NASCAR: Notable team, driver not on Charlotte entry list

Another once-planned start for a team still seeking their NASCAR Cup Series debut will not happen at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.

The preliminary entry list for this Sunday afternoon’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval was revealed earlier this week, and it features 39 cars.

In addition to the 36 chartered entries, which are locked into all 36 races on the 2022 calendar, there are three open (non-chartered entries) set to compete in the 109-lap Bank of America Roval 400 at the 17-turn, 2.28-mile (3.669-kilometer) track in Concord, North Carolina.

Those three open entries are the #26 Team Hezeberg Toyota, which is set to be driven by Daniil Kvyat, the #27 Team Hezeberg Ford, which is set to be driven by Loris Hezemans, and the #50 TMT (The Money Team) Racing Chevrolet, which is set to be driven by Conor Daly.

Not included is the #79 Team Stange Racing Chevrolet, which still hasn’t been entered in a Cup Series race.

Earlier in 2022, Team Stange Racing announced an eight-race schedule for the current season, and they announced that Tarso Marques would be behind the wheel of the #79 Chevrolet for each of their eight races.

Unfortunately, their absence from this coming weekend’s race shouldn’t be considered much of a surprise to anybody who has been following their situation over the last several months. This was supposed to mark their fifth start of the year, and they’ve yet to make a single one.

They were originally supposed to make their Cup Series debut at Road America in early July, but that didn’t happen.

They also had plans to run an entry in the Xfinity Series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in late August so that Marques could be granted approval by NASCAR to compete at the top level, but that also didn’t happen. Not surprisingly, a Cup Series debut in the race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course didn’t happen either.

The August race at Watkins Glen International was also on their initial schedule, and they had aimed to make their debut in this race after their Indianapolis plan didn’t come to fruition, but once again, they did not compete.

They also did not compete in the regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway one week later, which they had planned to do.

Despite recent comments from Marques indicating that he would still like to compete in a race or two this year, their absence from this weekend’s race, the final road course race on the 2022 calendar, casts some doubt on Team Stange Racing making an appearance this season.

The races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Sunday, October 16), Homestead-Miami Speedway (Sunday, October 23), and Phoenix Raceway (Sunday, November 6) were also on Team Stange Racing’s initial eight-race schedule for 2022. Will they compete in any of them?

Tune in to NBC at 2:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, October 9 for the live broadcast of the Bank of America Roval 400 from the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. Now would be a great time to take advantage of FuboTV’s free trial offer!