NASCAR Draft Kit: 2021 Xfinity Rankings

NASCAR Draft Kit: 2021 Xfinity Rankings

This article is part of our NASCAR Draft Kit series.

  1. Austin Cindric – No. 22 Penske Racing Ford – The 2020 Xfinity Series champion will return to defend his title in 2021.  The Penske Racing star built on a very good 2019 campaign and drove to six wins and 26 Top-10 finishes last season to claim the Xfinity Series crown.  Cindric will once again drive the strong No. 22 Ford and the team will return all major parts, including crew chief Brian Wilson.  The 22-year-old driver proved himself to be a strong driver, and very gifted at the road circuits.  Cindric collected two of his six victories on those challenging courses.  With NASCAR doing even more racing on these style tracks this season, it only adds to the value that this driver and team bring to the table.  Cindric should challenge to equal or exceed the six wins he posted last season, and will once again be a top contender to win the championship.
  2. Justin Allgaier – No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet – Allgaier once again proved to be the top veteran driver in a division of NASCAR that just continues to get younger.  The 10-season veteran posted a typical campaign in 2020 with three wins and 19 Top-10 finishes.  Allgaier was a little inconsistent at the start of last season, and that diminished his Top 10 totals somewhat, but he still finished the season strong and contended for the championship right up until the last race.  The JR Motorsports star will look to improve on last season's campaign and
  1. Austin Cindric – No. 22 Penske Racing Ford – The 2020 Xfinity Series champion will return to defend his title in 2021.  The Penske Racing star built on a very good 2019 campaign and drove to six wins and 26 Top-10 finishes last season to claim the Xfinity Series crown.  Cindric will once again drive the strong No. 22 Ford and the team will return all major parts, including crew chief Brian Wilson.  The 22-year-old driver proved himself to be a strong driver, and very gifted at the road circuits.  Cindric collected two of his six victories on those challenging courses.  With NASCAR doing even more racing on these style tracks this season, it only adds to the value that this driver and team bring to the table.  Cindric should challenge to equal or exceed the six wins he posted last season, and will once again be a top contender to win the championship.
  2. Justin Allgaier – No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet – Allgaier once again proved to be the top veteran driver in a division of NASCAR that just continues to get younger.  The 10-season veteran posted a typical campaign in 2020 with three wins and 19 Top-10 finishes.  Allgaier was a little inconsistent at the start of last season, and that diminished his Top 10 totals somewhat, but he still finished the season strong and contended for the championship right up until the last race.  The JR Motorsports star will look to improve on last season's campaign and once again battle for his first-ever Xfinity Series title.  Allgaier's No. 7 Chevrolet team will once again be headed up by Jason Burdett atop the tool box, and sponsorship looks solid for another season.  At just 34-years-old, there's still a lot of great racing left in Allgaier, and he should once again challenge the three-win, 20+ Top-10 plateau.
  3. Harrison Burton – No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota – The most improved driver of last season was easily Burton.  The youngster struggled in the truck series in 2019, but his first full season of Xfinity Series action did not disappoint.  Burton grabbed four victories, 22 Top-10 finishes and rounded out 2020 strong with two wins in the last three races of last season.  He and the No. 20 Toyota team didn't race for the championship last year, but they should be in the running for it in 2021.  Burton will be paired with a new crew chief, Jason Ratcliff, as Ben Beshore moves to Gibbs' Cup Series operation.  Radcliff has 54 Xfinity Series victories to his credit spread over 14 dynamite seasons.  He and Burton will look to quickly develop some chemistry as the young driver looks to build on his performance of last season.  This driver and team have a ton of potential and will have the goal of winning the championship in season two.
  4. Justin Haley – No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet – Haley had a banner year in his second full season of Xfinity Series competition.  The young driver piloted the team's Chevrolet to three victories, 21 Top-10 finishes and an impressive third-place championship points finish.  Those accomplishments were all major improvements over his rookie season of 2019.  Haley returns to Kaulig Racing in 2021 and will continue driving the No. 11 entry.  This team returns intact with all major parts and sponsorship in place.  He'll set his sights on winning races and contending for the championship again in 2021.  With the departure of Chase Briscoe from the Xfinity Series, Haley's odds of winning the title improve slightly.  The 21-year-old talent will have to deal with a lot of other young talent in this division of NASCAR to make that happen, but Haley has some valuable experience going for him that the other drivers don't have entering this season.
