On Friday, MBM Motorsports officially withdrew its No. 66 entry from this weekend's NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This will mark the first time since the 2015 season that MBM Motorsports will not enter a car in a NASCAR Xfinity Series race.
In a lengthy statement, the team cited a lack of simulator time and no on-track practice as one of the reasons for the team deciding not to attempt to make it into the field this weekend.
The team's position in points also gives them no chance of making the field if qualifying for the event were to be canceled by weather. As every qualifying session at the newly reconfigured 1.54-mile speedway in Hampton, Georgia has been canceled, the team doesn't like their odds there.
Additionally, MBM Motorsports says a lack of sponsorship made leasing a superspeedway engine, which is necessary to compete at a high level for the event, nearly impossible.
The team will scale back in an effort to gain more strength on track and will pick and choose its races moving forward.
As part of scaling down, the team has been assembling and selling off some of its older NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series cars to collectors and weekend racers.
It's been a trying season for the MBM Motorsports organization, which has failed to qualify for 10 of the 16 NASCAR Xfinity Series events so far in 2023.
The team states that it will roll over Chad Finchum's entry from this weekend's Atlanta Motor Speedway to New Hampshire Motor Speedway next weekend, where the team says the hood sponsor slot is open for any partner that would like to sponsor the effort.
Additionally, MBM Motorsports has committed to return for the NASCAR Xfinity Series events at Daytona International Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, and the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL.
MBM Motorsports, which has some Next Gen cars in its inventory, states that it will more than likely alternate its efforts between a part-time schedule in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and a part-time schedule in the NASCAR Cup Series moving forward.
As the team only has the personnel to field a car in one series per weekend properly, the team is hiring. The Carl Long-owned organization is seeking a car chief/engineer with current NASCAR Cup Series experience to help the team get on track with its Next Gen cars.
MBM reiterated in its statement that the team is not closing down despite the challenges they've faced in 2023.
"2023 has proven to be immensely challenging for our team, but MBM is not in the business of giving up. See you at the track," was the ending of the statement from the team.
The MBM Motorsports team has made a total of 492 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts since the 2008 season and has recorded two top-five finishes and six top-10s. The best finish in team history was a runner-up finish by Timmy Hill at Daytona International Speedway in 2022.
Photo Credit: Craig White, Racing America
