NASCAR Xfinity Series: Chad Finchum talks 2019 goals

Chad Finchum is set to return to drive for MBM Motorsports in the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series season. I spoke with him to talk about his goals for 2019.

2018 marked a year of firsts for Chad Finchum. Driving for MBM Motorsports, he competed in his rookie season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. As such, he competed at many tracks for the first time. He finished his rookie campaign in 30th place in the championship standings.

Finchum also made his debut in the NASCAR Cup Series in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, his home NASCAR track. He drove the #66 MBM Motorsports Toyota in this race. Unfortunately, he was involved in a lap 332 wreck and finished the race in 33rd place as a result of it.

I interviewed Finchum twice during the 2018 Xfinity Series season. Recently, he announced that he will return to drive full-time for MBM Motorsports this season in the Xfinity Series. After the announcement, I interviewed him once again, and he discussed the goals for himself and MBM Motorsports this upcoming season.

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NOTE: “Q” refers to questions asked by yours truly and “A” refers to the answers given by Chad Finchum.

Q: According to the MBM Motorsports Facebook post, you’ll drive the #13 car at Daytona International Speedway and the #42 car for the rest of the season. Care to elaborate?

A: Yes, I’m excited! Two weeks ago, [team owner] Carl [Long] called to invite me back full-time to drive alongside Joey Gase. Last season, there were a lot of new crew members for MBM Motorsports, I competed in my rookie season, and we competed in some races with steel-bodied cars. Those all made the beginning of last season challenging. This will be my second year with the team. We have the same group of guys, drivers, and race cars. Hopefully, this season starts off better for us than last season.

Q: MBM Motorsports bought the #42 Chip Ganassi Racing owner points and other assets. How valuable is that, especially to you as you’ll be locked into the first three races of the season?

A: Actually, I have to qualify my way into the first race of the season at Daytona. As long as I can do that though, we’re a contender. Everybody has a shot at Daytona because the draft equalizes the field. For those other two races though, it’s huge! As a whole, this is a huge upgrade. Chip Ganassi Racing is a top team. Although it was an unfortunate situation for them, some team investors and sponsors stepped up to help buy equipment. The #42 car will be locked into the first three races. So that helps our program because we don’t have to focus as much on qualifying. We can work on race setup, which hopefully translates into some good finishing results.

NOTE: John Jackson is set to drive the #42 Toyota in the NASCAR Racing Experience 300 at Daytona International Speedway.

Q: How does the reduction of the Xfinity Series field from 40 cars to 38 cars affect MBM Motorsports?

A: It places a stronger focus on qualifying. Two more entries will fail to qualify. Fortunately, the #42 car is locked in for the first three races. For myself at Daytona, Joey, and Timmy [Hill], we have to qualify well. If we’re struggling to make the field, we may change our qualifying setups to gain more speed. While we may qualify for the race, our qualifying setup may not be good for our race because qualifying is a short run compared to the longer race. Hopefully, we don’t have to worry much about that.

Q: Joey Gase has raced in 208 Xfinity Series races. He bested you in the point standings last year. How does the addition of him as a teammate at MBM Motorsports help you?

A: Joey has raced at every Xfinity Series race track for several teams. He will bring our team forward. Joey will set the base line for the team for the setups for each race. So no pressure on him! [laughs] Last year, he consistently raced in the top 20 or 25. If he maintains that pace this year, Timmy and I will use his setups, his entry into the corners, and things of that nature. We want all cars to race near each other. At the end of last season, we put together good races, from start to finish. Joey will help us improve on those performances.

Q: What is a realistic goal for this season, both for yourself and MBM Motorsports?

A: We want to be better than last year. We’re going to finish better. For myself, now that I’ve raced at each track, I want a better average finish. As a team, our goal is to have at least two cars at a higher level. Tentatively, Timmy will race for our team full-time. If he does, hopefully all three of our cars race together in better positions. Credit Carl. He positioned the team where we will be significantly better this year.

Q: Yes, ideally, everyone wants to win, but I’m glad your main focus for yourself and MBM Motorsports is improvement this year. Alright, I have one final question. What are you most excited for this season?

A: Driving itself in NASCAR is exciting. I’ve been racing since I was 6 years old. My goal has always been to race in NASCAR. One day, I want to help MBM Motorsports reach victory lane.

The team members work hard for the team. They work long hours to give me a good race car. They spend time away from their families, and the same can be said for our crew guys. They travel each race weekend, they put in long hours, and they deserve something for their hard work. So, we’re going to give it our best this year. I want to see how much we can improve to raise ourselves up a level.

Just recently, I looked at my first three races last year. Last year, at the opening race at Daytona International Speedway, my car had a flat right rear tire, which forced me to pit under the green flag. Despite that chaos, I finished 28th place. The next race took place at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Unfortunately, I felt a right front tire blow under the green flag, and before I could come down pit road, I smacked the wall. While my MBM Motorsports guys worked efficiently to repair the damage, I finished in 35th place. Then we traveled out west to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. There, I had a fast car, but a mechanical failure ended my race early with a 32nd place finish. We fought mechanical gremlins for several other races too.

If we can avoid those mechanical gremlins, we’ll be improved. At Daytona, if I don’t have a flat right front tire, I would’ve finished better. At Atlanta, tires are always at a premium, but the damage the car sustained from the hitting the wall really set us back. We had speed at Las Vegas, but the mechanical failure ended our day early. Those first three races are crucial. The #42 Toyota will be locked in the race due to the owners points, so I need to maximize the points in those races. That will set us up for better quality finishes in races later this season. The hope is improvements such as those will lead us to have a noticeable improvement all season.

I want to thank Chad Finchum for his time in this interview. Also, thank you to MBM Motorsports for continuing to allow me to interview your drivers and write articles about the team.

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MBM Motorsports are set to field four entries in the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. That race, the NASCAR Racing Experience 300, is scheduled to start on Saturday, February 16, and live TV coverage of it is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. ET on Fox.

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