As the clock winds down on 2012, Phoenix Racing, based in Spartanburg, is looking ahead to the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, and it’s going to be a season full of changes.
Finch told Newschannel 7 Sports he’s committed to run at least 18 Cup races in 2013, starting with the Daytona 500. He says he’s secured a sponsor for both Daytona races in February, but won’t announce that sponsor until after the first. James says Regan Smith will drive for Phoenix in the Daytona 500. Finch will use Smith for some other Cup races, though he’ll have to share Smith, since he will drive the Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports.
Allmendinger is another driver Finch would like to use on the Cup Series. AJ ran the final four races of 2012 for Phoenix and James says he liked how AJ handled the car. Allmendinger though apparently considering some offers to race Indy cars. As for running the whole cup circuit, Finch says he’s hoping for some early success and that more sponsorship will come along, making running a full slate more possible.
“One of the biggest changes is the change in the Chevy body styles,” Hendersonville’s Steve Barkdoll, general manager of Phoenix Racing, said. “Sprint Cup is going to the Chevy SS and Nationwide to the Chevy Camaro. For a small team like us, that creates a lot more work, and our guys in the shop are doing an incredible job. They’ve been working non-stop to get ready for the season, and we’ve already got a couple of new cars in the shop that look really sharp.”
Just like last year, Phoenix Racing will be using multiple drivers. “For Daytona, we’ll be going with Regan Smith, who also drives for Dale Jr.’s Nationwide team. Since Regan is committed to the Nationwide Series, he won’t be able to run a full Cup schedule with us. We’ll be looking to other drivers throughout the year, including A.J. Allmendinger again.” (Spartanburg Herald Journal / News Channel 7, Panama City Beach, FL)
