The NASCAR team that never had a driver

Two years ago, a NASCAR Cup Series team planned to compete at Texas Motor Speedway. But they never named a driver, and they never ended up competing.

Following a controversial All-Star Race weekend back in May, the NASCAR Cup Series is back at Texas Motor Speedway for the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500, the first of three races in the round of 12 of the 2022 playoffs.

This is a big change from recent seasons, when the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Fort Worth, Texas oval’s playoff race was featured in the round of 8, the third and final round prior to the winner-take-all Championship 4.

Two seasons ago, Texas Motor Speedway hosted the second of three races in the round of 8, but it also still hosted a regular season (non-exhibition) race.

There were 41 cars on the entry list (yes, we know — a foreign concept in the Next Gen era) for the regular season event, which was contested in mid-July.

However, Cup Series fields are capped at 40 cars.

In 2020, there were no practice or qualifying sessions for most races on the schedule after the sport returned to action in mid-May following the unexpected 10-week hiatus caused by COVID-19-related restrictions.

Naturally, the 36 chartered entries were locked in, as they always are. The final four spots were awarded based on the qualifying formula.

But one of the five open (non-chartered) teams on the entry list was the #90 team of Team Keller Racing, which did not have any owner points at the time and therefore did not qualify for the race. This team, owned by Vic Keller, had been set to compete with Tommy Baldwin Jr. as the crew chief.

Axele TMS, the ground-breaking Transport Management Software of Optym, had served as the primary sponsor of several cars throughout the season, primarily at Rick Ware Racing, thanks to Keller’s role as Optym CEO.

Axele was listed as the sponsor for this race at Texas Motor Speedway as well. But as a result of their DNQ, the driver for the #90 Chevrolet was never named, and that team never ended up competing.

The entry of the #90 Chevrolet would have marked the first time a #90 car had competed in the Cup Series since David Stremme drove the #90 Chevrolet for Circle Sport at Richmond Raceway in September 2014.

Tune in to USA Network at 3:30 p.m. ET this Sunday, September 25 for the live broadcast of the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500 from Texas Motor Speedway. Begin a free FuboTV trial now if you have not already done so!