In unlikely fashion, Garage 66 (MBM Motorsports) qualified for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway with Casey Mears behind the wheel of the No. 66 Ford. Their previous seven attempts to qualify for the "Great American Race", all since 2020, had been unsuccessful.
Mears brought the No. 66 car home in 32nd place, which was the team's best actual finish (non-DNF) in the race since Mark Thompson placed 22nd back in 2018.
The Carl Long-owned team did not return for any of the next four races at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway), Circuit of the Americas (COTA), Phoenix Raceway, or Las Vegas Motor Speedway, despite having initially been on the entry list at Atlanta.
But that is set to change at Darlington Raceway.
It is Timmy Hill who is set to make the team's second start of the 2026 season in Sunday afternoon's 297-lap Goodyear 400 around the four-turn, 1.366-mile (2.198-kilometer) Darlington, South Carolina oval.
Hill's one and only Cup Series start in 2025 came in August at the same track, and he finished in 35th. In fact, his two most recent Cup Series starts have come at the track, as his final start in 2024 came in the same race, when he was scored with a 35th place DNF.
Beyond this weekend's race, Garage 66 have confirmed eight more starts for the 2026 season, although they only have confirmed drivers for three of them. Chad Finchum is set to compete in the upcoming races at Bristol Motor Speedway in April and Texas Motor Speedway in May, while Josh Bilicki is set to run the race at Watkins Glen International in May.
Mears and Hill do not have any more starts confirmed, although with the team set to compete in at least five additional races, that could very well change. Mears ran five races for the team a year ago, despite having run just one total Cup race since 2016 before the 2025 season started.
Darlington Raceway is scheduled to host the Goodyear 400 beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, March 22, with Fox Sports 1 set to provide live coverage. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and catch all of the action from the track "Too Tough To Tame"!