On the first day of December, Live Fast Motorsports announced they would be switching over to Chevrolet and ECR Engines, ending their tenure with Ford which they started back when the team set foot in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2021.
A change in manufacturer wouldn’t be easy for any organization, but it will be especially difficult for the small team, co-owned by BJ McLeod and Matt Tifft.
However, the team is taking the challenge with open arms, in hopes that it will provide continued strength in the long run. The team has already announced the signing of Josh Bilicki for multiple NASCAR Cup Series events this season.
Additionally, the organization has signed Anthony Alfredo and Garrett Smithley to compete full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, under the BJ McLeod Motorsports banner.
McLeod has started the season behind the wheel of his NASCAR Cup Series entry, missing the main event in the Busch Light Clash at the LA Memorial Coliseum, and finishing 16th in the Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona.
The 39-year-old journeyman took the time to speak with TobyChristie.com about the challenges the organization will face, as it enters its third full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series.
The transition to Chevrolet hasn’t been easy for a small team like Live Fast Motorsports, but BJ McLeod and the crew are trying to make the best of it.
“Got a whole half a note pad of items we need to work on” he says with a smile.#NASCAR pic.twitter.com/CQACF6GieV
— RJ Starcevic (@RJStarcevic) February 17, 2023
“It’s been really tough,” McLeod told TobyChristie.com on Thursday. “Everybody in the industry had to redo clips and some other things we had updates on, and we decided to switch manufacturers, too. It’s been really difficult for our small team, we’ve worked really, really hard to get us here this weekend, it’s been rough, but we love racing and that’s why we do it.”
With no practice session scheduled prior to Thursday’s Duel, a wrench was thrown into the routines of several organizations. However, the Live Fast Motorsports crew was able to make it through the Bluegreen Vacations Duel, and a pair of practices on Friday and Saturday, to start the Daytona 500 problem-free.
“We’ve got half a notepad full of items we gotta work on,” McLeod said with a smile after Thursday’s Duel.
McLeod, piloting the No. 78 PowerSlap/Rumble Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will roll from 32nd in Sunday’s 500-mile contest, as the organization looks to continue its prior success on the superspeedways, including a top-10 result in last Summer’s race at Daytona.
