Smooge Racing has announced that NASCAR Cup Series drivers Bubba Wallace and John Hunter Nemechek, together with NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Corey Heim, will be entered in a Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO for the upcoming IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season-opener at Daytona.
Wallace, Nemechek, and Heim will aim to drive their black and gold #23 Mobil 1 GR Supra to the top step of the podium in the BMW M Endurance Challenge four-hour race, just as their Ford-supported peers Harrison Burton and Zane Smith did in last year’s event.
Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. is a two-time Cup Series race winner, one of only two African-American drivers to win a race in NASCAR’s premier series (alongside NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Wendell Scott). Since 2021 he has driven the #23 Toyota for 23XI Racing, which is co-owned by driver Denny Hamlin and basketball legend Michael Jordan. Wallace qualified for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs for the first time last season and finished a career-best 10th in the championship.
Second-generation driver John Hunter Nemechek won seven races in the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series and qualified for the final round of their Playoffs, after racing in the Truck Series from 2021-2022. In 2024, Nemechek will compete in the Cup Series full-time for the first time in four years, joining the Legacy Motor Club team which is part-owned by seven-time Cup Series champions Jimmie Johnson and Richard Petty.
Corey Heim is coming off his second season in the Truck Series with Tricon Racing. He won Rookie of the Year honours in 2022 and made the final round of the Playoffs in 2023, with five career wins in the series.
Theirs is one of two cars entered by Smooge Racing at Daytona: Team Principal and NASCAR alumnus Kevin Conway will drive the #68 GR Supra alongside his regular co-driver John Geesbreght, and 2020 Daytona 24 Hours class winner Corey Lewis.
“We are very excited to run two GR Supra GT4 EVOs at Daytona this year,” said Conway. “Having Bubba, John Hunter and Corey in the #23 car is a major honour and testament to Smooge Racing.
“I’m also looking forward to racing with John Geesbreght and Corey Lewis in the PRAX Leadership GR Supra,” Conway added. “John and I have had a lot of success together and we are looking forward to building on that at Daytona.”
Images © Toyota Racing
