On Monday, NASCAR released the entry list for the XFINITY Series Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 at Daytona International Speedway. 43 cars are entered, meaning that three teams will have to pack up and leave early.
With the XFINITY Series supporting Cup once again, we have Cup drivers in the field for Friday night. Ty Dillon is back in the No. 3 for Richard Childress Racing, replacing Scott Lagasse Jr. Daniel Suarez is back in Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Toyota, while Erik Jones is back in the No. 20. Joey Logano is in the Team Penske No. 22 in place of Sam Hornish Jr.
None of those assignments would be surprising in the least. However, JD Motorsports has entered a fourth car, the No. 15 Chevrolet for this weekend. Corey LaJoie, who has spent most of the season driving BK Racing’s No. 83 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, has been tapped to drive. With no points to fall back on, LaJoie must time in 33rd or better Friday to make the race.
For non-Cup drivers, Jeb Burton is back in JGL Racing’s No. 24 Toyota this week. Sponsorship will be provided by Estes Express Lines. It will be Burton’s third start of the season after previously running at Texas and Bristol in April. Burton is joined at JGL Racing by Lagasse, who brings Alert Today Florida backing to a third JGL entry (No. 26). Like LaJoie, Lagasse will have to qualify in the top 33 in order to race.
Brandon Brown is back in the No. 90 Chevrolet for Brandonbilt Motorsports this weekend. Sponsorship has been acquired from Horton Farms. Brown will be running this patriotic scheme Friday night:
Everyone be sure to show support for our partner in @DISupdates @hortons_farms1!
Our Independence Day themed paint is highly anticipated! pic.twitter.com/0o6aUHatAf
— Brandonbilt Motorsports (@BMSRaceTeam) June 27, 2017
With Brown’s family operation running the No. 90 Friday night, Mario Gosselin will shift over to the No. 92. He’ll have to qualify on speed.
Finally, Jeff Green has returned to BJ McLeod Motorsports to drive the team’s No. 8 Toyota. He has not raced for the team since Talladega in May, but it should be noted that he DNQ’d the No. 78 at Charlotte. Green’s best finish in the No. 8 was a 10th at Talladega. BJ McLeod, who drove the No. 8 to a career-best 17th-place finish Saturday night in Iowa, shifts over to the No. 78, replacing Tommy Joe Martins.
Entry List: 2017 Coca-Cola Firecracker 250
| Team | Driver | Car | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00 - Stewart-Haas Racing | Cole Custer | Ford Mustang | Haas Automation |
| 01 - JD Motorsports | Harrison Rhodes | Chevrolet Camaro | teamjdmotorsports.com |
| 07 - SS-Green Light Racing | Ray Black Jr. | Chevrolet Camaro | ScubaLife |
| 0 - JD Motorsports | Garrett Smithley | Chevrolet Camaro | teamjdmotorsports.com |
| 1 - JR Motorsports | Elliott Sadler | Chevrolet Camaro | Armour Vienna Sausage 150 Years |
| 2 - Richard Childress Racing | Ben Kenedy | Chevrolet Camaro | Rheem |
| 3 - Richard Childress Racing | Ty Dillon(i) | Chevrolet Camaro | Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats |
| 4 - JD Motorsports | Ross Chastain | Chevrolet Camaro | GK Services |
| 5 - JR Motorsports | Michael Annett | Chevrolet Camaro | Pilot Flying J |
| 7 - JR Motorsports | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet Camaro | TradeMark Nitrogen |
| 8 - BJ McLeod Motorsports | Jeff Green | Toyota Camry | TBA |
| 9 - JR Motorsports | William Byron | Chevrolet Camaro | AXALTA/Vorteq |
| 11 - Kaulig Racing | Blake Koch | Chevrolet Camaro | LeafFiler Gutter Protection |
| 13 - MBM Motorsports | Mark Thompson | Toyota Camry | Phoenix Air |
| 14 - TriStar Motorsports | JJ Yeley | Toyota Camry | TriStar Motorsports |
| 15 - JD Motorsports | Corey LaJoie(i) | Chevrolet Camaro | teamjdmotorsports.com |
| 16 - Roush Fenway Racing | Ryan Reed | Ford Mustang | Lilly Diabetes |
| 18 - Joe Gibbs Racing | Daniel Suarez(i) | Toyota Camry | IBSA |
| 19 - Joe Gibbs Racing | Matt Tifft | Toyota Camry | Comcast NBCUniversal Salute to Service |
| 20 - Joe Gibbs Racing | Erik Jones(i) | Toyota Camry | GameStop/Turtle Beach |
| 21 - Richard Childress Racing | Daniel Hemric | Chevrolet Camaro | Blue Gate Bank |
| 22 - Team Penske | Joey Logano(i) | Ford Mustang | Discount Tire |
| 23 - GMS Racing | Spencer Gallagher | Chevrolet Camaro | Allegiant Airlines |
| 24 - JGL Racing | Jeb Burton | Toyota Camry | Estes Express Lines |
| 25 - Cockrum Racing | Chris Cockrum | Chevrolet Camaro | Advanced Communications Group |
| 26 - JGL Racing | Scott Lagasse Jr. | Toyota Camry | Alert Today Florida/Florida Lottery |
| 28 - JGL Racing | Dakoda Armstrong | Toyota Camry | WinField United |
| 33 - Richard Childress Racing | Brandon Jones | Chevrolet Camaro | Rain-X/Advance Auto Parts |
| 39 - RSS Racing | Ryan Sieg | Chevrolet Camaro | RSS Racing |
| 40 - MBM Motorsports | Timmy Hill | Dodge Challenger | TBA |
| 42 - Chip Ganassi Racing | Tyler Reddick | Chevrolet Camaro | Broken Bow Records/Jason Aldean |
| 48 - Chip Ganassi Racing | Brennan Poole | Chevrolet Camaro | DC Solar |
| 51 - Jeremy Clements Racing | Jeremy Clements | Chevrolet Camaro | RepairableVehicles.com |
| 52 - Jimmy Means Racing | Joey Gase | Chevrolet Camaro | Sparks Energy |
| 62 - Richard Childress Racing | Brendan Gaughan | Chevrolet Camaro | USAF Special Tactics/South Point Hotel & Casino |
| 74 - Mike Harmon Racing | Mike Harmon | Dodge Challenger | Veterans Motorsports |
| 78 - BJ McLeod Motorsports | BJ McLeod | Toyota Camry | TBA |
| 89 - Shepherd Motor Ventures | Morgan Shepherd | Chevrolet Camaro | Visone RV |
| 90 - DGR Motorsports | Brandon Brown | Chevrolet Camaro | Horton Farms |
| 92 - DGR Motorsports | Mario Gosselin | Chevrolet Camaro | TBA |
| 93 - RSS Racing | TBA | Chevrolet Camaro | RSS Racing |
| 98 - Biagi-DenBeste Racing | Casey Mears | Ford Mustang | Fresh From Florida |
| 99 - BJ McLeod Motorsports | David Starr | Chevrolet Camaro | TBA |
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.
Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.