PREVIEW: Two ARCA upstarts join this weekend’s action at Dover
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
IMAGE: Rajah Kirby Caruth, @rajahcaruth_
Saturday, July 19, 2025 (Green Flag 4:50 P.M. ET, CW)
XFINITY Race 20 of 33
BetRivers 200 at Dover
2024 Last-Place Finisher: J.J. Yeley
ENTRY LIST
There are 40 drivers entered for 38 spots, so two will fail to qualify.
DRIVER CHANGE: #5-Our Motorsports
On Tuesday came news that Kris Wright has parted ways with Our Motorsports, effective immediately. Through these first 19 races of the season, Wright failed to finish four times and DNQ’d in Chicago. He scored a season-best 9th at Martinsville, which was his only finish better than 17th. Taking Wright’s place is Kaz Grala, marking his first XFINITY Series start since Chicago, when he took 22nd for Sam Hunt Racing.
DRIVER CHANGE: #9-JR Motorsports
Taking the place of Sonoma runner-up Shane van Gisbergen is Ross Chastain, back in a XFINITY Series race for the first time since his 5th-place run in Nashville. Chastain last started a XFINITY race at Dover in 2020, when he completed a COVID-era double-header with a runner-up finish to Chase Briscoe.
DRIVER CHANGE: #14-SS-Green Light Racing
Garrett Smithley returns to the XFINITY garage for the first time since Atlanta, where he came home 23rd. He takes the place of Connor Mosack, who finished 33rd in Sonoma. Smithley’s best series finish at Dover was 23rd, which he earned in 2018 and matched in 2019.
DRIVER CHANGE: #17-Hendrick Motorsports
James Finch last fielded a XFINITY Series entry at Daytona on July 5, 2013, and often ran with limited manufacturer support. This weekend, his son Jake Finch will drive perhaps the flagship Chevrolet entry on the grid as he attempts his XFINITY Series debut. Finch takes the place of 24th-place Sonoma finisher Corey Day, and will run double-duty with today’s ARCA Menards Series race.
DRIVER CHANGE: #19-Joe Gibbs Racing
Aric Almirola is another driver returning to the series for the first time since Atlanta, where he came home 7th. He takes the place of Riley Herbst, who finished 5th at Sonoma. This marks Almriola’s first XFINITY start at Dover since 2014, when he finished 13th for the Biagi-DenBeste team, though he’s also earned a pair of Top Fives in his 20 prior Cup starts at “The Monster Mile.”
RETURNING: #24-Sam Hunt Racing
Ryan Truex seeks his third consecutive XFINITY Series win at Dover, but this time around drives Sam Hunt’s #24 in place of Joe Gibbs Racing. This second SHR entry last ran at Chicago with Kaz Grala, who finished 22nd.
DRIVER CHANGE: #32-Jordan Anderson Racing
Making his 20th series start is Nashville Truck Series winner Rajah Caruth, who takes the place of 11th-place Sonoma finisher Austin Green in Jordan Anderson’s #32 Chevrolet, this week sponsored by Events DC. This marks Caruth’s first XFINITY Series start since the 2023 season finale at Phoenix, where he drove to a 14th-place finish for Hendrick Motorsports.
DRIVER CHANGE: #35-Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen
Glen Reen reunites with the Gase team for the first time since Nashville, where he failed to qualify with this same #35 entry. Originally listed as TBA in the driver’s column of the entry list, Reen takes the place of Austin J. Hill, who was the lone DNQ in Sonoma. Since Ryan Truex’s #24 is locked into the field as a past winner at Dover, both Reen and the #32 of Caruth must make the field on time due to their low rank for provisionals. Reen finished 28th in his most recent series start at Loudon last summer.
DRIVER CHANGE: #45-Alpha Prime Racing
Joining Jake Finch in a double-duty effort with today’s ARCA race is Lavar Scott, who likewise seeks his XFINITY Series debut, this time driving Alpha Prime’s #45 in place of 31st-place Sonoma finisher Brad Perez. Scott comes into this race 3rd in the ARCA Menards Series points with no finishes worse than 7th in the first nine races of the season.
DRIVER CHANGE: #53-Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen
David Starr returns for only his second series start of the season, his first since a 26th-place finish at Darlington in this same second Gase entry. He takes the place of Sage Karam, who finished 36th at Sonoma after mid-race transmission issues ended his race. This would be Starr’s 15th series start at Dover, where he finished 26th last year for SS-Green Light Racing.
DRIVER CHANGE: #70-Cope Family Racing
Leland Honeyman, Jr. is back with the Cope team for the first time since his strong 12th-place showing in Atlanta, taking the place of 17th-place Sonoma finisher Will Rodgers in the #70. Honeyman finished 21st in this race last year driving for Young’s Motorsports.
DRIVER CHANGE: #07-SS-Green Light Racing
Nick Leitz seeks his 15th series start as he’s back in action for the first time since his 24th-place finish with this team in Atlanta. Leitz takes the place of Alex Labbe, whose rear suspension issues left him next-to-last in Sonoma.
CUP INVADERS: #9-Ross Chastain
Sunday, July 20, 2025 (Green Flag 2:17 P.M. ET, TNT)
CUP Race 21 of 36
Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover
2024 Last-Place Finisher: Ryan Preece
ENTRY LIST
There are 37 drivers entered for 40 spots, so all will qualify for the 17th short field in 21 races this season.
TEAM UPDATE: #4-Front Row Motorsports
TEAM UPDATE: #23-23XI Racing
TEAM UPDATE: #34-Front Row Motorsports
TEAM UPDATE: #35-23XI Racing
TEAM UPDATE: #38-Front Row Motorsports
TEAM UPDATE: #45-23XI Racing
On Thursday came word that both 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports were denied their preliminary injunction regarding their ongoing antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR, this regarding the status of their current Charters for 2025. All six entries from these two teams will now run as “open” teams both this week and next week in Indianapolis, pending further decisions in the case. All six cars will still run this week due to the short field, and while only two races have seen more than 40 entries, the possibility of others may have an effect on both teams.
RETURNING: #44-NY Racing Team
This week’s lone “open” entry is that of J.J. Yeley, marking his first start since a 34th-place showing at Nashville, and the team’s first run since Pocono, where Brennan Poole also came home 34th.
MISSING: #78-Live Fast Motorsports
Katherine Legge is not entered along with the Live Fast team following a 31st-place finish in Sonoma. Both will return next week in Indianapolis.
Friday, July 25, 2025
TRUCKS Race 16 of 25
TSport 200 at IRP
2024 Last-Place Finisher: Mason Massey
The Truck Series returns next week at IRP.
TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (July 18, 1987): John Linville picked up the 8th last-place finish of his NASCAR Busch Grand National Series career in the Coors 200 at South Boston when his #08 Reedy Racing Pontiac lost the rear end after 7 laps. This finish gave Linville the lead in the series’ last-place rankings, breaking a tie with Jimmy Lawson.
