Garrett Smithley will make his first-ever attempt to qualify into the DAYTONA 500, driving the No. 13 Ford Mustang for Carl Long’s MBM Motorsports.
Trophy Tractor Inc. – a long-time backer of Smithley’s racing efforts — will serve as the primary sponsor on the 28-year-old’s Ford Mustang. Trophy Tractor Inc. is based in Grand Prairie, Texas and serves mines, quarries and contractors around the world.
“It’s absolutely a dream come true to attempt the Daytona 500. To this point, RWR has given me the opportunity to compete in every crown jewel event in NASCAR. This is obviously the biggest one, so I’m thankful for the opportunity to do this with MBM Motorsports. It’s going to be a tall order to race our way in, but I’ve had a lot of success on Super-speedways in the past, so I’m cautiously optimistic that we can get it done.” said Smithley.
In January, it was announced that Smithley would return to Rick Ware Racing on a part-time basis in the NASCAR Cup Series. As of now, the season-opener at Daytona is a one-off event for Smithley with MBM Motorsports.
The Ligonier, Pennsylvania-native will have to race his way into “The Great American Race” via his Bluegreen Vacation Duel Race on Thursday Night or his qualifying speed in Wednesday Night’s single-car qualifying session.
Originally, Chad Finchum was scheduled to drive the No. 13 Ford Mustang for the 2021 DAYTONA 500, however, Smithley will take over the entry as a teammate to Timmy Hill and the No. 66 team.
