Landon Cassill will drive the No. 83 Toyota in the Daytona 500 and for the remainder of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season.
Veteran crew chief Doug Richert will oversee Cassill’s team.
“The huge thing for me on top of having my first full-time opportunity in the Sprint Cup Series is being signed up and knowing I’m going to have be able to run all the races,” Cassill said. “It’s just a huge, huge opportunity for me. Getting to race in the Daytona 500 is amazing. This is really a blessing to me.
“I’ve been working with Doug daily to try to build the team, get seats and cars ready, but they’ve been working around the clock to tighten up the loose ends and get ready for Daytona. The next 10 weeks will be really important for us in order to keep locked in the points and propel ourselves in the rest of the season."
While Harry McMullen will act as general manager of the two-car operation, Cassill could not confirm nor deny that the team will be called BK Racing, a name that stems from Burger King franchisees that are expected to be associated with the deal.
Cassill, 22, will be guaranteed a starting position in the Daytona 500 with the points from Red Bull Racing. He most recently drove for James Finch’s Phoenix Racing Chevrolet. Cassill took over the ride at California Speedway and completed the season behind the wheel of the No. 51 car, running all but the two road-course races. Cassill’s best finish was 12th in the June Michigan race. A former Hendrick Motorsports development driver, he has 48 career Sprint Cup Series starts in two seasons.
As for ownership, Cassill said, “There’s a group of people — I haven’t met them all yet, but some of them were TRG investors. But they want to do it right this time and put together a great program.”
Sources said Ron Devine, of Virginia, and Wayne Press, of Florida, two former TRG partners, will be part of the new ownership group.
Travis Kvapil has been mentioned as the driver for the team's No. 93 Toyota. Kvapil could not be reached for comment.
