Young driver has doubts about whether his team can survive the season


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Chad Finchum knows it's going to be tough for him and his team, MBM Racing.

Finchum is making his debut at the Daytona 500 in the Xfinity series in the No. 40 Toyota. But whether the team runs a full year is anybody's guess.

"My biggest thoughts are I'm privileged to race at Daytona," he said. "That's probably the most prestigious race for any NASCAR guy. I am utmost thankful for the opportunity to do it, especially coming through all the grassroots series to do it. Finally, the hard work is showing its rewards and paying off."Finchum told the Knoxville News Sentinel in Tennessee. "We're going to attempt to do the full season, and compete for Rookie of the Year. We don't know 100 percent if that's possible, but we are for sure doing Daytona, and the next two, which are Atlanta and Las Vegas."

Finchum has had some good sponsorship news. He announced, on Twitter, that Smithbilt Homes signed on.

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"My biggest thoughts are I'm privileged to race at Daytona," he said. "That's probably the most prestigious race for any NASCAR guy. I am utmost thankful for the opportunity to do it, especially coming through all the grassroots series to do it. Finally, the hard work is showing its rewards and paying off."

Finchum, in a press release on his website, talked about his expectations at Daytona.

"Carl (Long) and MBM Motorsports have good equipment, but we realize we're not going to be able to compete with the Cup teams fielding Xfinity cars. The group of cars we're equally competing against on our level each week, our goal is to finish the best among those cars. You can rest assured we're going to give it our best effort."

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It's a long, hard slog, but Finchum says he's living a dream come true.

"Yeah, I guess it can be said that dreams do sometime come true," he said in his press release. "I told my parents and really everybody, from just when I was a young boy and attending NASCAR races that someday I was going to be a NASCAR driver.

"Over the past 10 years I've really worked hard trying to become the best race car driver I could be, and I've been quite fortunate to have won a lot of races and also championships. It's helped prepare me for the next step up the racing ladder in my career, competing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series."

 

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