NASCAR Cup Series team opts not to return for Daytona race

MBM Motorsports missed the entire 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, marking their first season without any starts at the sport's top level since they first entered the series in 2017.

But in 2024, the Carl Long-owned team have returned and competed on a part-time basis. So far this year, they have made seven appearances in points races, plus an additional appearance in May's All-Star Open at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Six individuals have driven the No. 66 Ford in a points race this year. That list includes B.J. McLeod, the only driver to make two starts in points races for the team this season, as well as Timmy Hill, David Starr, Chad Finchum, Josh Bilicki, and Parker Retzlaff. Hill also competed for the team in the All-Star Open.

The team had been planning on competing in this coming Saturday night's Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, but the No. 66 Ford is not on the entry list for the penultimate race of the 26-race regular season.

MBM Motorsports not competing at Daytona

They recently made a surprise appearance in the race at Richmond Raceway, a race in which they weren't initially planning to compete.

With Retzlaff set to compete for Beard Motorsports this weekend at Daytona, NASCAR wanted him to make a non-superspeedway start first, so he made his series debut with MBM Motorsports on the short track.

With Saturday's 160-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona Beach, Florida oval no longer on their agenda, MBM Motorsports' next appearance is not scheduled to come until the playoffs.

They are set to field the No. 66 Ford at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 21; Kansas Speedway on Sunday, September 29; the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval on Sunday, October 13; Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, October 20; and Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, November 10.

However, given their withdrawal from the race at Iowa Speedway in June, their surprise appearance at Richmond two weekends ago, their absence from this weekend's entry list at Daytona, and the fact that they have not yet announced any drivers for the five playoff races in which they currently plan to compete, it remains to be seen when the No. 66 Ford will again be at the race track.

NBC is set to broadcast the Coke Zero Sugar 400 live from Daytona International Speedway beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET this Saturday, August 24. Start a free trial of FuboTV now if you have not already done so!