Tommy Baldwin Racing to Attempt 2019 Daytona 500

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer

Veteran Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series crew chief, and team owner, Tommy Baldwin, Jr. will attempt the 2019 Daytona 500. After a little over a one-year hiatus, Tommy Baldwin Racing will return to the Premier Series of NASCAR.

TBR competed full-time from 2009 to 2016. In 2017, the team scaled back to part-time competition following the sale of Baldwin’s charter. The team will once again compete part-time, running between five and seven races with the aim of returning to full-time competition in 2020. Crew chief, driver, sponsorship, and other information will be announced later.

The team, which debuted in 2009, has two top-10 finishes in ‘The Great American Race’ at Daytona International Speedway. The organization nearly pulled off the ultimate upset in 2012 after Juan Pablo Montoya infamous incident with a jet dryer. The driver of the teams’ No. 36 Chevrolet, Dave Blaney, was leading under caution at the time of the incident.

“We are looking forward to get back going again with TBR in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series,” team owner Tommy Baldwin said. “Our goal is to work methodically and build it one piece at a time. I’m excited about these five to seven races for the 2019 season, and where it takes us in the future.”

TBR last competed with JJ Yeley in the 2017 Playoff race at ISM Raceway. The team has 403 starts in the top level of NASCAR with two top-five and four top-10 finishes. Blaney and Regan Smith earned the organization’s best finish (third), at Talladega Superspeedway and Pocono Raceway respectively.

Baldwin’s team has featured a host of drivers, including fielding Ryan Blaney and Ryan Preece in their first career starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Preece will compete for Sunoco Rookie of the Year in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2019, while Blaney was signed by Team Penske shortly after his Xfinity debut in 2012.