NASCAR team misses first race since 2014 season

For the first time since entering the NASCAR Xfinity Series in a full-time capacity in 2015, MBM Motorsports did not field an entry at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series team MBM Motorsports had naturally planned on competing in Saturday night’s Alsco Uniforms 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, just like every other full-time team in the garage.

But on Friday, they announced that they would not be entering a car this weekend, noting that Chad Finchum’s planned entry in the No. 66 Toyota for this event is set to “roll over to New Hampshire Motor Speedway” next weekend for the Ambetter Health 200.

Not since the 2014 season, which was before Carl Long’s team began competing full-time at NASCAR’s second highest level, had the organization completely missed a race.

Of course, it is worth mentioning that MBM Motorsports haven’t competed in every single race since the start of the 2015 season, as there have been times when their entry or entries haven’t qualified, including a number of such occasions in 2023 alone.

But this absence marked their first time without a NASCAR Xfinity Series entry since 2014.

They cited a plethora of reasons for making this decision, including a lack of simulator time and lack of practice. Both would have made it increasingly difficult for Finchum to actually qualify for the race around the four-turn, 1.54-mile (2.478-kilometer) Hampton, Georgia oval.

Their plans moving forward remain largely unconfirmed, beyond a general goal of aiming to continue running part-time in the Xfinity Series and returning to the Cup Series for the first time since April 2022.

They have committed to a few race weekends remaining on this year’s Xfinity Series schedule, including those at Daytona International Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.

MBM Motorsports have run a second Xfinity Series car, the No. 13 entry, twice this season, but it did not qualify for either race.

All remaining races on this year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule are set to be broadcast live on either NBC or USA Network. Begin a free trial of FuboTV today and don’t miss any of it!