By Toby Christie (Follow on Twitter @Toby_Christie)
Landon Cassill, who has been a big part of where StarCom Racing is as of today, will continue to be a part of the organization going forward. On Monday, StarCom announced that it would be bringing the 29-year-old driver back to drive the No. 00 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in 2019.
The move was announced on Twitter by Derrike Cope on Monday.
Could not be more pleased to have Landon back behind the wheel. His feedback, talent, and passion for the sport is unparalleled. https://t.co/01Nq6a0XxJ
— Derrike Cope (@DCopeRacing) December 17, 2018
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Cassill has been regarded as one of the best raw talents in the garage for years, but sponsorship has foiled his attempts at continuity with race teams over the years. Now, the Iowa native will look to try to elevate the upstart team to new heights this season.
“I’m very excited to be back with StarCom Racing for 2019,” said SCR Driver Landon Cassill. “We put in a lot of work at the end of 2018 to make improvements for this coming year, and I think that work will pay off across the board. The team is making big investments in cars and engines to step up our program, and it only motivates me to bring 110% as a driver.”
Through 288-career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts, Casill has recorded one top-five finish which came at Talladega in 2014.
Cassill’s 18th-place finish at Las Vegas this past September is tied for the best finish in the young race team’s existence.
StarCom Racing made their Series debut late in 2017 at Kansas Speedway with Cope behind the wheel. In 2018, the team had a total of eight drivers behind the wheel of their two race cars (No. 00 and No. 99), but no driver completed more races than Cassill (29).
The team now has a guaranteed slot in the starting lineup each week and it will receive a larger chunk of the weekly purses as well by acquiring a charter from Richard Childress Racing, and now they have secured a serviceable driver behind the wheel.
“We are coming off a successful first year for our new owners and team,” said Derrike Cope, SCR Team Manager. “We certainly endured a great deal of adversity as a start-from-scratch Cup team, learning along the way with positive results for the most part. With a continued commitment from our owners, Mike and Matt Kohler and Bill Woehlemann, we are looking forward to the prospects of being a better race team in 2019. “We are extremely proud and pleased to have acquired the charter from RCR. We are excited to have contracted Landon Cassill for this coming year as I have enjoyed working with him in 2018 and what his experience brings to the race team.”
According to a team press release, they have also moved their operations into a brand new 20,000 square foot race shop in Salisbury, N.C. and they will also be using ECR motors in 2019.
