W.A.S.P. Motorsports: Bill Werkheiser will call it quits after the 2024 season. He will be in new colors this year, hoping to take the Piper Archer #6 to victory lane one final time after recieving Randy Dobbins's Ford factory support. Teammate Scott Jackson struggled with speed all season long, free-wheeling from an average starting-spot of 26th and miraculously finishing inside the top-20 in points. W.A.S.P. Motorsports as a whole hasn't been to victory lane since Scott won the Sharipe 500 in 2021. With Geno Sphere in the fold and new sponsorship from Kingsford, this three-car team has hope for the future.
Donald Stewart enters the season elated after a huge victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway to cap off 2023. Last year started off with similar success, earning five-straight top-5 finishes to begin, third in points entering the Russ Charneski 500. Five finishes 41st or worse halted the #55's chances of a chase birth, finishing 18th in the standings with ten top-5 finishes. A new look for Clorox may propel them to the stratosphere, with teammate Ben Geer earning a top-35 provisional spot after David Butterworth left High Octane Racing. With Allstate dropping their sponsorship to the #121 only, the #81 owner points no longer exist, bumping Ben Geer into the Daytona 500 and the first six races. If Stewart can earn a chase birth and Geer finishes top-30 in points, they will render the 2024 season a success!
Jeremy Hebel finished 2nd in the ARCA Bonzai Series Championship last season, losing to Jim Gunk in a head-to-head battle for the title! With the success, Alex Crapser's former crew chief has left the Lucas Racing ladder to join Blazin' Pedals Racing's second Extravaganza ride. The #1 Milwaukee Brewers Chevrolet will compete for Rookie of the Year against Molemar Diggs, Steve Inkman and Bonzai Champion Jim Gunk's brother Tony. Teammate Dakota Wilkins's 2023 Cinderella victory at Auto Club sets the team standard for 2024. They've switched to CFM Motorsports engines in 2024 after Lucas Racing's full commitment to Wizards of Speed's newfound two car organization. If they can get over that hurdle, expect one of these guys to finish top-20 in points and earn another victory!
The glory days with Johnny Reed Foley have yet to replicate for Shake N' Bake Racing. The #18 team is officially defunct, with Cristiano De Sa out of a ride for the Daytona 500. The Budweiser #15 endured an enormous blow after Tony Long's accident at Chicagoland, dropping out of the top-35 in points despite help from Jared Mogard. Long will have to qualify for his Daytona 500 spot, and for an entry in the first six events. Michael Henson's #144 will hold down the fort, hoping to finally eclipse a top-20 result in the standings. A victory for either team would be popular in the Extravaganza Series garage.
Old Farts Racing is back to a two car organization, bringing on David Butterwoth after he lost his Allstate sponsorship with High Octane Racing. Ironically, the sponsor forfeited just before Butterworth railroaded his way into the top-35 in points, earning four top-10 finishes in the final fourteen races. With that car defunct, he will now have to race his way into the Daytona 500 with Coor's Light as his new primary sponsor. Teammate Rob Scarberry maintains his popular standing with STP, looking to improve on his 26th place average finish in 2023. A victory would be nice, but a few top-5's with both cars finishing inside the top-30 in points will be the goal.
Ziggy Moonglow is back! His mortifying Sonoma pit-wall accident last June desecrated his abdomen and broke several ribs, but the doctors render him ready to go for 2024. Coca-Cola will remain the full time sponsor for the #02 after subsidiary Dr. Pepper pulled from the #18 Shake N' Bake Racing ride. Both he and teammate Trae Larkin need to qualify for the Daytona 500, hoping to use Ziggy's experience in the Big Bud Shootout to dominate the Daytona Duels. Delta Sim Racing's goal is for the #00 and #02 to finish the year top-35 in points.
Solomon-Tark Motorsports: Nobody expects anything from Solomon-Tark Motorsports. This two-car organization finished 22nd and 36th in the Bonanza Series standings, without a victory for either Steven Inkman or Tony Gunk. Still, relative sponsorship from Kelpo and Bran Flakes was enough to propel their move to full-time Extravaganza. Both drivers will compete for Rookie of the Year, with Inkman as the short-track ace and Gunk as the horsepower man. Making the Daytona 500 is the goal, with a week-to-week basis mentality for the oncoming races.
Dan Johnston and Rod Weston join the seven-car crowd of independent organizations running full time in 2024. Alan Nesfeder was finally able to top John Tharp for the highest points finisher of a one car team, earning 11th in the standings to Tharp's 13th. Tharp looks for his third Daytona 500 victory, hoping to partner with #26 Cristian Torres during the race as the only two full time Toyota's in the field. Hot Header Racing with Jonathan Skrabacz lost Boeing as a sponsor during the offseason, joining forces with Castrol GTX in hopes for a boost in performance. Rod Weston will combine members from the defunct Dave Daniels' #0 team to propel the #56 NAPA entry into the top-35. One driver missing is Aaron Cummings, losing Mello Yello to Steven Spears after the #51 failed to qualify for seven events in 2023. Dan Johnston and William Perry hope to launch themselves into the top-25 in points, both content with their independent status as long as the results match the immaculate hard work. Good luck to all!
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