NASCAR turns down Davison entry for Talladega

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emailBy Kelly Crandall | June 18, 2020 10:27 AM

NASCAR has reconsidered its approval of James Davison making his Cup Series debut this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.

Davison had announced late Tuesday that he would drive Spire Motorsport’s No. 77 Chevrolet entry, with backing from OilFireRye Whiskey. But with no practice or qualifying sessions scheduled this weekend, the Australian would have made his first laps on an oval in the Cup Series with the green flag in the GEICO 500. Although the IndyCar and sports car veteran had said that was “A unique situation, but one I’m OK with,” NASCAR reached a different conclusion.

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“I have been contacted by NASCAR and informed that although I was previously approved to race, they had to reconsider their position on superspeedways, given there won’t be practice prior to Sunday’s race at Talladega,” Davison posted to his Twitter page.

Instead, Davison will run with Spire Motorsports next weekend at Pocono Raceway while BJ McLeod will take over the No. 77 Chevrolet for Talladega.

“I was pumped about the opportunity to take the green flag, however I fully understand and appreciate NASCAR’s position,” Davison added. “I’m approved to race next weekend and equally thrilled to make my debut there.”

NASCAR officials prefer that drivers have some form of prior experience at Daytona or Talladega before running a national series race there. Drivers have frequently used the ARCA Series races at those facilities to earn their superspeedway approval.

James Davison, Pocono, Talladega, NASCAR