Leland Honeyman will get the opportunity to compete in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Kansas Speedway, despite failing to qualify for the event in the No. 44 Chevrolet for Alpha Prime Racing.
The 18-year-old driver will jump into the No. 66 Ford Mustang for MBM Motorsports, which was put into the show by Timmy Hill, who scored an impressive starting spot for the organization, in 28th.
On X – formerly Twitter – Honeyman said, “Thank you MBM Motorsports and Timmy Hill for letting me hop in the No. 66 for the race today. Hate it for me and my team at Alpha Prime Racing that we didn’t make the show.”
Thank you @MBMMotorsports and @TimmyHillRacer for letting me hop in the 66 for the race today
Hate it for me and my team at (@TeamAlphaPrime) that we didn’t make the show. pic.twitter.com/XTbeVMlBdD
— Leland Honeyman Jr (@Lelandhoneymnjr) September 9, 2023
Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300 will mark Honeyman’s sixth career start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, but his first for an organization other than Alpha Prime Racing, which has fielded him in races at Phoenix, Richmond, Martinsville, Portland, and Road America.
Throughout his short tenure in the second-tier series, Honeyman has a career-best result of 25th, which came in back-to-back races at Richmond Raceway and Martinsville Speedway earlier this year.
The Mooresville, North Carolina-native will be the seventh driver to take the green flag for MBM Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this season, and the 10th to set foot in the No. 66 in 2023.
In 10 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts this season, the single-car operation has recorded a best finish of 25th place on two occasions, which came at Road America and Michigan with Dexter Stacey and Sage Karam, respectively.
Honeyman will be credited with a starting spot of 28th for Saturday’s event, but due to a last-minute driver change will have to drop to the rear of the field for the start of the 200-lap race.