Busch Motorsports’ growing driver lineup
- 18-year-old Christian Eckes will compete for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series again in 2019
- Eckes will compete in seven races for KBM: Daytona International Speedway (Feb. 15); Gateway Motorsports Park (June 22); Pocono Raceway (July 27); Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Sept 13); Martinsville Speedway (Oct. 26); and Homestead-Miami Speedway (Nov. 15).
- SiriusXM will serve as the primary sponsor in Daytona, with sponsor announcements for Eckes’ remaining races coming at a later date.
- Eckes is also competing full-time in the ARCA Racing Series for Venturini Motorsports this season
- Brandon Jones, team owner Kyle Busch, and Eckes have all been named as drivers for the No. 51 truck this season, filling out 17 of the 23 races on the schedule
For more information: Official team release from KBM … Christian Eckes’ career statistics … News release announcing that Eckes will compete for the championship in the ARCA Racing Series
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… about Bubba Wallace’s Daytona 500 sponsor
- AfterShokz — a bone-conducting headphone company — will sponsor Bubba Wallace’s No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet in the season-opening Daytona 500
- AfterShokz began a personal services agreement with Wallace in 2018
- Wallace finished runner-up as a rookie in the 2018 Daytona 500, the highest finishing position for an African-American in the Great American Race
- Bubba Wallace will appear on NBC’s “The Today Show” on Wednesday, February 6th
For more information: Official release from Richard Petty Motorsports … AfterShokz’s website … A video from Wallace’s emotional second-place finish last year
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… about Casey Mears’ return to NASCAR
- NASCAR veteran Casey Mears will compete in a second Germain Racing car in the 2019 Daytona 500 on February 17th
- Mears will drive the No. 27 car, which will be built and staffed in collaboration with Premium Motorsports owner Jay Robinson
- Germain’s full-time team is the No. 13 driven by Ty Dillon
- Pat Tryson will serve as Mears’ crew chief
- Mears has not competed in a NASCAR race since the Cup Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2016
- The 40-year-old veteran has 488 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts to his credit and competed full-time for Germain Racing from 2010 to 2016
- The No. 27 car is not locked into the race
For more information: Official team release … Full story from Kickin’ The Tires’ Zach Catanzareti … Casey Mears’ career statistics
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… about Fox Sports’ new “NASCAR Race Hub” hosts
- Fox Sports has added veteran sports TV hosts Lindsay Czarniak and Sara Walsh as hosts for their Thursday “NASCAR Race Hub” shows and “NASCAR Race Hub: Weekend Edition” on FS1
- Walsh and Czarniak both worked for ESPN for several years in various roles
- Walsh joined FOX Sports at the beginning of 2018 for their NFL coverage; Czarniak has most recently hosted a sports segment for CNN
- Czarniak has extensive experience in motorsports, hosting “NASCAR Now” on ESPN, serving as a prerace host and pit reporter for Turner’s NASCAR coverage, has worked as a pit reporter for NBC Sports’ NASCAR coverage, and was the first woman to host ABC’s coverage of the Indianapolis 500
- Shannon Spake and Adam Alexander will continue to co-host NASCAR Race Hub on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
For more information: Official Fox Sports release … Coverage from Motorsport.com’s Jim Utter … NASCAR Race Hub page
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… about Kaulig Racing’s personnel changes
- Nick Harrison is replacing Chris Rice as crew chief for Kaulig Racing’s No. 11 Chevrolet in the NASCAR XFINITY Series
- Rice, who has served as crew chief and General Manager since 2016, will become President of Kaulig Racing
- Justin Haley will be the driver of the No. 11 car, replacing Ryan Truex
- Harrison moves over to Kaulig Racing after five years with Richard Childress Racing, who has a technical alliance with Kaulig
- While serving as a crew chief, Harrison has earned one win in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series and five wins in the NASCAR XFINITY Series
For more information: The official team announcement … Statistics for owner Matthew Kaulig … Justin Haley’s NASCAR.com page
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