XCI Racing

Get ready for lots of fireworks this 4th of July weekend – both on and off the race track at Daytona International Speedway.

This race marks the first time the 2.5-mile track hosts a Cup race without restrictor plates since 1988, utilizing instead the tapered spacer – which we’ve already seen used once this year at Talladega Superspeedway.

Both the Cup and Xfinity Series will be in action at Daytona. The Truck Series is off until July 11 at Kentucky Speedway.

Here are the updated entry lists for this weekend’s races:

Cup – Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7:30 p.m. ET Saturday on NBC)

There is a full 40-car field of cars and drivers entered for this race.

For the second time this season, Garrett Smithley is entered in Premium Motorsports’ No. 15 Chevrolet.

Quin Houff will drive the No. 15 for Premium Motorsports.

Ross Chastain will be in the No. 27 for Premium Motorsports.

B.J. McLeod makes his ninth start of the season for Petty Ware Racing in the No. 51 Ford

J.J. Yeley makes his third start of the season for Rick Ware Racing in the No. 52 Ford.

Joey Gase makes his first start of the season for Rick Ware Racing in the No. 53 Chevrolet.

Brendan Gaughan makes his third start of the season for Beard Racing in the No. 62 Chevrolet.

Justin Haley is back in the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet.

And Parker Kligerman makes his eighth start of the season in the No. 96 Toyota for Gaunt Brothers Racing.

Last year, Erik Jones earned his first career Cup win in this race. Martin Truex Jr. was second and A.J. Allmendinger finished third.

Click here for the entry list.

Xfinity – Circle K Firecracker 250 (7:30 p.m. ET Friday on NBCSN)

There are 42 cars entered. Four cars will not make the race.

Sheldon Creed makes his third Xfinity start of the season and the first for JR Motorsports in the No. 8 Chevrolet.

A.J. Allmendinger makes his first Xfinity start of the season in the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet.

Joe Nemecheck makes his second Xfinity start of the season in the No. 13 Motorsports Business Management Toyota.

Riley Herbst makes his fifth start of 2019 in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

Joe Graf Jr. makes his second start of 2019 in the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

Chris Cockrum makes his third start for ACG Motorsports in the No. 25 Chevrolet.

Shane Lee makes his third start for H2 Motorsports in the No. 28 Toyota.

Austin Hill makes his Xfinity Series debut in the No. 61 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota.

Jeffrey Earnhardt is on the entry list with the No. 81 XCI Racing Toyota but stated on Twitter that the team would not be competing this weekend.

A spokesperson for True Speed Communications, which had done PR for XCI Racing, said they had no additional info and that its agreement with the team was only through Chicagoland.

Unfortunately I won’t be running this weekend @DISupdates . I’m looking forward to getting back in the car soon.

— Jeffrey Earnhardt (@JEarnhardt1) July 3, 2019

Caesar Bacarella makes his third start of 2019 in the No. 90 DGM Racing Chevrolet.

Cody Ware makes his second Xfinity start of the season in the No. 99 B.J. McLeod Motorsports Toyota.

Kyle Larson won this race last year, followed by Elliott Sadler and Christopher Bell.

Click here for the entry list.

Follow @JerryBonkowski

On the eve of the first NASCAR race weekend of the season, a new team that will split time competing in the Cup and Xfinity Series in 2019 was announced Thursday.

Xtreme Concepts Inc., which is already an existing sponsor of Joe Gibbs Racing, has formed Xtreme Concepts Racing (XCI Racing).

XCI Racing will compete in two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races and five Xfinity Series races in 2019. Both cars that will be fielded are Toyota Camrys and will carry the No. 81. Jeffrey Earnhardt will handle driving duties in all seven races.

“As a driver, you want to get all the seat time you can, not just seat time but seat time in really good equipment,” Earnhardt said at a press conference Thursday afternoon at Daytona International Speedway. “Xtreme Concepts has given me the opportunity to do so in Gibbs equipment, but now add a little icing to the cake, given me the opportunity to do it in an Xtreme Concepts car in alliance with Joe Gibbs (Racing). I’m really looking forward to showing what I’ve got.”

The team will make its debut in the March 30 Xfinity race at Texas Motor Speedway, then will compete in the Cup race April 28 at Talladega Superspeedway.

The team will then compete in Xfinity races on June 29 at Chicagoland Speedway, July 5 at Daytona International Speedway, Aug. 16 at Bristol Motor Speedway and Aug. 31 at Darlington Raceway.

XCI’s final race in 2019 will be back on the Cup circuit on Oct. 13 at Talladega.

“We are taking a very deliberate and methodical approach to becoming a NASCAR team,” Landon Ash, founder of Birmingham, Alabama-based Xtreme Concepts and owner of XCI Racing, said in a media release. “Having a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing makes the learning curve a little less steep and allows us to field competitive racecars right out of the gate.

“Our ultimate goal is to become a full-time team in the NASCAR Cup Series. We’ll take what we learn this season and apply it to next season. We plan to grow incrementally, and our alliance with JGR will be a key component of that growth.”

Entry lists for Cup, Xfinity at Daytona

Jeffrey Earnhardt to drive seven races for new Cup, Xfinity team in 2019