JGL Racing was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team was based in Denver, North Carolina. The team last fielded the No. 24 for Kaz Grala and No. 28 for Dylan Lupton and Tony Mrakovich.

JGL Racing
Owner(s)James Whitener Sr.
Gregg Mixon
Denise Mixon
BaseDenver, North Carolina
SeriesNASCAR Xfinity Series
Sponsors24. NETTS
28. thinQ Technology Partners, Smart Emissions Reducer, Fatal Clothing
ManufacturerFord
Opened2014
Closed2018
Career
Debut2014 DRIVE4COPD 300 (Daytona)
Latest race2018 Pocono Green 250 (Pocono)
Races competed103
Drivers' Championships0
Race victories0
Pole positions0

History

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Former partners James Whitener and Gregg Mixon of GIC-Mixon Motorsports announced the formation of a new team on January 20, 2014 with James Whitener as the owner and Gregg Mixon as the General Manager. Veteran driver Carl Long served as the team's competition director, with the team operating out of a Statesville race shop. .[1][2] During its opening season in 2014, JGL Racing used second-hand Dodge Challengers (Dodge left the sport after 2012) purchased from Team Penske and engines also leased from PENSKE,[1] as other teams have done in the Xfinity Series such as Vision Racing. Because of this, the schemes of the 28 and 93 still resembled those of Penske's No. 12 Alliance Truck Parts and No. 22 Discount Tire cars.

The team expanded to three teams in 2015, and switched to Toyota,[3] using engines from an alliance with TriStar Motorsports' PME Engines.[4] The cars are now built and wrapped in JGL Racing's shop. The paint schemes for the 26 and 28 cars were created by the JGL Graphics Shop.

In August 2015 and continuing into 2016, the team began using engines from Joe Gibbs Racing and expanded its operations to Denver, NC with a multi-building campus.[5][6]

On November 15, 2017, it was announced that JGL would form a partnership with Roush Fenway Racing and move to Ford for 2018. Kaz Grala was announced as the first driver for the new JGL/Ford pairing, while later signing Dylan Lupton and Tony Mrakovich to the No. 28 car.[7] Grala finished 4th in his Xfinity Series debut at Daytona while Lupton finished 27th.

The team would shut down after a 23rd finish with Lupton at Pocono coming on the heels of the release of Kaz Grala after Dover. The financial struggles were medical issues for team owner James Whitener Sr., and the No. 24 assets were sold to FURY Race Cars while the rest of the assets including the shop were sold to JGL Crew Chief Steven Lane where he would form On Point Motorsports.

Whitener died on March 21, 2022, and his cause of death has not been revealed.[8]

Xfinity Series

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Car No. 24 history

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For 2015, Eric McClure signed to drive the No. 24 car, which replaced the former No. 93 team. McClure brought longtime sponsors Hefty and Reynolds Wrap from TriStar Motorsports. Jay Guy was initially announced as crew chief; Steven Lane would assume the duty for the season.[2][3][9][10] After 9 races however, McClure and JGL parted ways and he returned to TriStar Motorsports for the rest of the year.[5][11] McClure took the car number to TriStar, so the No. 24 JGL team was shut down and its crew moved to the No. 26.[11][12]

The No. 24 car returned as JGL's second team in 2016.[5] On February 12, the team announced the car will be part of the "Young Guns" program, in which a group of upcoming drivers would drive the car.[13] Joe Gibbs Racing development driver Matt Tifft drove the car at the Daytona season opener with sponsorship from ClinicalRM, finishing 21st.[14][15] Corey LaJoie drove several races in the car beginning at Atlanta.[13] youtheory later signed on to sponsor LaJoie in eight races beginning at Fontana in March.[16] On April 11, 2016, Brandon McReynolds, son of former crew chief and Fox Sports analyst Larry McReynolds, was announced as the driver of the No. 24 car for the Xfinity race at Talladega Superspeedway later that month.[17]

For 2017, Scott Lagasse Jr., Corey LaJoie, Drew Herring, Jeb Burton, Dylan Lupton and Cale Conley shared the ride.

On November 17, 2017, it was announced that Kaz Grala would drive the No. 24 full-time in 2018. JGL Racing announced that it would switch to Ford and have a technical alliance with Roush Fenway Racing as part of the deal.

 
Grala making a pit stop in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway in April 2018

[18] However, on May 15, 2018, Grala announced he had been released by JGL as the team was shutting down its No. 24 car due to a lack of sponsorship.[19] Team owner James Whitener later revealed that his diagnosis of liver failure also contributed to the closing of the team.[20] Some of the cars, as well as many of the crew members from the 24 car, including crew chief Shane Wilson, moved to Grala's new team, Fury Race Cars, which is partly owned by his father Darius. The No. 24 was later reassigned to GMS Racing.