  5. Noah Gragson – No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet – The JR Motorsports prospect is one of the fastest rising drivers in the Xfinity Series.  Season two in this division of NASCAR saw Gragson claim his first two-career victories (Daytona & Bristol) and nab a staggering 17 Top-5 finishes.  He would make it into the championship round of the Chase and avail himself well in that one-race winner-take-all event.  Gragson would finish second to Austin Cindric and pull up just short of the Xfinity Series title.  He'll get another crack at the crown in 2021.  Gragson will once again pilot the No. 9 JRM Chevrolet and work with crew chief Dave Elenz to claim that coveted title.  Now that Gragson has shown the ability to win races, he becomes a serious threat to contend for the championship and raise his stock for an eventual venture into NASCAR's Cup Series.
  6. Riley Herbst – No. 98 Stewart Haas Racing Ford – Herbst was the big winner in the Xfinity Series free agency shuffle.  The 21-year-old Nevadan moves from Joe Gibbs Racing to Stewart Haas Racing in 2021.  Herbst will take over the strong No. 98 Ford.  This team propelled Chase Briscoe last season to nine victories and 16 Top-15 finishes.  While they pulled up short in the chase for the championship, the No. 98 team was one of the more dominant entries in the 2020 season.  Herbst will attempt to keep this team racing at a high level.  He'll have his work cut out for him.  Herbst compiled 17 Top 10's and no wins in his first full season of Xfinity Series action last year.  He is talented, but a bit unproven to this point in his NASCAR career.  It would be overly ambitious to expect Briscoe-like numbers out of Herbst in 2021.  However, this strong race team will bring out the best in him.  We expect multiple wins, 20+ Top 10's and an outside run at the championship.
  7. Brandon Jones – No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota – Jones took some major steps in his fifth full season of Xfinity Series racing last year.  He piloted the Joe Gibbs' No. 19 Toyota Supra to his first multi-win campaign with three victories and career-best marks in Top 10's (19) and a career-best points finish (sixth-place).  While Jones fell short of the championship round of the playoffs, he did serve notice that he'll be a championship contender in the near future.  JGR is bringing him back to drive the No. 19 entry and Jeff Meendering will remain his crew chief in 2021.  The 23-year-old driver now has 170 starts of Xfinity Series experience, which makes Jones one of the more seasoned youngsters in this division of NASCAR.  He has the potential to elevate his win and Top 10 totals even further in 2021.
  8. Daniel Hemric – No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota – Hemric was another big winner of the Xfinity Series Silly Season.  Riley Herbst departed this team at the conclusion of 2020 and headed to Stewart Haas Racing.  Hemric takes over this strong No. 18 Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing team after a season of part-time racing last year.  The 29-year-old journeyman made just 21 starts last season for JR Motorsports in the No. 8 Chevrolet.  However, he would have some impact, collecting seven Top-5 and 12 Top-10 finishes in those starts. After three seasons of racing in this division of NASCAR, Hemric is still seeking his first victory.  This situation and team could propel him into victory lane for the first time this season.  This seasoned driver has shown the ability to lead races and collect Top 10's and now it is hoped he'll learn how to win races.
  9. AJ Allmendinger – No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet – After another successful season of part-time racing, Allmendinger has signed on for his first-ever full-time effort in the Xfinity Series.  The 39-year-old Californian made just 11 starts for Kaulig Racing in 2020, but he was very successful.  Allmendinger grabbed two victories (Atlanta & Charlotte Roval) and finished inside the Top 5 in more than half his starts.  That performance has propelled him into this full-time racing opportunity in 2021.  Kaulig Racing will once again field the No .16 Chevrolet Camaro for the veteran and give him the resources and sponsorship to challenge for more wins this season.  Allmendinger is one of the more seasoned drivers in this division of NASCAR and he possesses incredible road racing skills.  That will play well in NASCAR's heavy road course schedule in 2021.
