After a tumultuous first half of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, MBM Motorsports will scale back its efforts to part-time, starting with skipping Saturday’s Alsco Uniforms 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Chad Finchum, who was originally scheduled to drive the team’s No. 66 entry at the 1.5-mile superspeedway this weekend, will instead compete at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Saturday’s 250-mile contest from Atlanta Motor Speedway will mark the first time since the start of 2015 that MBM Motorsports will not have a vehicle entered in a NASCAR Xfinity Series event.
In a lengthy statement posted to social media, MBM Motorsports provided some insight into the decision to scale back its program, while also providing updates on the team’s current projects and future racing plans.
“Several factors contributed to this decision,” the statement reads. “Firstly, we do not have access to simulator time for our driver or our car. With no practice, we would have had to unload and nail our first lap on the track, wide-open, to qualify for the race. Secondly, weather has forced the cancelation of every qualifying session at the reconfigured Atlanta. Our points position means we would not make the field if this qualifying session were to be canceled. Thirdly, we face a lack of sponsorship. It is a significant expense to lease a plate engine, which is a near necessity with the current competitiveness of the Xfinity field. Only a few teams are left using the B-C engine plan.”
The organization further cites a dramatic shift in the business model for the NASCAR Xfinity Series in recent years, in which several of the smaller teams are now seeking engineering and technical support from factory-supported organizations. “For MBM to be more competitive, we must pick and choose races for which we have sponsorship and can obtain engineering and technical help,” the statement continued.
As for the future of MBM Motorsports, the organization says it plans to alternate between part-time schedules in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series, since currently, the team only has the personnel to run one series per weekend effectively.
At this moment, the organization is committed to competing in events at Daytona International Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, and Charlotte Motor Speedway’s ROVAL, where they’ll welcome a new sponsor on their entry.
An update from MBM Motorsports:#NASCAR pic.twitter.com/EYJi4nLh0F
— MBM Motorsports (@MBMMotorsports) July 7, 2023