Car No. 24 results

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Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Owners Pts
2015 Eric McClure 24 Toyota DAY
17
ATL
28
LVS
23
PHO
29
CAL
34
TEX
29
BRI
26
RCH
36
TAL
21
IOW CLT DOV MCH CHI DAY KEN NHA IND IOW GLN MOH BRI ROA DAR RCH CHI KEN DOV CLT KAN TEX PHO HOM 32nd 457
2016 Matt Tifft DAY
21
TEX
20
BRI
23
RCH 32nd 340
Corey LaJoie ATL
23
LVS
19
CAL
18
DAY
30
KEN NHA
37
IND BRI
10
ROA DAR RCH CHI KEN DOV
6
CLT KAN TEX
23
PHO
33
HOM
35
T. J. Bell PHO
26
Brandon McReynolds TAL
24
IOW
32
GLN MOH
Drew Herring DOV
14
CLT
18
POC MCH IOW
29
2017 Scott Lagasse Jr. DAY
6
TAL
34
27th 373
Corey LaJoie ATL
16
CAL
18
DOV
15
CLT
17
PHO
22
HOM
15
Drew Herring LVS
19
PHO
20
Jeb Burton TEX
29
BRI
26
DAY
4
KEN
19
IND
19
BRI
29
Dylan Lupton RCH
12
DOV
30
POC
22
MCH
24
IOW
15
NHA
22
IOW
25
GLN
20
MOH
27
ROA
33
DAR
30
RCH
24
CHI KEN KAN
16
TEX
21
Cale Conley CLT
32
2018 Kaz Grala Ford DAY
4
ATL
23
LVS
16
PHO
12
CAL
14
TEX
26
BRI
38
RCH
30
TAL
20
DOV
37
CLT POC MCH IOW CHI DAY KEN NHA IOW GLN MOH BRI ROA DAR IND LVS RCH CLT DOV KAN TEX PHO HOM 41st 98

Car No. 26 history

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Tomy Drissi at Road America in 2015.

In 2015, Mike Wallace returned to the team in a part-time third entry numbered No. 26. Wallace finished 13th in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway. Wallace was to again attempt Talladega in this car, but open heart surgery sidelined him, with his replacement being announced as his younger brother Kenny Wallace.[21] The younger Wallace was involved in a multi-car crash,[22] relegating him to a 38th-place finish.

Following the shut down of the No. 24 team after Eric McClure's departure, JGL made the No. 26 a full-time entry, with the No. 26 team assuming the crew from the No. 24 team.[11][12] Ryan Ellis drove the car at Iowa in May, with C. J. Faison piloting the car at Dover in his series debut.[23] Timmy Hill drove the car at Daytona in July, with Mike Wallace still out of commission following surgery, and Kenny Wallace injured from the Talladega crash and another crash during the season.[22] Tomy Drissi returned to the team at Watkins Glen and Mid-Ohio, promoting the Straight Outta Compton film.[24] Hermie Sadler drove 2 races in the car at Bristol and Richmond with sponsorship from the Virginia Lottery.[25] T. J. Bell later took over the ride remainder of the season by start and parking majority of the races. The No. 26 team later became the No. 24 team in 2016.

On June 24, 2017, the team announced via Twitter that Scott Lagasse Jr. will drive the No. 26 at Daytona.

Car No. 26 results

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Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Owners Pts
2015 Mike Wallace 26 Toyota DAY
13
ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH 32nd 457
Kenny Wallace TAL
38
Ryan Ellis IOW
35
Kyle Fowler CLT
27
C. J. Faison DOV
23
MCH
40
T. J. Bell CHI
23
DAR
36
CHI
38
KEN
35
DOV
36
CLT
36
KAN
36
TEX
38
PHO
36
HOM
39
Timmy Hill DAY
11
KEN
24
IND
27
Matt Wallace NHA
33
IOW
25
Tomy Drissi GLN
25
MOH
32
ROA
36
Hermie Sadler BRI
29
RCH
32
2017 Scott Lagasse Jr. DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH TAL CLT DOV POC MCH IOW DAY
14
KEN NHA IND IOW GLN MOH BRI ROA DAR RCH CHI KEN DOV CLT KAN TEX PHO HOM 47th 23

Car No. 28 history

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J. J. Yeley's 5th place car at Road America

