It’s rare for a new team to announce a Cup Series entry and stick without major backing. Trackhouse Racing is perhaps the biggest success story; 23XI doesn’t necessarily count due to the star power behind the ownership group. Team Hezeberg announced an entry last fall and, while they have proven to be legitimate, they haven’t shown much speed in their part time entries (the Netherlands-based team does, however, get bonus points for being the only foreign-owned team in the NASCAR Cup Series).
Team Stange, despite their lofty aspirations in their March 2022 announcement, is yet to compete in a race this season and hasn’t updated their social media in 2 months. And the list goes on; more often than not, new NASCAR teams don’t make it past the introductory press conference. However, a new team has popped up on social media that plans on their own foray into NASCAR racing.
As previously stated, every new NASCAR team should be taken with a grain of salt. Announcing a brand is one task; acquiring parts, signing drivers, bringing in sponsorship, and showing up at the track is far more extensive and expensive. But based on an email obtained from team owner Dennis Hirtz, 3F Racing just might be on track to actually reach raceday this fall.
3F Racing aims to be the first German-owned NASCAR Cup Series team. Based on their website, they plan on running the no. 30 NextGen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. According to Hirtz, the team will have an alliance with Richard Childress Racing and their engines will be built in Welcome, NC.
Hirtz said of the RCR alliance,
“You need to have a strong alliance entering the sport to not run in the back.”
3F Racing plans on competing in the final 5 races in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, beginning with the Round of 12 finale at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. There, they plan on having a prestigious driver in the car for their debut race.
“The driver lineup will be released at a later point, as we are still in the last stages of the funding with our partners and sponsors,” Hirtz said via email. “Our driver for the Roval will be a two time 24h of Le Mans winner with a strong European background, and for the remaining races we will field a very experienced and well known US American NASCAR driver.”
While pure speculation, many fans believe Justin Allgaier to be the driver for the non-oval races this year, due to Allgaier being the only big NASCAR driver to follow them on social media. Earl Bamber is also suspected to be a possibility for the Roval ride, due to the fact that he has extensive sports car racing experience in Europe and IMSA, and has 2 LeMans victories. He does not follow the team on social media at the last check, and neither driver nor the team itself have announced anything official.
Hirtz says the team plans on running 10-12 races in 2023, followed by a full-time entry in 2024. Once the team is ready, they will announce drivers and officially enter the sport with a team presentation.
Their website is https://3f-racing.com/ , and they can be found on Twitter and Instagram.
About Me: Ethan Miller is 17 years old and resides in Pennsylvania. He aspires to become a sports writer following high school, and views writing for Speedway Digest as the next step towards a career in journalism. Ethan currently hosts the QuickPitPodcast with a few fellow NASCAR fans, which can be found on all major podcast platforms.
Twitter: pit_quick
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