BRCC Kicks Off NASCAR Season With a Triple Threat at Daytona
Black Rifle Coffee Company put on an impressive display of horsepower to usher in the 2022 NASCAR season, with drivers competing in all three national series races during the Daytona 500 weekend.
Known as the biggest race in NASCAR, the Daytona 500 holds a special place in every stock car driver’s heart. It’s an instant catapult to fame for the victor and can often be the pinnacle of a racer’s career. The NASCAR Cup Series season-opener is unlike any other event and holds prestige among its competitors because of its difficulty to master, much less finish. And this year’s Great American Race did not disappoint.
Photo by Kelly Getzelman/BRCC Blog.
BRCC kicked off its race weekend on the night of Feb. 18 with three-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Matt Crafton battling for the top spot.
“Proud to join the BRCC motor sports team,” Crafton said.” Black Rifle Coffee Company is a veteran-owned company that gives back in big ways. I’ve been a fan of their coffee for a while now and look forward to representing them on and off the track.”
Photo by Kelly Getzelman/BRCC Blog.
The field approached the white flag as the smoke settled from an incident involving 17 different vehicles, and Crafton’s No. 88 Mold Armor/Menards Toyota Tundra TRD Pro truck finished a respectable 27th, even after the front of the vehicle suffered substantial damage. It was 22-year-old Californian Zane Smith who took the top spot in the NextEra Energy 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season opener.
Photo by Kelly Getzelman/BRCC Blog.
The Daytona 500 weekend continued with the NASCAR Xfinity Series race Feb. 19. One of the competitors was BRCC-sponsored driver Noah Gragson. Gragson, who won the Daytona Xfinity race back in 2020, also has the most seat time of all drivers under BRCC’s brand, entering his third season with the company in the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/BRCC scheme.
Gragson made the “Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. 300” Xfinity race interesting and placed third behind race winner Austin Hill and runner-up A.J. Allmendinger when a caution flag for Myatt Snider’s severe crash ended the race half of a lap from the scheduled distance.
Photo by Kelly Getzelman/BRCC Blog.
“I thought we were really close there,” Gragson said shortly after exiting his No. 9 Camaro. “Not really happy with just how the bottom line got together there at the end. The side-draft I felt like we stalled out, but we put ourselves in position and ran up front all day. Just came up a little short. I think we’re third, but you know, we’ll take it to start the year. It’s better than being wrecked like last year.”
Photo by Kelly Getzelman/BRCC Blog.
We are fast approaching the fourth race in the 2022 NASCAR season, and the BRCC sponsored driver has captured a spot on the podium in all three races so far. His impressive second-place win Sunday, March 6, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was good enough to push Gragson into the lead in the NXS point standings.
But it was the Feb. 20 NASCAR Cup Series race during the Daytona 500 weekend that drew the biggest crowds. All eyes were on the No. 42 BRCC/Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro.
Photo by Kelly Getzelman/BRCC Blog.
Black Rifle Coffee Company CEO Evan Hafer and co-founder Mat Best even made the trip out to Daytona Beach for the main event race and to check out the new BRCC-inspired livery.
“I’m a race car driver,” Ty Dillon said at the NASCAR press conference before the big race. “I am here to win, and I have been given an opportunity to drive race cars, and that opportunity entitles me to win.”
Photo by Kelly Getzelman/BRCC Blog.
“I guess I kind of set the tone for myself in LA. Yes, I was very aggressive, but I had a car that was probably to the standard of the field, one of the best ones I have ever had. So this is all about the second chance and making the most of it and not feeling like I left anything on the table and enjoy the heck out of it with my family.”
Photo by Kelly Getzelman/BRCC Blog.
Although Dillon came up short at this year’s Daytona 500, finishing just outside of the top 10, his thrilling run to the finish in NASCAR’s new NextGen race car at Daytona International Speedway simply did not disappoint.
Austin Cindric, a 23-year-old NASCAR Cup Series rookie, beat Bubba Wallace to the finish line by .036 seconds in overtime to win the 64th running of the Daytona 500.
Dillon is currently in the top 20 for the NASCAR Cup Series 2022 standings. The Petty GMS team is making its final preparations for a strong showing at the Ruoff Mortgage 500 at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, March 13.