The No. 28 was an original JGL Racing entry, having debuted at Daytona in 2014 as a Dodge. Mike Wallace ran the No. 28 at Daytona in 2014 with Unker's Medicated Cream as the sponsor, with the intent of running the full season.[1] Wallace, an excellent Superspeedway racer, finished 13th in the race.[26] Wallace ran the next four races, with a best finish of 20th at Phoenix.[27][28] After Derek White (another owner who operates out of Carl Long's shop) ran the car at Fontana, J. J. Yeley moved over from the No. 93 car to become the team's primary driver. Yeley posted a strong 7th-place finish at Talladega,[29] then ran a strong 5th on rain tires at Road America.[30] At Watkins Glen International, Yeley's No. 28 car was involved in a crash with Trevor Bayne entering turn 6, which both Yeley's crew chief and analyst Andy Petree noted as the third incident of the day in which Bayne had spun out another competitor. Afterwards, Yeley got out of his car and expressed his displeasure with Bayne as he passed by, and in his post-wreck interview.[31] Yeley would be credited with a 35th-place finish out of 39 cars. At the season-finale at Homestead, the No. 28 team switched to Toyota equipment.[27]

Yeley returned to the team for 2015.[3][9] He would finish 4th at Talladega to bring JGL their best finish. Yeley finished 12th in the championship point standings.[32]

For 2016, Dakoda Armstrong moved over from Richard Petty Motorsports to drive the No. 28 car full-time, with sponsorship from WinField.[5][32] Armstrong started the season with a 14th place finish at Daytona. Armstrong would have a great consistent season, including a season best finish, 12th at Daytona. Armstrong would be moved to Joe Gibbs Racing for one race to drive the No. 18 replacing Matt Tifft at Iowa bringing his sponsor which JGL hired Drew Herring to drive the No. 28 car at Iowa, where he finished 12th.

For 2017, Armstrong returned, however was released by the team on September 25 for a lack of sponsorship.

On January 3, 2018, it was announced that Dylan Lupton would drive the No. 28 for at least 21 races in 2018. Lupton had previously driven the No. 24 part-time in 2017.[33] Tony Mrakovich made his Xfinity Series debut in the No. 28 at Richmond, finishing 24th. On June 7, 2018, Dylan Lupton announced on Twitter that he left the team to find a more competitive car.

JGL Racing has been inactive since mid 2018.

Car No. 28 results

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Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Owners Pts
2014 Mike Wallace 28 Dodge DAY
13
PHO
20
LVS
26
BRI
25
CAL
21
22nd 720
Derek White TEX
36
J. J. Yeley DAR
14
RCH
18
TAL
7
IOW
18
CLT
21
DOV
28
MCH
21
ROA
5
KEN
22
DAY
35
NHA
17
CHI
14
IND
24
IOW
17
GLN
35
MOH
26
BRI
30
ATL
16
RCH
31
CHI
25
KEN
23
DOV
22
KAN
18
CLT
39
TEX
20
PHO
30
Toyota HOM
16
2015 DAY
27
ATL
19
LVS
16
PHO
24
CAL
22
TEX
19
BRI
33
RCH
19
TAL
4
IOW
34
CLT
21
DOV
18
MCH
25
CHI
16
DAY
20
KEN
18
NHA
15
IND
18
IOW
18
GLN
12
MOH
16
BRI
19
ROA
35
DAR
16
RCH
20
CHI
19
KEN
15
DOV
12
CLT
19
KAN
21
TEX
23
PHO
17
HOM
21
18th 803
2016 Dakoda Armstrong DAY
14
ATL
21
LVS
22
PHO
18
CAL
22
TEX
26
BRI
30
RCH
14
TAL
34
DOV
21
CLT
21
POC
18
MCH
24
IOW
17
DAY
12
KEN
18
NHA
17
IND
20
GLN
18
MOH
21
BRI
18
ROA
13
DAR
18
RCH
16
CHI
22
KEN
18
DOV
20
CLT
19
KAN
20
TEX
20
PHO
19
HOM
19
19th 711
Drew Herring IOW
12
2017 Dakoda Armstrong DAY
12
ATL
21
LVS
20
PHO
17
CAL
20
TEX
17
BRI
19
RCH
16
TAL
22
CLT
20
DOV
19
POC
20
MCH
20
IOW
5
DAY
3
KEN
17
NHA
24
IND
20
IOW
17
GLN
21
MOH
10
BRI
24
ROA
22
DAR
29
RCH
18
CHI
16
KEN
23
DOV CLT KAN TEX PHO HOM 18th 638
2018 Dylan Lupton Ford DAY
27
ATL
21
LVS
40
PHO
23
CAL
33
TEX
17
BRI
31
TAL
36
DOV
24
CLT
33
POC
23
MCH IOW CHI DAY KEN NHA IOW GLN MOH BRI ROA DAR IND LVS RCH CLT DOV KAN TEX PHO HOM 37th 174
Tony Mrakovich RCH
24

