JD Motorsports has appointed veteran road racer Patrick Gallagher as the driver of the No. 4 Chevrolet Camaro for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), the organization confirmed in a press release on Thursday.
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A native of Thornville, Ohio, Gallagher will attempt to make his first start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series since 2022, and the seventh of his career, this weekend at the 3.41-mile road course located in Austin, Texas. Gallagher last graced NASCAR’s second-tier division in a five-race schedule for RSS Racing, two seasons ago, recording a season-high 19th-place result at Road America.
“I’m super excited to be back in the Nascar Xfinity Series in the JD Motorsports #4 at COTA. Racing a stock car around a road course is some of my favorite racing I’ve done and I’m thankful to Johnny [Davis] to have an opportunity to do it again,” said Gallagher. “I went to the shop a few days this week and the guys have been working hard to give us a good car to qualify in on Friday.”
Last season, Gallagher competed full-time in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Turner Motorsport in the GTD Class, scoring three second-place results at Sebring, VIR, and Road Atlanta, ultimately finishing eighth-place in final point standings after an 11-race season.
Entering Saturday’s Focused Health 250 at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), the first road course event of the year for the NASCAR Xfinity Series, JD Motorsports has its No. 4 entry sitting 37th in owner points, after a difficult start to the season for the organization’s sole full-time competitor, Dawson Cram, scoring a best finish of 28th this season at Phoenix.
With the entry’s unfavorable position in owner points, Gallagher will likely need to qualify his way into Saturday’s Focused Health 250 on speed, meaning the No. 4 Chevrolet will have to register a top-33 qualifying time on Friday, or face the organization’s first DNQ of 2024.
