Title: Transforming Chaos into Opportunity: Garage 66 Seeking a New Lease on Life
The crew planning to debut Mike Wallace in this year's Daytona 500, only for NASCAR to deny them with their typical bureaucratic roadblock, has found a new driver. But hold your horses; this isn't for the Daytona 500, and technically, it's not even the same team anymore.
MBM Motorsports, formerly owned by former driver Carl Long, unveiled their plan with much fanfare to bring back the 65-year-old Mike Wallace to the Cup Series for the Grand American Race. However, NASCAR had different ideas. The sanctioning body presented them with the "ol' bureaucratic 'nope'," citing Wallace's extended absence from the Cup car since 2015 and his last NASCAR event in 2020. NASCAR deemed it a leap too far. This left both Wallace and MBM scrambling to fill the suddenly vacant Daytona 500 seat.
Now for the twist: MBM is no longer MBM. Last week, Carl Long announced a rebranding, officially renaming the team to Garage 66. The change was meant to streamline the team by reducing their manpower, while maintaining higher standards. With the new name came a fresh start, and in keeping with that new beginning, Garage 66 revealed their new driver.
Enter Garrett Smithley, a NASCAR veteran with 76 Cup Series starts under his belt, most recently in 2022. His Xfinity Series career boasts an impressive 180 starts, with 33 in 2024, culminating in the Xfinity race at Phoenix. Some of those starts were even with MBM (now Garage 66).
Smithley couldn't hide his excitement about reuniting with Carl Long's team. "I'm thrilled to be back in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2025. I've been talking to Carl for a while now about putting something together, and finally, all the pieces fell into place. I am looking forward to running this historic race at Bowman Gray, and hopefully, we can do more together throughout the year."
Long echoed those sentiments, expressing his pleasure to have Smithley back in their car. "It's been a while since Garrett last drove for our organization, but I'm glad to have him back in our car. He has a solid deal in Xfinity that also gives him more freedom to race in Cup. Garrett knows how to take care of his equipment and be there at the end."
This union is set to debut at The Clash at Bowman Gray, a pre-season event marking the return of Cup racing to the "Madhouse" for the first time since 1971. The presence of Garrett Smithley in the #66 Ford Mustang Dark Horse promises an entertaining spectacle, as the short-track veteran navigates the quarter-mile bullring's unpredictable conditions. Smithley's short-track expertise offers little chance of NASCAR hindering his participation in this event.
Yet, the million-dollar question remains unanswered: will Smithley be Garage 66's man for the Daytona 500? The Daytona 500 seat has already been filled by Chandler Smith, leaving Garrett Smithley to focus on this pre-season event.
In case you're curious: Garrett Smithley is 32 years old.
[1] Garrett Smithley returns to NASCAR Cup Series with Garage 66 - NASCAR.com[2] Garage 66 rebrands as Garage 66 Racing LLC - MotorSportsTalk[3] Garrett Smithley set for NASCAR Cup Series return with Garage 66 - Racing News[4] Chandler Smith to drive Garage 66 car at 2025 Daytona 500 - NASCAR.com
Despite NASCAR denying Mike Wallace's return to the Cup Series for the Daytona 500 due to bureaucratic reasons, Garage 66, formerly MBM Motorsports, has found a new driver in Garrett Smithley. With over 76 Cup Series starts and an impressive Xfinity Series career, Smithley is ready to debut with Garage 66 in The Clash at Bowman Gray, promising an entertaining spectacle.