Car No. 93 history

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Tomy Drissi in the No. 93 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 2014

The No. 93 was an original entry for JGL Racing in 2014, debuting as a Dodge at Daytona in February. Matt Carter (son of longtime Cup Series owner Travis Carter) drove the No. 93 at Daytona International Speedway, failing to qualify.[1][26] Carl Long ran the next race at Phoenix, parking after 13 laps for a 37th-place finish.[28] J. J. Yeley joined the team at Vegas, finishing 21st.[34] Long start and parked the car again at Bristol, then Yeley ran the next two races scoring two top 20s. Mike Wallace moved over from the No. 28 for two races before leaving the team. Long, Harrison Rhodes, Josh Reaume, and Kevin Lepage all ran races in the car.[35]

Mike Wallace returned to the team at Kentucky. Wallace also ran the next race at Daytona in July with sponsorship from Smith Transportation, working out a deal with the team that would put his son Matt in the No. 93 at a race of his choice if Mike finished in the top-5.[36] Though he didn't get that top-5, he finished a strong tenth. Up-and-comer Kevin Swindell joined the team at Indianapolis with sponsorship from Curb Records and John Christner Trucking.[37] Road course racer and movie promoter Tomy Drissi drove the No. 93 car to a 20th-place finish at Watkins Glen with sponsorship from the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film in 3D. Drissi also ran the following week at Mid-Ohio,[38] finishing 23rd.[35] Swindell returned to the team for eight additional races, with a best finish of 22nd twice. Ryan Ellis,[39] Mike Harmon, and T. J. Bell also ran races for the team.

In 2015, JGL shut down the No. 93, instead creating the new full-time No. 24 and part-time No. 26. The No. 93 crew were moved to the No. 24 car. However, nine races into the season, the No. 24 was shut down and the No. 26 became a full-time entry. The team then announced that the No. 93 would return as the new part-time entry. However the car has not been fielded as of the second to last race of the season.[12]

Car No. 93 results

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Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Owners Pts
2014 Matt Carter 93 Dodge DAY
DNQ
28th 525
Carl Long PHO
37
BRI
38
TAL
37
IOW
28
J. J. Yeley LVS
21
CAL
19
TEX
16
Mike Wallace DAR
17
RCH
27
KEN
25
DAY
10
Harrison Rhodes CLT
38
MCH
32
Josh Reaume DOV
25
Kevin Lepage ROA
38
Ryan Ellis NHA
36
RCH
24
Mike Harmon CHI
38
Kevin Swindell IND
23
IOW
29
BRI
27
ATL
36
CHI
31
KEN
22
DOV
33
KAN
37
CLT
23
TEX
22
Tomy Drissi GLN
20
MOH
23
T. J. Bell PHO
38
HOM
15

