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NASCAR Cup team changes drivers after withdrawing from race

Garage 66 are set to return to the NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but not with the driver who was supposed to compete at Chicagoland Speedway.
Chad Finchum, MBM Motorsports (Garage 66), NASCAR Cup Series
Chad Finchum, MBM Motorsports (Garage 66), NASCAR Cup Series | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Garage 66 (MBM Motorsports) had planned on making their ninth start of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season this past weekend at Chicagoland Speedway, with Josh Bilicki behind the wheel of the No. 66 Ford for the second time this year and the first time since the road course race at Watkins Glen International in May.

However, they withdrew from the entry list, just as they did in February when they had planned on running the No. 66 car for Casey Mears, who had just ended the team's six-year Daytona 500 absence, at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway).

But this weekend's Atlanta race is indeed set to feature the No. 66 car.

Garage 66 change drivers after Chicagoland withdrawal

Chad Finchum, who is responsible for four of the team's eight starts so far this season, is set to drive the No. 66 Ford in Sunday night's 260-lap race around the four-turn, 1.54-mile (2.478-kilometer) high-banked Hampton, Georgia oval.

Finchum competed in the team's most recent race at Nashville Superspeedway back in late May. He finished that race in 28th place, matching the career-high finish he set in April at Talladega Superspeedway. His 28th place finishes are the team's best results of 2026.

Finchum has never competed in a Cup Series race at Atlanta, but he did compete in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race at the track back in February, when he placed 17th for Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen.

Because the No. 66 Ford is one of only two non-chartered (open) cars on the Atlanta entry list, Finchum is locked into the race. The other is the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet, which is set to be driven by team owner B.J. McLeod.

Live coverage of the Quaker State 400 is set to be provided by TNT Sports from EchoPark Speedway starting this Sunday, July 12 at 7:00 p.m. ET. Catch all of the action from the third race of this year's NASCAR In-Season Challenge tournament!

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