If you were watching the NASCAR Xfinity Series entry list for this weekend’s Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway like a hawk, you more than likely noticed that the No. 99 BJ McLeod Motorsports entry was missing.
This was not a mistake.
On Tuesday, BJMM officially confirmed with a statement that the No. 99 entry will officially reduce to a part-time schedule for the remainder of the 2022 season. According to the statement, Stefan Parsons, who has been the driver of the car this season, will run in select races going forward including Dover.
The statement reads:
“Effective immediately, BJ McLeod Motorsports will field the No. 99 NASCAR Xfinity Series entry on a part-time basis. We wish Stefan Parsons nothing but the best and look forward to having him drive the No. 99 in a handful of races during the remainder of the 2022 season as his schedule allows. The No. 5 and No. 78 entries will continue to compete full-time.”
Following the BJMM announcement, Parsons released a statement of his own, which hints that he will have more plans being announced soon.
Parsons said in his statement, “Although I am disappointed to not be racing at Talladega, I’ve been offered an opportunity that could be highly beneficial to my career long term. The No. 99 BJ McLeod Motorsports team will always be family. I look forward to going to battle with them for select races the remainder of the season.
“Thank you Mark Sokal for supporting me. I look forward to representing SOKAL for years to come. I will share my plans with everyone as soon as they are finalized.”
The No. 78 BJMM team was listed as the No. 178 on NASCAR’s entry list, which indicates the race team swapped the owner points from the No. 99 team (35th in the owner standings) to the No. 78 team (39th in the standings before the swap) to give the No. 78 team a better chance of making the field in upcoming races.
Parsons, the 23-year old son of former NASCAR racer and team owner Phil Parsons, DNQed at Daytona, but had really shown some decent speed for the organization in his seven races he made following Daytona.
Parsons has a season’s best finish of 21st, which he has achieved twice (Phoenix and COTA).