5 Wide Lines writes:

"Team Preview: On Point Motorsports"

Posted by Yeet on August 13, 2018

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On Point Motorsports is a newly created CWTS team that will attempt to qualify for the 2018 UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway, with Scott Lagasse to pilot their #30 Toyota Tundra. At the time this article was posted, a sponsor had not been announced. As the clocks click down to the race, they have made several statements about their plans in this sport. I am going to do my best and give you general knowledge of this team before they hit the track August 15th for Practice. Since there aren't as many newer teams that plop out of nowhere, I am going to create a series based on the new teams in Cup, XFINITY, and Trucks in the days prior to their debut.



It was announced on July 10th, 2018 that On Point Motorsports had created a brand new NASCAR team. Owned by Steven Lane, who was recently crew chief for JGL Racing, which appears to be closed. The team has its eyes set for Bristol Motor Speedway to make their truck debut, but they plan more truck races in the future. They also plan to run Modifieds, ARCA, and even the XFINITY Series in the days to come. They will set headquarters in Denver, North Carolina (no that's not a typing error).



At the time this article was posted, a sponsor had not been announced.



On Point Motorsports releases a lot of information on their Twitter @MotorsportsOn, where they first announced their team formation. I'm going to go over the one of images that they have uploaded, as it has raised questions.



In the comments, I will provide a link of the picture since sometimes the website has troubles reading the links.



On July 17th, they uploaded an image of the nearly built black Toyota Tundra, which had no number yet. By the looks of it, the truck will be black on race day. Look behind the truck, and you'll see a black stock car, stripped down to the core. On the top of the door reads "Caesar Bacarella" who currently has competed in a handful of races this year driving for BJ McLeod Motorsports. After learning from this that it came out of McLeod's stable, I was poised to determine which car it was, and what it was doing here. If you look closer to the mirror you'll see the "NASCAR Salutes" logo. Caesar only ran one of the NASCAR Salutes races, Daytona. In this race, Bacarella crashed out on lap 75 after colliding with his teammate Blake Jones, heavily damaging the front end.



So after doing some research, this is indeed the crashed car of Caesar Bacarella from Daytona. This is where I pondered a lot of questions.



On Point Motorsports did not mention or clarify what the #8 car was doing there, but then again, nobody in the comments asked.



It sounds nuts, but I believe On Point Motorsports is trying to make a bargain by purchasing a crashed car for little money and trying to revive it, to compete in the XFINITY Series. If this is the case, we could see the #30 on the XFINITY circuit much earlier than we expected. I also wondered if there was a hint that BJ McLeod Motorsports and On Point Motorsports have an alliance of some sort. At the time of me finding this car in their garage, a driver hadn't been announced yet for Bristol. I started to wonder if a driver that has raced for BJ McLeod Motorsports was going to race in it, such as Tommy Joe Martins, a former truck owner, or BJ McLeod himself, as he has made numerous truck attempts this year alone. I also pondered if a JGL Racing driver would take the seat in the #30, since owner Steven Lane was crew chief for a JGL car 94 times. I thought possibly we'd see Dakota Armstrong or Dylan Lupton or any other JGL racing driver in the seat. I was correct, as a JGL driver was announced.



It was announced on August 3rd that Scott Lagasse Jr. would pilot the #30 at Bristol, competing in his 29th truck start. Even though Steven was never a crew chief for Scott, JGL signed and fielded Lagasse for 3 races during the 2017 season. While it is the 1st race for OPM this year, it's the 2nd for Scott, who finished 5th at Daytona this year with Young's Motorsports, in their 2nd truck, #20. It is yet to be announced if Scott will make other attempts in this #30 truck.



A little information about the owner...



Steven "Bones" Lane has definitely been around NASCAR for a very long time. Steven's crew chief debut was November 5th, 2000, when he subbed in for Peter Sospenzio, the crew chief for Jeremy Mayfield. In Steve's debut, Mayfield finished 2nd.

Steven has gotten the opportunity to work with various NASCAR racers in Cup, including David Stremme, Kyle Petty, Joe Nemechek and J.J Yeley. It wouldn't be until 2015 when Lane would join the XFINITY Series, signing with JGL Racing, a team formed in 2014 owned by James Whitener, who first became an owner in 2004. Through 2018, Steven Lane was crew chief for multiple drivers, but they all ran for JGL. Unfortunately, the team has struggled with sponsorship and other issues, and JGL went off the radar after a sponsorship issue with Dylan Lupton. Tragically during this time, James Whitener was diagnosed with liver failure, awaiting a transplant. Of this article, I don't know if he's received a transplant or not. JGL has also shut down their Twitter account during this time, and its very concerning if we'll ever see JGL in NASCAR for a very long time if not ever.



However, it appears that Steven Lane has already found a job after JGL's downfall, and he and a group of investors have founded On Point Motorsports. I do not know if their workers are from JGL Racing or not, but I hope that is the case. Also I hope James Whitener is involved somehow.



Leading up to their debut, they took part in a test session at Bristol Motor Speedway, to make sure they get a better understanding of the track and are prepared come qualifying. Bristol is truly one of the short track equalizers, and I guarantee more than 32 will be entered. On Point Motorsports has 0 Owner Points, so they must qualify 27th or better. If they make the race, they would be the most recent truck team to race the #30 in the truck series since Terry Jones in the NextEra Energy Resources 250, who crashed after 4 laps.



From the looks of their Twitter and owner's background, this team is very serious about competing and is highly unlikely to be a Start and Park team. What are your predictions and thoughts on this team? Will they run consistently, or will they wash away in a matter of months? Do you think Scott Lagasse Jr is a smart choice for a driver? What are your thoughts on the #8 lying in their garage?



I gotta admit, this team has hyped me up more than honestly I think it should. I'm eager to see what the future has for them, and their plans with Bacarella's car. I will always root for the underdogs, and I wish them the best of luck come August 16th.







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