Beard Motorsports, Austin Hill flip road course start to Charlotte

Beard Motorsports has made a slight tweak to their 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule. While they will continue to run the superspeedways with Austin Hill, their road course start at the Chicago Street Course has been moved to the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval on 8 October. A reason for the swap was not given, though Charlotte is where most teams are headquartered.

Hill will also race the #62 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at the two Daytona International Speedway rounds (the Daytona 500 on 19 February and 26 August), both Talladega Superspeedway events on 23 April and 1 October, and Michigan International Speedway on 6 August. As superspeedways, Daytona and Talladega are popular stops for smaller teams hoping to be competitive, while Michigan is the home track for Beard Motorsports. Hill also made his Cup début at Michigan in 2022 where he finished eighteenth.

“Honouring my dad’s legacy and his passion for the sport of auto racing is the driving force behind Beard Motorsports,” commented team executive vice president Amie Beard. “I’ve said it before but he was very much a ‘Go big or go home’ kind of person. I know he would be so proud to see how we have carried on the tradition that he started and increasing our presence in the NASCAR garage with the races in Michigan this summer and at the Charlotte road course this fall.”

Prior to 2023, Beard Motorsports raced exclusively at Daytona and Talladega with Brendan Gaughan, Noah Gragson, and Justin Allgaier. Gaughan also ran the team’s first and then-only road course race on the Daytona infield in 2020.

Hill is preparing for his second full season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series after winning Rookie of the Year. His sponsor Bennett Family of Companies hails from Georgia like him.

“The opportunity to compete in the Daytona 500 is a dream come true,” Hill commented. “It’s an honour to race for the Beard family and I’m very excited to have Bennett Transportation and Logistics on board our #62 Camaro. Bennett has not only supported my career in the Xfinity Series, but also my first Cup start last season. I’m proud to represent them and the truckers that drive for the Bennett Family of Companies. Daytona will be an exciting week and I can’t wait to get to Florida.”