  10. Jeb Burton – No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet – With the promotion of Ross Chastain to the Cup Series, Burton is poised to take over the Kaulig Racing No. 10 Chevrolet.  This will be his first full season of action in this division of NASCAR, but Burton is far from a rookie.  He has 43-combined starts in the Xfinity Series spread over seven seasons.  Last season's 11-race campaign with JR Motorsports was his most successful season to-date.  Burton racked up three Top-5 and six Top-10 finishes in those 11 starts.  The short tracks and superspeedways are definitely Burton's strength.  At 28-years-old, he's more seasoned than many of the young drivers in the Xfinity Series.  Burton has seen and experienced a lot in his time.  Now with a strong race team and good resources, Burton has the chance to break into the win column for the first time and pile up career-best stats.
  11. Myatt Snider – No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet – Richard Childress Racing is gearing up for a big season, and Snider is a big part of their growth plans.  The 26-year-old prospect got his first taste of full-time Xfinity Series action in 2020.  Snider showed improvement over the course of the year, and eventually wound up with six Top-10 finishes in his campaign spread between a couple different teams.  It will be a much more stable situation in 2021, and the No. 21 Chevrolet team is poised to run the full schedule with their wealth of resources.  We should see Snider take some major steps this season.  Considering how competitive this division of NASCAR is currently, it would be a tall order to expect Snider to contend for wins.  However, he should dramatically improve his Top-10 totals and show further growth and performance.
  12. Michael Annett – No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet – One of the more seasoned veterans in the Xfinity Series sets off on his 10th season of racing in this division of NASCAR.  Now with 295 starts, Annett is one of the elder statesmen in this racing series.  While he didn't scratch the win column in 2020, Annett did harvest a career-best 22 Top-10 finishes during a couple hot streaks he had during the campaign.  The 34-year-old JR Motorsports driver has established a statistical base line over the past couple seasons with his level of skill.  It would seem that he's pegged for 18-20 Top 10's and a points finish somewhere around 9th-to-10th-place.  Considering how young and competitive Annett's surroundings are, it will be a challenge to hold onto these marks.  He'll have a new crew chief for this season in Mike Bumgarner.  Bumgarner has 64 starts and four victories of Xfinity Series crew chief experience.  He should help Annett to keep racing at a high level.
  13. Josh Berry/Sam Mayer/Dale Earnhardt Jr. – No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet – This team is JR Motorsports' driver rotation entry.  JRM fields the car for the full season, but rotates drivers throughout the schedule.  Daniel Hemric and Jeb Burton were the chief pilots last season, and they nabbed 11 Top-5 and 19 Top-10 finishes.  That speaks volumes of that duo's experience.  The team will take a bit of a step back in 2021 as youngsters Berry and Mayer take over the No. 8 team.  Berry is tabbed to race 12 events early in the schedule, and then Mayer will race many events in the second half of the season.  They will be joined by team owner, Earnhardt Jr., who is poised to make his usual single start, likely in the Martinsville event.  This team will see a bit of a downturn in performance this season due to the youth movement of their drivers, but they'll still compete at a very high level.
  14. Anthony Alfredo/Kaz Grala – No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet – This driver lineup is not confirmed at the time of this writing, but it is rumored that Alfredo and Grala will split this full-time team to some extent.  Richard Childress Racing fielded this team in the 33-event schedule last season with both drivers and Myatt Snider as well.  The trio collected five Top-5 and 15 Top-10 finishes.  While the team led very few laps, and didn't challenge for wins, they did have good equipment and decent consistency.  Much of the lack of performance is due to the inexperience of the young driver lineup.  However, Alfredo and Grala are gaining that experience and should improve in 2021.  We don't expect any wins, but the team should pile up the Top 10's and race competitively most weeks.
  15. Ryan Sieg – No. 39 RSS Racing Ford – Sieg returns in 2021 with his family-owned race team, RSS Racing.  The veteran driver is coming off his best Xfinity Series campaign of his career in 2020.  Sieg grabbed seven Top-5 and 11 Top-10 finishes en route to an impressive 10th-place points finish.  The No. 39 Ford team returns intact, including crew chief Kevin Starland,  this season.  They'll look to hold onto their gains of the past couple seasons and even raise the bar a bit more.  While winning races is still likely not a possibility, increasing the Top 10 marks is still on the table.  Sieg performs well on large and intermediate ovals as those seem to be his best tracks.  It's also something to remember when considering this driver and team in weekly lineup or salary cap format fantasy games.
  16. Brett Moffitt – No. 02 Our Motorsports Chevrolet – The 2018 Camping World Truck Series champion is making the move to full-time Xfinity Series racing in 2021.  Moffitt spent most of last season racing in this division of NASCAR with the Our Motorsports team.  The veteran driver grabbed seven Top-10 finishes in a somewhat challenging season for this young race team.  Moffitt decided to join the team full-time and depart from competing in the Camping World Truck Series to focus on the No. 02 team.  We're bound to see improvement in season two with Joe Williams continuing to call the shots from the team's war wagon.  However, progress will be minor and not major in the coming season.  The Our Motorsports team is expanding to two full-time teams in 2021 and there will be some growing pains associated with this rapid expansion.
  17. Brandon Brown – No. 68 Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet – Season two in the Xfinity Series showed some great improvement for Brown and Brandonbilt Motorsports.  The 27-year-old Virginian grabbed six Top-10 finishes and wound up an impressive 11th overall in the championship standings.  He improved his average finish from 19.7 in 2019 to 16.0 in 2020, which was pretty dramatic to say the least.  This small race team will return for another season of action in 2021 with Brown behind the wheel.  Also returning is crew chief, Dough Randolph.  The gains that were made last season should be modestly built on this season.  We should see the No. 68 Chevrolet inside the Top 15 most weeks and an occasional Top 10 from time to time will be the norm.
  18. Jeremy Clements – No. 51 Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet – The 15-season veteran will return for more Xfinity Series action this season.  Clements has been slowly building his race team over the last few seasons and has reached a pretty competitive level for a single-car team.  In 2020 Clements grabbed a career-best five Top-10 finishes and brought the team's Chevrolet home in 13th-place in the final series standings.  His last two seasons of racing have really been the most competitive level of performance of his NASCAR career.  Clements will look to hold onto these gains in 2021 and should do so as new sponsors are being drawn to the No. 51 team.  With stable funding and a full returning team cast, Clements should have no trouble staying at a competitive level of racing.
  19. Alex Labbe – No. 90 DGM Racing Chevrolet – The Canadian driver completed his best campaign to-date in the Xfinity Series last season.  Labbe split time between the No. 90 and No. 36 DGM Chevrolets last year and earned a combined five Top-10 finishes.  Plans have not been announced as of this writing for this race team, but it's believed that Labbe will return to the No. 90 team in whole or in part this season.  The 27-year-old driver now has 79 starts in this division of NASCAR and is beginning to show his skill.  Labbe should post similar stats this season and slot somewhere in the middle teens of the driver standings by season's end.  DGM is a growing two-car team, but still has a way to go to catch up to other middle-tier teams in the Xfinity Series.
  20. Josh Williams – No. 92 DGM Racing Chevrolet – Williams was a pleasant surprise last season racing in his second full season of Xfinity Series action.  He piloted the No. 92 DGM Chevrolet to six Top-10 finishes and a respectable 18.6 average finish for the 33-race campaign.  Those were significant improvements over Williams' 2019 numbers.  He has been confirmed as returning to the team's No. 92 Chevrolet in 2021.  Williams is now fast-approaching 100 starts in this division of NASCAR.  The experience gained and the knowledge acquired is showing results each weekend.  DGM is growing their brand and improving their equipment, so Williams should continue to flourish.  This driver and team are much in the same situation as Alex Labbe's team and will continue the slow ascent up the Xfinity Series rankings.
  21. Multiple Drivers – No. 07 SS Green Light Racing Chevrolet – This team's plans are not known at the time of this writing, but it is believed they'll return full-time in 2021 with a driver rotation similar to what was employed last season.  Ray Black Jr., Garrett Smithley and a handful of other driver's piloted this team's Chevrolet in 2020.  The conglomerate collected five Top 10's and eight Top 15's along the way.  It was a pretty competitive team operation and results for the continuous driver shuffle employed behind the wheel.  It's this resilience that we're optimistic about heading into the unknowns of 2021.  It seems that whomever SS Green Light Racing employs to drive, they'll get the results.
  22. Jesse Little – No. 78 B.J. McLeod Motorsports Toyota – After a successful rookie season in the Xfinity Series last year, Little moves to B.J. McLeod Motorsports this year. The 23-year-old driver collected two Top-10 and 10 Top-15 finishes last season for his former race team at JD Motorsports.  Now Little will set his sights on climbing the driver standings and competing for more Top-10 finishes with his new BJMM team.  Vinny Miller and a handful of other drivers drove this No. 78 car last year to seven Top-15 finishes.  It is hoped that Little and crew chief, Keith Wolfe, can elevate the team's performance in 2021.  They'll have their work cut out for them in the lower tier of drivers.  Little does possess some good driving skill.  He has won races and collected many Top 10's in the lower divisions of NASCAR.
  23. Jeffrey Earnhardt – No. 0 JD Motorsports Chevrolet – The 31-year-old veteran will move to full-time racing with JD Motorsports in 2021.  Earnhardt is coming off a 29-start campaign where he collected five Top-15 finishes in a challenging season.  This driver and team are still assembling sponsorship and selecting a new crew chief, but should be together in time for the season start.  Earnhardt's 102-career Xfinity Series starts make him a very seasoned driver for this team, however, the lack of accomplishments over that eight seasons of racing is a bit concerning.  JDM will expect Earnhardt to make some pretty major steps with this race team in 2021, but we're not completely convinced he's up to the task.  The 22.7 average finish mark of last season needs a lot of work.
  24. Austin Hill/Timmy Hill/Stephen Leicht/Chad Finchum – No. 61 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota – Austin Hill will be racing for the Camping World Truck Series championship again in 2021, but he'll still have time for some part-time action in the Xfinity Series.  Hill made nine starts for this team last season and grabbed a pair of Top-10 finishes in those efforts.  He should be up for a similar slate of races in the new season.  Hill will be joined by Timmy Hill, Leicht and Finchum in rounding out the team's 33-race schedule.  As a collective, they grabbed three Top 10's and nine Top-20 finishes.  There's a lot of good to point to, as well as a lot of bad.  Inconsistency plagued this team in 2020 with 10 DNF's.  The small team has the potential to do much better, but will have to find better consistency with this revolving door of drivers.
  25. Tyler Reddick/Patrick Emerling – No. 03 Our Motorsports Chevrolet – Our Motorsports will expand to a two-car operation in 2021. This will be the secondary team to Brett Moffitt's No. 02 car.  This No. 03 Chevrolet will employ a multi-driver lineup to round out the 33-event schedule.  Reddick will kick things off for the team at Daytona, and we wouldn't be surprised if the talented youngster runs all the superspeedway races for this team this season.  Emerling has also been rumored to this ride, and the 10-season Whelen Modified driver will likely fill-in whatever spots Reddick and other drivers don't fill.  This team will have top potential when Reddick is driving, but lack consistency with the other drivers.
  26. Tommy Joe Martins – No. 44 Martins Motorsports Chevrolet – The veteran driver had his most successful campaign last year after setting out on his own, with his own race team.  Martins grabbed one Top-10 and nine Top-15 finishes while peddling to a respectable 20th-place points finish in his No. 44 Chevrolet.  Everything across the boards were career-best marks for the 34-year-old driver.  Martins will return this team again in 2021 and look to up the ante.  He will once again have Buddy Sisco as crew chief and the two will look to build on the steady performance of last season.  There is definite room for this team to improve and potentially push inside the Top 20 of the driver standings this season.
  27. Joe Graf Jr. – No. 08 SS Green Light Racing Chevrolet – The rookie campaign for Graf went pretty well as expected.  The 22-year-old slugged it out with several drivers in the lower tier of the division and fought to earn just four Top-15 and 10 Top-20 finishes.  He kept the No. 08 Chevrolet on the race track for the most part, suffering just seven DNF's.  The 24.3 average finish across last season came as no surprise.  Graf has some work to do if he hopes to catch up to the team's sister entry, the No. 07 Chevrolet, at least in terms of performance.  The good news is that he has steady sponsorship and a returning crew chief in Patrick Donahue.  There will need to be some improvement and better consistency if Graf hopes to challenge the Top-20 of the driver standings.
  28. Cody Ware/Other Drivers – No. 17 Rick Ware Racing Ford – Rick Ware Racing will bring back the No. 17 Ford after a very light schedule last season.  Ware and J.J. Yeley made just two starts in this car last season, but earned impressive results in those efforts.  Ware fetched a brilliant seventh-place finish at the Charlotte Roval, and Yeley grabbed and impressive 14th-place finish at Martinsville.  With this team gearing up full-time once again, we have to look closely at the potential.  There's the opportunity for four or five Top 10's and several Top-20 finishes.  The team relied on drivers like Gray Gaulding, Garrett Smithley and others last year to pilot the RWR No. 07 team, and they'll likely be called on again.
  29. Bayley Currey – No. 74 Mike Harmon Racing Chevrolet – Currey was the main driver for this team in 2020, although he did share the wheel with Kyle Weatherman, Mike Harmon and Gray Gaulding at times.  Currey's 26 starts last season yielded three Top-15 and nine Top-20 finishes.  The 24.5 average finish and marks were not terribly bad since this was his first nearly-full season of action in the Xfinity Series.  Harmon will field this car once again in 2021 and plan to have Currey in the driver's seat for most if not all the season.  This growing race team will expand to two cars this season, so money and sponsorship are good.  Currey will need to work on better consistency this season if the No. 74 team hopes to improve and challenge for more Top-15 finishes.
  30. Colby Howard – No. 15 JD Motorsports Chevrolet – The 19-year-old prospect got his first taste of Xfinity Series action in 2020.  Howard piloted the JDM No. 15 Chevrolet in 22 of the 33 events last season.  The results were a pleasant surprise with Howard claiming two Top-15 and seven Top-20 finishes across that limited schedule.  He shared the car with Jesse Little, Jeffrey Earnhardt and other drivers last year.  Howard will get the full plate of 33-starts in 2021 and look to improve this team's performance.  JDM has decent resources and personnel at their shop, so Howard should have every opportunity to nudge this team forward in season two.  The young driver will need to develop chemistry with new crew chief, Wayne Carroll, quickly in order to make this growth potential possible.
  31. Santino Ferrucci/Colin Garrett – No. 26 Sam Hunt Racing Toyota - IndyCar talent, Ferrucci, will take the wheel for a select schedule of as many as 20 events in 2021.  He is a very talented driver, but this will be his first season of stock car racing.  We expect some steep learning curves along the way.  The 22-year-old former F1 test driver will be focused mainly on the intermediate ovals this season.  The plan is to get him up to speed on stock car racing for an eventual transition into full-time NASCAR competition.  Ferrucci will be joined by Garrett in filling out the team's schedule.  Garrett had a very light, part-time schedule split between the Xfinity Series and trucks last year.  The 20-year-old Virginian is still learning the ropes and gaining development.
  32. Kyle Busch/Denny Hamlin/Ty Gibbs – No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota – Busch and Hamlin shared this car for six starts in 2020.  That's within the typical recent schedules for this part-time Joe Gibbs Racing team.  Busch grabbed one win (Charlotte) and four Top-5 finishes in his five starts, and Hamlin chimed in with a Top 5 in his lone start at Darlington.  The potential for this team is tremendous, but the impact is small due to the very light schedule.  One thing is for certain, you want to have an eye open for the No. 54 Toyota team on the weekly entry list.  They have broad appeal in weekly lineup and DFS leagues.  When this team races, they challenge for wins and Top 5's in each and every start.
  33. Brad Keselowski/Ryan Blaney/Joey Logano – No. 12 Penske Racing Ford – Keselowski made the lone start for this part-time team in 2020.  He peddled the team's Ford to a strong fourth-place finish at Phoenix early in the schedule.  The team's plans were severely curtailed due to COVID-19 last season as they raced in only one event as opposed to the typical seven or eight starts.  The No. 12 Penske team should return to a more typical schedule in 2021.  Keselowski will share this car with his teammates Blaney and Logano.  This star-studded lineup is capable of winning races and collecting Top 5's.  However, their fantasy racing impact is muted a good bit due to their light schedule.
  34. Matt Mills – No. 5 B.J. McLeod Motorsports Chevrolet – Mills returns for season three at B.J. McLeod Motorsports in 2021.  The 24-year-old driver peddled the team's Chevrolet to three Top-15 and five Top-20 finishes last season.  Most of those good performances come in the final third of the season, signaling that Mills is getting some traction in the No. 5 team.  He'll get a full slate of action this year with David Ingram as crew chief and steady sponsorship.  Mills now has 71 starts of Xfinity Series experience to his credit.  The time to start taking some steps forward has come.
  35. Unknown Drivers – No. 4 JD Motorsports Chevrolet – For a long time, this No. 4 Chevrolet was JDM's flagship team.  Ross Chastain, Landon Cassill and other drivers raced this car to a lot of success in the not-so-distant past.  Jesse Little mainly raced this car in 2020, but has moved on to the No. 78 of B.J. McLeod Motorsports.  At the time of this writing, it is not known who will be in the No. 4 car this season.  However, the team and sponsorship seem to be pretty secure.  We could likely be looking at a driver rotation in this car for 2021.  That would somewhat diminish its value over recent seasons.  There's far too many unknowns to be overly optimistic for this team this season.
  36. Unknown Drivers – No. 6 JD Motorsports Chevrolet – The No. 6 JDM team is in much the same position as the team's No. 4 entry.  Plans have not been announced as of this writing, but it could be poised for a driver rotation in 2021.  B.J. McLeod was the majority pilot for this car in 2020.  He tallied three Top-15 finishes in the team's Chevrolet and Ryan Vargas even claimed a Top 10 at Fort Worth in the Fall.  There is some modest potential to climb the rankings if a good driver lineup is named for this car.  Bryan Berry closed out the season as crew chief last year, but it remains to be seen if he'll be returning to this team this season.
  37. Kyle Weatherman – No. 47 Mike Harmon Racing Chevrolet – The 23-year-old youngster will return for a second season with Mike Harmon Racing.  Weatherman made 23 starts split between the team's No. 47 and 74 entries last year, but is expected to be the full-time driver of the No. 47 Chevrolet this season.  Weatherman grabbed one Top-10 and three Top-15 finishes last year in his 23-race effort.  It was a season of learning for the young driver and he'll look to gradually improve in 2021.  Ed Jewett returns as crew chief.  He led Weatherman to a surprising eighth-place finish at Kentucky last season, which was a team-best finish for Mike Harmon Racing in their 12-season existence.  The gains will be measured in small steps for this driver and team.
  38. Stefan Parsons/Other Drivers – No. 99 B.J. McLeod Motorsports Ford – This team featured Josh Bilicki and a handful of other drivers to fill out the full 2020 schedule.  They labored to just one Top-15 and five Top-20 finishes.  Parsons made seven of those starts, and grabbed one of those Top-20 finishes.  He's expected to be the majority pilot this season with other drivers in the mix.  The team was running at the end in all but three of their starts last year, which is the good news.  The bad news is that the team's lack of competitive performance saw them finish off the lead lap in many instances and saw their average finish balloon to the stratosphere.  Parsons has just 15 starts of Xfinity Series experience, so it could be a bumpy ride in 2021.
  39. Unknown Drivers – Jimmy Means Racing – No. 52 Chevrolet – JMR will be back for another full season of action in 2021.  This team was mostly piloted by Kody Vanderwal last year, with a little bit of J.J. Yeley mixed in.  The team's driver has not been announced as of this writing, but it's not expected to be Vanderwal.  With just three Top-20 finishes all of last season, Jimmy Means Racing has a lot of work to do to become competitive.  Whether it's a young driver or veteran, it will be an uphill battle this year.  The team's average finish of around 28th-place needs a lot of work.
  40. Timmy Hill – No. 66 Motorsports Business Management Toyota – This team was truly a start-and-park operation in 2020.  Hill was the majority pilot, but he was joined by drivers like Stephen Leicht, Chad Finchum and others to round out the 33-event schedule.  The No. 66 Toyota team was only running at the end of six events last year, with many efforts heading to the garage well before the checkered flag.  The team's plans are not known at the time of this writing, but there's little indication that circumstances have changed.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mark Taylor
Taylor is RotoWire's senior NASCAR writer. A nine-time FSWA finalist, Taylor was named the Racing Writer of the Year in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016 and 2017. He is also a military historian, focused specifically on World War II and the U.S. Navy's efforts in the Pacific.
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NASCAR DFS: PrizePicks Selections for the EchoPark Automotive 400
NASCAR DFS:  AutoTrader EchoPark  Automotive 400
NASCAR DFS: AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400