In addition to attempting the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 for MBM Motorsports, as well as the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race with his own team Hill Motorsports, Timmy Hill will return to MBM Motorsports for the NASCAR Xfinity Series season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway in the No. 66 Chevrolet Camaro.
“Timmy Hill will be driving for us, also in the No. 66 Chevrolet at Daytona,” MBM Motorsports team owner Carl Long announced on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s Frontstretch with Jack Arute on Sunday.
For those who have followed MBM closely, the Chevrolet piece of the announcement is probably sounding off alarm bells as the team typically fields a mixture of Toyota and Ford cars.
However, Long says he’s tired of getting his butt whipped at Daytona by the bowtie brigade. As the old adage goes; if you can’t beat them, join them.
“When you look over the past, what performs the best at Daytona, the restrictor plate races, Chevrolet has seemed to kick our butts,” Long explained. “I’ve had Fords, I’ve got Toyotas, we’ve leased engines from Roush, from Gibbs. Chevrolets just kick our tail ends.”
Not only will Long’s MBM Motorsports team field a Chevrolet Camaro for Hill in the NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Daytona but the team will also lease a Hendrick Engine for the race and they have purchased a Gen 6 NASCAR Cup Series superspeedway car from JTG Daugherty Racing, which has been converted into an Xfinity Series race car for February.
“We made a purchase from JTG,” Long said. “We’ve got the car that Ricky Stenhouse sat on the front row in Cup last year and we’ve changed it to an Xfinity car. We’ve leased an engine from Hendrick. Hopefully, we won’t be worried about making the show, as strong of a field as it usually is, and we’ll be worried how far up the field we’ll be.”
Here is a clip from Long’s appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio from Sunday:
ICYMI, On today's #FrontStretch with @Jackonsports, MBM Motorsports team owner Carl Long revealed the team's Xfinity Series plans for the No. 66 entry at Daytona.@MBMMotorsports | @NASCAR_Xfinity | @TimmyHillRacer pic.twitter.com/KMibHJiAJG
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) January 16, 2022
As of January 17th, there are 36 confirmed entries for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona, and there are another 16 potential entries that could be announced before the race weekend arrives.
With qualifying back on the table this season, Long’s decision to go all-in on a proven JTG Daugherty superspeedway car with the always powerful and reliable Hendrick powerplant for the Xfinity Series race, should go a long way toward the No. 66 team being on the right side of the qualifying cutoff for the race.
In 2020, Hill nearly shocked the world in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona, as he skillfully worked his way from the 26th starting spot to be in the lead pack in the closing laps of the race.
Hill had a legitimate shot at winning his first NASCAR National Series event, but settled for a solid third-place finish that day. As it stands, that is the best-ever finish for Hill in 422 NASCAR National Series starts and it’s the best ever finish for MBM Motorsports in the organization’s 552 NASCAR National Series starts.
With the decision to invest in a potent Superspeedway package for Daytona in February, Hill and Long could surprise many with another top finish.
One Response
Good news! I’ve always liked Timmy Hill it’s good to see him get a real shot in some decent equipment. He has outperformed his stuff pretty consistently and I’d bet if he got a real shot in a competitive car he’ll bring home the bacon.
I can guarantee if he’d had the shot Matty D did in that Wood Bros car he’d have brought home some hardware!