Kody Vanderwal, 19, will be making his NASCAR rookie Xfinity Series debut for Jimmy Means Racing, driving the No. 52 car. Vanderwal, who has two wins in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West — will make his Series debut at Phoenix Raceway in the fourth race of the year. The decision to step up to the NASCAR Xfinity Series came late in December when Jimmy Means Racing reached out and asked Vanderwal if he would be interested in racing for them.
"I wasn’t sure if I would ever get the chance to race in the NASCAR Xifinity series, but I jumped at the chance when I got the call,” said Vanderwal. “I’m excited to show the team and my fellow competitors what I am capable of."
Brett Bodine, NASCAR’s Director of Competition, approved Vanderwal to race, starting in Phoenix, after sitting out the first 3 races of the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Season. Vanderwal, has 32 NASCAR K&N – West starts, and 3 NASCAR K&N – East starts, consisting of 1 Pole, 2 Wins, 8 Top 5 and 18 Top 10 finishes in only 3 years of racing in the NASCAR feeder Series. Vanderwal began racing at the age of 11 in a full-bodied stock car doing enduro races on dirt at I-76 Speedway in Fort Morgan, CO. When Vanderwal was 14, he moved to the asphalt in the Pure Stock division at Colorado National Speedway in Dacono, CO and went on to win in 4 different Divisions and earned a Pro Truck Championship.
“This is all that I ever wanted to do,” said Vanderwal. “It continues to be the result of a lot of hard work and many people working together to financially make this possible. I hope to keep racing as long as I receive the support that I need to do this.”
About this weekend’s race - LS Tractor 200, Saturday, March 7, 2020 - Phoenix Raceway 4:00pm/et, Green flag: 4:14pm/et, Laps: 200 - Stages: 45/90/200 TV: FS1 - Radio: MRN, Sirius XM NASCAR
