NASCAR: Darlington to feature the return of the #78 car
By Asher Fair
The #78 car is set to be in action for the first time since the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season finale this Sunday at Darlington Raceway.
The entry list for the fifth race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season at Darlington Raceway, which is also the first in 10 weeks since the season was brought to an abrupt halt due to the coronavirus pandemic, is full.
A total of 40 cars are slated to compete in this 293-lap race around the four-turn, 1.366-mile (2.198-kilometer) oval in Darlington, South Carolina. A race hasn’t featured a full field of 40 cars since the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Monday, February 17.
Among these 40 cars is a number that hasn’t seen action since coming oh-so close to winning back-to-back championships on Sunday, November 18, 2018 at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a runner-up result.
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The #78 is back.
B.J. McLeod Motorsports, which have never competed in a Cup Series race, are one of the four teams set to field a non-chartered entry in this Sunday afternoon’s race at “The Lady in Black”, and their car is the #78 Chevrolet.
Team owner B.J. McLeod, who most recently competed in the Daytona 500 behind the wheel of the #52 Ford for Rick Ware Racing, is set to pilot the car. Of course, it was Martin Truex Jr. who brought the #78 car its most success during his time with Furniture Row Racing, which folded after the 2018 season. He won 17 races behind the wheel of the #78 car.
He drove the #78 Chevrolet to a victory at Pocono Raceway in his second season with the team in 2015, and he won 16 races behind the wheel of the #78 Toyota from 2016 to 2018 after Furniture Row Racing aligned with Joe Gibbs Racing.
He won a career-high eight races in the 2017 season en route to winning the championship. After Barney Visser’s team folded, Truex moved to Joe Gibbs Racing and has driven the #19 Toyota ever since. He won seven races there last year en route to another runner-up finish in the standings.
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NASCAR’s return to action is scheduled to take place this Sunday, May 17, and it is set to be broadcast live on Fox from Darlington Raceway beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET.