B.J. McLeod faced a difficult year in 2023 when his team, Live Fast Motorsports, ended 36th in the overall standings. His team was also stripped down to a single racer – McLeod himself. Yet McLeod is optimistic about 2024, as he is doing double duty at both the Xfinity and Cup Series races, including the much-awaited Daytona 500.

After Anthony Alfredo departed from B.J. McLeod Motorsports at the end of 2023, McLeod had to run a one-man army. He and his team had to put up with the rapid advancement of NASCAR and decided to sell Live Fast’s charter to cope with financial requirements. However, his investment may pay off soon.

B.J. McLeod is gearing up for a grand show at Daytona 500

When you hold many years of experience behind the wheel, you bring unmatched wisdom and clarity to the race. McLeod had been in NASCAR for about a decade and a half and may be banking on his treasured experience to perform excellently at the Daytona season opener. In a NASCAR Live episode, he recently shared his aspirations for 2024.

BJ McLeod talked about his previous ventures at Daytona. “I’ve run the 500, I think five times now. I have always approached the plans, you know, thinking mentally, if I had to make it, what would I do? I’ve never finished a run well in those races because I didn’t want to wreck my car. I’ve always pushed it road and thought about different scenarios.”

McLeod is very confident about this season. “I feel like I’m very ready to go try to do that. Obviously, the odds are stacked against us to make the 500, but I am actually looking more forward to the challenge of trying to make it. Even if I do miss it, then going there and guaranteed to end, because it’s a great challenge.”

The 40-year-old driver will cope with an extremely busy week at Daytona International Speedway. He will steer his No. 78 Chevrolet Camaro through both the Xfinity Series opener as well as the Cup Series opener at the Daytona 500. He will attempt to qualify in the single-vehicle test race for the Great American race.

B.J. McLeod has 167 starts in the Xfinity under his belt, with two 11th-place finishes as his career best. In the Cup Series, he scored a pair of top-ten finishes and a career-high seventh-place result in the 2022 regular-season finale. McLeod has been adapting to changing times since he sold his team’s charter last year.

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The current charter agreement in place was instituted by NASCAR in 2016. It guarantees 36 teams a starting position in its 36 regular season point races. Owners may transfer their charters, or teams can also sell them. McLeod made good use of this rule when he saw that Live Fast Motorsports was not running well. He sold his charter to Spire Motorsports for $40 million last year. 

He believes the extra resources proved useful, as the Next-Gen cars cost more than the standard. Also, the tripled and quadrupled investment helped his team with research and development. “What caught me by surprise was the speed at which the sport advanced around Matt and I and team Live Fast (Motorsports). That’s the part I didn’t anticipate and … simply wasn’t in a strong enough position financially to be able to keep up with our surroundings.”

With the additional resources and immense experience behind the wheel, B.J. McLeod plans to storm into the Daytona 500 season opener.

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