KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — They say if you dream, to dream big – because someday your dreams might come true.
To say that Chad Finchum of Knoxville is excited would be an understatement, because after all, the 23-year-old is scheduled to make his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut at Bristol Motor Speedway in the Food City 500 on Sunday, April 15.
As a boy growing up in East Tennessee and attending NASCAR races with his family at Bristol Motor Speedway, Finchum dreamed of someday being a NASCAR race car driver and getting to race at the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile.”
Finchum will be pulling double-duty, competing in both the Food City 500 and the NASCAR Xfinity Series Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 the day before on Saturday, April 14.
“I’ve been blessed with opportunities to run NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR K&N Pro Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway over the past few years, but I’m very excited at getting to fulfill a childhood dream of being able to run a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at BMS,” Finchum said today at a Bristol Motor Speedway promotional event at Calhoun’s on the River in Knoxville. “To be quite honest, at this early in my NASCAR career I wasn’t really expecting to be able run a Cup Series race. I’m just very thankful to Carl Long and MBM Motorsports for having the confidence and faith in me to drive their race cars.”
Finchum is full-time driver for MBM Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and is coming off a three-race swing out West having competed at Phoenix, Las Vegas and California, after having opened the 2018 racing season at Daytona and the following weekend at Atlanta.
Finchum has a total of 12 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts with MBM Motorsports, having ran seven races in 2017 – Indianapolis Motor Speedway, twice at Dover International Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.
“We had some pretty good runs last year with MBM Motorsports and being able to put together a deal over the winter to run this season with Carl (Long) in the NASCAR Xfinity Series is just awesome,” Finchum said. “All I ever wanted was just to have a shot to race in the upper-tier levels of NASCAR, and I just can’t thank Carl enough for the opportunities he’s given me.
“We had our best qualifying effort this season last weekend at California when we timed-in to start 28th, but unfortunately we had an issue in the race with the engine (broken rocker arm) and had go to the garage area before end of the race. I really feel like we could have finished about where we qualified, or in the mid-20s, and for our team to be able bring home a finish like that would be huge. We’re gaining with our racing program and I honestly believe we’re going to start producing some solid finishes.”
Smithbilt Homes of Knoxville have been a great supporter of Chad Finchum Racing, and joining them on the MBM Motorsports Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series No. 66 Toyota and NASCAR Xfinity Series No. 40 Toyota for both races at Bristol Motor Speedway will be Concrete North Inc., located in Elk Grove, California.
“Smithbilt Homes has really stepped up to help me be able to race these past couple of years,” Finchum stated. “We met the people from Concrete North Inc. back in February at Daytona, and we’re pleased to announce they’re onboard with us for both the Cup and Xfinity races at Bristol Motor Speedway.”
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 on Sunday, April 15 at Bristol Motor Speedway will be televised on FOX at 2 p.m., while the Saturday, April 14 NASCAR Xfinity Series Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 will be televised on FS1 at 1 p.m.
To learn more about possible sponsor opportunities with Chad Finchum Racing, contact James Finchum at (865) 740-3535. To keep up with Chad Finchum’s racing visit the website at www.ChadFinchum.com, on Facebook at Chad Finchum Racing, and Twitter @ChadFinchum.
