NASCAR team won’t compete in Phoenix Cup race

A NASCAR Cup Series team that was once expected to compete in Sunday afternoon’s race at Phoenix Raceway will not be doing so.

Before the Daytona 500 opened up the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season at Daytona International Speedway, it was reported that a new team would be joining the field with what would be the seventh non-chartered car on the entry list.

Finish Line Motorsports Marketing were reportedly entering the No. 80 Chevrolet for Cup Series veteran J.J. Yeley (pictured with Rick Ware Racing).

However, Reaume Brothers Racing later clarified that this would not be the case, though they added that they had been working with the organization to field the No. 80 Chevrolet in other Cup Series races throughout the season.

They later revealed that they were targeting the NASCAR Cup Series season’s fourth race at Phoenix Raceway to make their series debut.

The location made sense, given the fact that the organization is based in Arizona — and the fact that Yeley himself is a Phoenix native.

But the No. 80 Finish Line Motorsports Management Chevrolet is not on the entry list for Sunday afternoon’s United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway. In fact, for the third consecutive race, there are no non-chartered cars on the entry list at all.

As a result, Yeley is not set to compete in Sunday’s 312-lap race around the four-turn, 1.058-mile (1.703-kilometer) Avondale, Arizona oval at all.

Todd Gilliland, who has been replaced behind the wheel of the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford by reigning Truck Series champion Zane Smith for this race, is set to drive the No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford that Yeley has driven in each of the two most recent races at Auto Club Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The United Rentals Work United 500 is set to be broadcast live on Fox from Phoenix Raceway beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET this Sunday, March 12, so start a free trial of FuboTV today if you have not yet signed up!