NASCAR Daytona Notes: New Chance at Big Records

Kyle Larson is back in 2021 in a Hendrick Chevy.

Hendrick Motorsport’s driver Chase Elliott, the series’ most popular driver, collected his first NASCAR Cup Series title last season and a record 13th for Hendrick Motorsports (1995, ’96, ’97, ’98, 2001, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’13, ’16, ’20). Hendrick Motorsports also has the opportunity to surpass the historic Petty Enterprises for the series record in all-time wins this season. Petty Enterprises currently leads the series in wins with 268. Hendrick Motorsports has the second-most with 263.

“The Petty organization will always be kind of the backbone of the sport,” Rick Hendrick said. “Richard (Petty) will always be the King. We may end up with more wins than they did, but what they’ve done for the sport—you know, Richard has been with Presidents. He is the kind of person that when you mention his name, it helps our whole sport.

“So I’m a little humble to think that ‘Hey, I’m going to maybe one day pass his record of wins. I would love to, but I don’t know if I’ll ever contribute as much to the sport as Richard Petty and the Petty organization have.”


New Teams

Legendary teams like Petty Enterprises paved the way for all the teams competing in the NASCAR Cup Series today; including the new comers we will see this season – 23XI Racing, Trackhouse Racing and Live Fast Motorsports. All three new teams have announced they acquired Charters and will compete for the title this season. Even more interesting is, much like Petty Enterprises with NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty being part of the ownership of the organization, all three of the new teams have a driver or former driver as part of their ownership.

23XI Racing is a newly formed team by NBA legend Michael Jordan and current Cup Series driver and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin. Jordan and Hamlin have tapped Bubba Wallace to pilot the No. 23 Toyota with crew chief Mike Wheeler this season and will make their official debut in the Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Trackhouse Racing is another newly formed team that will make their debut in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2021. The team was formed by former driver Justin Marks and international entertainment superstar Pitbull and the organization has signed NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Daniel Suarez to drive the No. 99 Chevrolet. Suarez will work with crew chief Travis Mack in 2021.

Live Fast Motorsports is the third of three newly formed teams this season, with drivers BJ McLeod and Matt Tifft forming the team in the off season. McLeod will not only help lead the organization but also drive the flagship No. 78 Ford for the team as well. McLeod will be paired with crew chief Frank Kerr in 2021.


New Faces In New Places

Not only are there new teams to watch for in the NASCAR Cup Series but also several drivers and crew chiefs have moved to new spots as well.

Like the aforementioned teams with their new drivers, here are some other drivers in new spots to keep an eye out for in 2021. Erik Jones moved from Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 to the recently relinquished No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet. With Leavine Family Racing closing shop at the end of last season, Christopher Bell made the jump back to Joe Gibbs Racing and will now drive the No. 20 Toyota. Chip Ganassi Racing tapped Ross Chastain to pilot their No. 42 Chevrolet this season. Kyle Larson returns and will now get behind the wheel of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Alex Bowman and crew chief Greg Ives will now lead the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team. Two rookies to watch this season will be Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe in the No. 14 Ford that was recently vacated by a retiring Clint Bowyer and Front Row Motorsport’s Anthony Alfredo in the No. 38 Ford. Plus, Corey LaJoie moved to the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet crew chief Ryan Sparks.

Also, several new crew chiefs will be seen in the garage this season, including Rudy Fugle who replaced Chad Knaus after the seven-time champ stepped away from his crew chiefing duties at the end of last season. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Adam Stevens has been moved over to the No. 20 with Christopher Bell as Ben Beshore will take his place atop the pit box for the No. 18 team with Kyle Busch. And last but not least, Cliff Daniels, Jimmie Johnson’s former crew chief has been named to lead the No. 5 team with Kyle Larson.