UPDATE: Rafa Matos, who was scheduled to drive the No. 87 Chevrolet Camaro at Watkins Glen International, confirmed via Instagram that he would no longer be running the NASCAR Xfinity Series Mission 200 at the New York-based road course. That post has since been deleted.
The No. 87 is currently on the entry list for Saturday’s Xfinity Series event at Watkins Glen, under the Jordan Anderson Racing banner, but as of Thursday, September 12 no driver has been listed. The team has even submitted a team roster for the event, indicating that there are plans of being at the racetrack come practice on Saturday.
No word on who the driver will be.
Rafa Matos, the current TransAm TA2 Series points leader, will join Peterson Racing Group to compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Watkins Glen International, the driver confirmed via Instagram on Thursday.
The 42-year-old driver will pilot the No. 87 Chevrolet Camaro for the first-year organization, with sponsorship from 3Dimensional Services Group and the Navy Seal Foundation.
In his Instagram post, Matos says: “I proudly announce that I will be racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Watkins Glen. A goal that I had been thinking about for some time and now I had this great opportunity through the Peterson Racing team.”
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Born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Matos began his motorsports career in open-wheel racing. He won the 2007 Atlantic Championship before graduating to IndyLights in 2008, where he captured three victories and the championship in his first full-time season.
Matos moved on to compete in the NTT IndyCar Series from 2009 to 2011, where in a total of 38 starts, the driver scored a pair of fourth-place results, both in 2010, on the streets of São Paulo and another at Watkins Glen.
Since 2018, Matos has been competing in the Trans-Am Series, winning two championships in the TA2 Division (2018 and 2021). At NOLA Motorsports Park in 2024, Matos scored his 21st career win in the division, making him the winningest driver in the class.
For Matos, the September 14 event at Watkins Glen International will mark his first attempt to compete in a NASCAR National Series event.
Peterson Racing Group has had a spectacular debut season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this year, contesting four events with Austin Green behind the wheel, all of which have been in conjunction with Jordan Anderson Racing.
In his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), Green drove his entry to an impressive seventh-place finish, the first of three top-10 results in four events. The best finish for Green would come at Sonoma, though, with a strong fourth-place result.
Green is expected to return to the Xfinity Series at Watkins Glen, once again driving the No. 32 Chevrolet Camaro. While Green and Matos won’t officially be listed as teammates, Peterson Racing Group will have a hand in preparing both entries.
Without any owner points attached to the No.87 Chevrolet Camaro, Matos must qualify for the show by putting his entry inside the top 33 in qualifying at Watkins Glen International.
