Now the only full-time Ford team in the NASCAR O’Reilly Series as the manufacturer downsizes its presence, Hettinger Racing owner Chris Hettinger confirmed to Frontstretch at Bristol Motor Speedway that the team will race at Kansas Speedway on April 18 and at Talladega Superspeedway on April 25, despite rumors that the team would “take a break.”
“We’re going to Kansas, we’re already entered.” Hettinger told Frontstretch. “We’re going to Talladega with a sponsor, so that’s all I can say.”
As for who will be driving the car?
“You’ll find out on Monday.”
Hettinger has had five different drivers to start the season, with Luke Fenhaus, Chandler Smith, Tyler Gonzalez, Luke Baldwin and JJ Yeley each taking turns behind the wheel. Yeley was in the car at Bristol on Saturday night (April 11) and finished 26th.
“JJ is solid, and he’s given us some good feedback and helped us build a good notebook for these cars,” Hettinger said.
As for the rotating list of drivers, Hettinger said that the objective for each race is what “determines who the driver is.”
Fenhaus and Yeley have scored the best results for the No. 5 car this season, with a 20th-place finish at EchoPark Speedway by the former and a 20th-place finish at Rockingham Speedway by the latter.
Stephen Stumpf is the NASCAR Content Director for Frontstretch and is a three-year veteran of the site. His weekly column is “Stat Sheet,” and he formerly wrote "4 Burning Questions" for three years. He also writes commentaries, contributes to podcasts, edits articles and is frequently at the track for on-site coverage.
Find Stephen on Twitter @stephen_stumpf