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Tyler, Marty. "New NASCAR Nationwide Team, JGL Racing, Brings Renewed Partnership For 2014". Catchfence.com. Catchfence. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  2. ^ a b Knight, Chris (January 5, 2015). "Eric McClure Joins JGL Racing For 2015". Catchfence.com. Catchfence.com. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  3. ^ a b c Tyler, Marty (February 11, 2015). "JGL Racing Returns For The Full 2015 Xfinity Schedule". Catchfence.com. Catchfence.com. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  4. ^ Press Release (March 4, 2015). "JJ YELEY BOYD GAMING 300 PREVIEW". Catchfence.com. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d Knight, Chris (January 11, 2016). "Dakoda Armstrong Opens Up About Move To JGL Racing In 2016". Catchfence.com. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  6. ^ "J.J. YELEY FOOD CITY 300 PREVIEW NO. 28 JGL RACING TOYOTA CAMRY". Integrity Sports Marketing. August 21, 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  7. ^ Staff, SPEED SPORT (2017-11-17). "JGL Racing Aligns With Roush, Signs Kaz Grala | SPEED SPORT". SPEED SPORT. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
  8. ^ Sanders, T. K. (March 21, 2022). "NASCAR: On Point Motorsports Announces Death of Former JGL Racing Team Owner James Whitener". Outsider.
  9. ^ a b Pennell, Jay (January 5, 2015). "Eric McClure joins JGL Racing for 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series season". Fox Sports. Fox Broadcasting Company. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  10. ^ "McClure Joins JGL Racing". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. January 5, 2015. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  11. ^ a b c Staff Report (May 8, 2015). "DOUBLY BLESSED FRIDAY FOR ERIC MCCLURE". nascar.com. NASCAR. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  12. ^ a b c Official Release (May 8, 2015). "JGL Racing Announces Team Changes For Continued Growth". SpeedwayMedia.com. Mooresville, North Carolina: SpeedwayMedia.com. USA Today. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  13. ^ a b "JGL Racing Announces Young Guns Program". Speedway Media. February 12, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  14. ^ JGL Racing (February 18, 2016). "Matt Tifft 2016 NXS PowerShares QQQ 300 Race Preview". Catchfence.com. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  15. ^ Wilson, Steven B. (February 22, 2016). "Matt Tifft Survives for Solid Finish at Daytona". Speedway Digest. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  16. ^ Press Release (March 11, 2016). "JGL Racing Announces youtheory Sponsorship with Young Guns Program and Corey LaJoie". Catchfence.com. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  17. ^ "Bob Pockrass on Twitter". Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  18. ^ "JGL Racing to make switch to Ford; Kaz Grala joins team for full 2018 season". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-01-08.
  19. ^ Long, Dustin (May 15, 2018). "Kaz Grala no longer with JGL Racing in Xfinity Series". NBC Sports. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  20. ^ McFadin, Daniel. "JGL Racing owner James Whitener diagnosed with liver failure". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 26 May 2018.[permanent dead link]
  21. ^ Bonkowski, Jerry (April 24, 2015). "Due to heart surgery, Mike Wallace to be replaced by brother Kenny next week at Talladega". NASCAR Talk. NBC Sports. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  22. ^ a b McFadin, Daniel (August 1, 2015). "Kenny Wallace proud of 'B driver' career entering final NASCAR race". NBC Sports. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  23. ^ Wolkin, Joseph (May 15, 2015). "CJ FAISON TO MAKE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES DEBUT AT DOVER". frontstretch.com. Frontstretch. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  24. ^ Press Release (August 5, 2015). "Tomy Drissi Heads to The Glen Driving No. 26 "Straight Out of Compton – The Movie" Toyota Camry". Mooresville, North Carolina: Catchfence.com. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  25. ^ Press Release (September 2, 2015). "Hermie Sadler and Virginia Lottery Team Up with JGL Racing for Richmond International Raceway". Catchfence.com. Mooresville, North Carolina. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  26. ^ a b "2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results at Daytona - Feb 22, 2014". DriverAverages.com. Driver Averages. Archived from the original on 15 August 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  27. ^ a b "Car number 28 in 2014: NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". racing-reference.info. racing-reference.info. 2014.
  28. ^ a b "2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results at Phoenix - Mar 1, 2014". DriverAverages.com. Driver Averages. Archived from the original on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  29. ^ Tyler, Marty. "JGL Racing/ JJ Yeley Finish 7th in the Nationwide Series at Talladega". Catchfence.com. Catchfence. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  30. ^ "Yeley, JGL Racing Finish 5th At Road America". Catchfence.com. Catchfence. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  31. ^ Staff Report. "YELEY UPSET AFTER INCIDENT WITH BAYNE". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  32. ^ a b Press Release (January 11, 2016). "JGL Racing Adds Dakoda Armstrong to 2016 Drivers Lineup". Denver, North Carolina: Catchfence.com. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  33. ^ "Dylan Lupton returning to JGL Racing". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-01-08.
  34. ^ "2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results at Las Vegas - Mar 8, 2014". DriversAverages.com. DriversAverages. Archived from the original on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  35. ^ a b "Car number 93 in 2014: NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". racing-reference.info. racing-reference.info. 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  36. ^ "Mike (Wallace) Driving for Matt (Wallace) at Daytona". Catchfence.com. Catchfence.
  37. ^ Eddinger, Mark. "Kevin Swindell and JGL Racing Team up; First Race This Weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway". Sportsmedia101.com. Sports Media 101. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  38. ^ Stenger, Collette. "Tomy Drissi enters this weeken's NASCAR's Nationwide Series race at Watkins Glen driving No. 93 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 3D car". MegaSportsNews.com. Mega Sports News. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  39. ^ Knight, Chris (November 9, 2014). "Ryan Ellis Remains Hopeful For XFINITY Seat In 2015". Catchfence.com. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
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