NASCAR Xfinity Series: MBM Motorsports reveal 2019 plans

MBM Motorsports recently announced their 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series driver lineup. Joey Gase is set to join the team while several other drivers are set to return.

MBM Motorsports recently announced their driver lineup for the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series season in addition to announcing the crew chiefs for each of their cars.

Joey Gase is set to join the team as the full-time driver of the #35 Toyota. Ryan Bell is set to serve as his crew chief. MBM Motorsports team owner Carl Long stated that fans should “look for a lot of good things from this pair”.

Last season, Gase drove the #35 Go Green Racing Chevrolet and finished in 20th place in the championship standings. He has made 208 career starts in the Xfinity Series, and he earned a career-high fifth place finish in the May race at Talladega Superspeedway in the 2015 season.

Gase will also drive the #66 MBM Motorsports Toyota part-time in the Cup Series beginning with the season opener, the Daytona 500, at Daytona International Speedway. Long stated Gase will drive in at least seven Cup Series races this season.

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Timmy Hill is also set to drive the #66 Toyota part-time in the Cup Series. While Chad Finchum made his Cup Series debut in the 2018 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, there has not been any mention of him competing in the Cup Series this season.

The crew chief of the #66 MBM Motorsports Toyota in the Cup Series is Brian Keselowski, who is the older brother of current Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski. He served as the crew chief for MBM Motorsports in several races last season. He has competed in three Cup Series races and 63 Xfinity Series races, so he understands the language between the driver and crew chief. When asked whether Keselowski would drive for the team this season, Long replied by saying that “that can very well happen”.

Following the closure of Chip Ganassi Racing’s Xfinity Series team, Carl Long purchased several assets from the team, including the #42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet owner points. As a result, MBM Motorsports are set to field the #42 Toyota instead of the #40 Toyota.

For the Xfinity Series season opener, the Daytona 300, at Daytona International Speedway, John Jackson is set to drive the #42 Toyota. He competed in three Xfinity Series races last season for MBM Motorsports.

Finchum is set to drive the #13 Toyota in this race Daytona 300. Following that race, he is set to take over as the driver of the #42 Toyota. He announced his return to MBM Motorsports with this video.

Josh Reaume is set to be the crew chief for the #42 Toyota throughout the season. He ran his own team, Reaume Brothers Racing, in the Truck Series last year. In the past, he has driven for MBM Motorsports and served as the crew chief for the team.

Gary Showalter is set to be the crew chief for Finchum in the Daytona 300. Long described him as “veteran crew chief and our shop foreman”. Needless to say, he knows MBM Motorsports’ capabilities.

Finally, Timmy Hill is set to drive the #66 Toyota in the Daytona 300. Although MBM Motorsports only announced the #35 Toyota and #42 Toyota as the full-time Xfinity Series entries, according to Finchum, the team want to field Hill in the #66 Toyota for the rest of the season if the funding allows it.

Last year, multiple drivers drove the #66 car, including but not limited to Tim Cowen and Bobby Dale Earnhardt. If a driver brings funding, I would not be surprised if the #66 car is on the entry list for more than just the season opener. Carl Long jokingly remarked that the “only MBM driver I haven’t found a race for yet is ME!!”.

The crew chief for the #66 Toyota is set to be Clinton Cram. He and Hill worked well together last season. They earned MBM Motorsports’ best finish of the season, a seventh place in the Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 at Daytona International Speedway.

So far, the only revealed MBM Motorsports paint scheme is that of Gase’s #35 Toyota. Long noted that the remaining paint schemes will be released shortly, as the team are still working to secure more sponsors.

They announced the signing of Gase at the NASCAR Hall of Fame just under two weeks ago. Here is what the #35 Toyota will look like this season.

In the 2018 season, MBM Motorsports fielded two full-time Xfinity Series entries, the #40 car and the #66 car. The #40 car and the #66 car finished in 34th and 39th place, respectively, in the owner point standings. This year, expectations are higher for the team, and it could be their best season yet. Gase and Hill are experienced drivers and Chad Finchum is set to enter his second season driving for the team.

The 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series season is scheduled to begin at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida with the Daytona 300. This race is scheduled to take place on Saturday, February 16 at 2:30 p.m. ET, and Fox is set to broadcast it live.