Always one of the most exciting and compelling races of the season, the NASCAR Xfinity Series kicks off the year with Saturday afternoon’s United Rentals 300 (5 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Daytona International Speedway.
It’s a serious season sendoff for the full-time championship contenders, especially so perhaps, for Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill, the two-time defending race winner. And as much as Hill would love a Daytona three-peat, his eyes are also on the big prize, the 2024 championship.
Hill will again be competing against reigning series champion Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer for that elite prize. In fact, three of the four championship finalists – Custer, Justin Allgaier, and Sammy Smith – will be back to vie for the 2024 trophy, as will JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer, who enjoyed a breakout season last year.
Smith will team with Allgaier and Mayer at the perennial championship JR Motorsports organization this season. It’s one of several high-profile moves in the series.
Josh Williams, who will steer the No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet teaming full-time with another perennial championship contender, A.J. Allmendinger, who, after competing – and winning – in the NASCAR Cup Series, will run a full Xfinity Series season in the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet.
Williams and Allmendinger will team with New Zealand superstar Shane van Gisbergen. The popular Kiwi will compete in his first full-time NASCAR season driving the No. 97 Chevrolet for Kaulig and also making a handful of starts in the NASCAR Cup Series with Trackhouse Racing, a combo that stunned the competition and fans by winning his first race in his first try – at Chicago.
Former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular Hailie Deegan will make her Xfinity Series fulltime debut in the No. 15 AM Racing Ford. Sheldon Creed moves to the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. And Chandler Smith moves to the No. 81 JGR Toyota this season.
Aric Almirola leads a list of high-profile drivers expected to run substantial parts of the 2024 schedule. He left full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition at the end of last year and will share the cockpit of the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 with last season’s most dominant Xfinity Series racer, John Hunter Nemechek.
Frankie Muniz, a renowned actor who has transitioned to a full-time racing career, will also make a handful of Xfinity starts – including at Daytona – in the No. 35 Joey Gase Motorsports Ford.
A lot of new talent and a lot of highly motivated returnees are sure to make the 2024 Xfinity Series season another thrilling season, with its first always-exciting chapter opening this week.
Practice for the United Rentals 300 is slated for Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET (FS1) with qualifying Saturday morning at 11:30 a.m. (FS1).
Source: Holly Cain | NASCAR Wire Service
