With David Ragan joining RFK Racing in the new Stage 60 car for the Daytona 500, the question now becomes who else can drive the car, and where? Here is where we would love to see the 60-car race in 2024 and who could be behind the wheel.
Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway
If the 60-car is racing in the sport’s biggest race, then it should also race in one of the sports other “Crown Jewels”. The Coca-Cola 600 fits that bill, and being a part of the “Greatest Day in Motorsports” gives this car a large platform. It would be interesting to see if they could get a major name in motorsports to race during motorsports grandest day.
Chicago Street Race
With how SVG ran in the Chicago Street Race, plenty of other names may like to run the race in 2024. The Chicago Street Race was the second-highest-viewed race of the season behind the Daytona 500, so, this would be an easy race to sell a sponsor for as well. This race has interest from both drivers and sponsors, and that makes for an interesting place for RFK to drive their 60-car.
EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas
Circuit of the Americas is now one of the most prominent motorsports venues in the United States. It hosts the Formula One United States Grand Prix and a NASCAR race in the spring. COTA was one of 13 NASCAR races to pull in more than 3 million viewers this year, so, it does bring in solid TV numbers. It is also a road course that is not in the Playoffs, which makes it an ideal place for a ringer to make a NASCAR start.
Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
NASCAR’s fourth “Crown Jewel” is back with the Brickyard 400 returning in 2024. It is held at one of the most iconic venues in all of motorsports, and that should attract both drivers and sponsors. Simply put, it is Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and that could be enough to give RFK Racing the idea to run the 60 car there.
FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway
RFK Racing has plenty of ties to Michigan. Brad Keselowski is a native of Michigan, and Jack Roush has companies headquartered in Livonia, Michigan. With the connection of RFK Racing to Michigan, they want to put their best foot forward. That could mean fielding a third car.
Cam Waters
Cam Waters is an Australian Supercars driver who won 3 races in 2023, and he drives for Tickford Racing, a Ford team. According to Mark Fogarty of Speedcafe, Waters will “Explore NASCAR opportunities”. The new Roush 60 car could be the perfect place for him to drop into it. The Supercars schedule will limit which races he can do, with him being unable to do Circuit of the Americas or the Chicago Street Race. They may need to get creative with where to race him, but the Ford connection is there.
Jenson Button
Jenson Button ran two races for Ford outfit Rick Ware Racing this year. With Rick Ware Racing aligned with RFK Racing, the connection is there for RFK Racing to field the 60-car for Button. It depends partly on whether or not Rick Ware Racing wants Button to race again, but, it would be interesting to see him in race-winning equipment. However, it is obvious that Stewart-Haas Racing played a larger role in this than RFK did, so, maybe the connection is not as strong as originally thought.
Brett Moffitt
Brett Moffitt’s 2024 plans are still uncertain, so, maybe he could race part-time for RFK Racing in the 60-car. This may not be the most exciting pick, but, Moffitt has Cup Series experience. He is also a Craftsman Truck Series Champion, so, there is talent there.
Frankie Muniz
This may be a long shot, but what a story it would be. Frankie Muniz has a lot of support from Ford, and he was solid in the ARCA Menards Series in 2023. A one-off start in the Cup Series would be fun to see Muniz attempt. The problem would be that Muniz may struggle mightily in a Cup Series ride, so, this may be unlikely.
Carl Edwards
Okay, talk about a major longshot, but a popular major longshot at that. Carl Edwards returned to the track this year at Darlington and at Nashville, and it opened up the conversation about him coming back. He answered a question about returning for a potential one-off at Nashville, and, while not shutting it out completely, he did not seem eager to get back behind the wheel either.
What do you hope to see from the Roush 60 car? Will any of these drivers race for them, and it will they race at any of these races?
The NASCAR Truck Series breaks off from the main touring series schedule this weekend, but that doesn’t mean the O’Reilly Auto Parts and Cup Series aren’t racing. So, whether you are going to be at the track or home, what does the forecast look like for the race weekend in Austin, Texas?
Before the OAP Series Race (11:00 AM – 2:00 PM)
During the OAP Series Race (2:00 PM – 5:00 PM)
After the OAP Series Race (5:00 PM – 8:00 PM)
Before the Cup Series Race (11:00 AM – 2:00 PM)
During the Cup Series Race (2:00 PM – 5:00 PM)
After the Cup Series Race (5:00 PM – 8:00 PM)
When the three NASCAR National Series rolled into Austin for COTA’s first NASCAR race weekend in 2021, no one could have guessed the chaos that lay in wait. A major rain shower did not prevent the series from racing that day, as, though it was still somewhat foreign at the time, NASCAR sent the Cup Series out in the rain for a chaotic race, ultimately won by Chase Elliott.
Note: This article will be updated with a more accurate and detailed forecast as the race weekend nears.
After back-to-back drafting tracks, NASCAR’s three National Series split ways as the O’Reilly Auto Parts and Cup Series head for Circuit of the Americas, and the Truck Series makes its debut at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
This information will be available when NASCAR releases it on Monday afternoon.
Note: This article will be updated as more information about the weekend comes out.
Just like that, the first two weeks of the NASCAR season are in the books. After kicking the season off at Daytona, the sport headed up north to EchoPark Speedway for back-to-back superspeedway action. The Cup series saw a familiar face in victory lane, as Tyler Reddick went 2-for-2 to start the year.
In the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Sheldon Creed finally got the monkey off his back, thanks to help from Ross Chastain, and won his first career O’Reilly Auto Parts race. In Trucks, Kyle Busch continued his EchoPark dominance, taking home the checkered flag in familiar Hendrick colors, well, familiar two decades ago.
Now, how was the racing as a whole? Where do the races stack up against each other? Let’s take a look at my Race Weekend Rankings and see where the EchoPark weekend ranks among the rest of the 2026 season!
Check out the latest episode of The Cutline, where Armany broke down the weekend at Atlanta, alongside NASCAR_Opinion.
You can follow along with Armany by creating your own Race Weekend Rankings Tier List. Make sure to tag Armany and The Daily Downforce on X, and we’ll share your list with the rest of the NASCAR Community.
