STATESVILLE, N.C. – Dirt late model veteran Mike Marlar will attempt to make his NASCAR Cup Series debut during the upcoming Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 28.
Marlar will pilot the No. 66 MBM Motorsports entry as he attempts to qualify for the event. Clinton Cram will serve as Marlar’s crew chief and the No. 66 entry will have sponsorship from liftkits4less.com.
In addition, Marlar will also compete in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on March 27 via a partnership with Hill Motorsports that will see him pilot the No. 56 entry. He’ll also have sponsorship from liftkits4less.com for that event.
“This is going to be interesting and I’m really looking forward to the challenge,” Marlar said. “This is something that would not have been possible without the help of Carl Long and Rocky and Tom Smith from Smithbuilt Homes. This is such a cool opportunity for me being a dirt racer from Eastern Tennessee being able to compete in the top series of NASCAR at Bristol.”
Marlar is no stranger to dirt racing. He claimed the 2018 World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series title and has countless victories on dirt. In addition, Marlar has previous experience racing on dirt in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
He made his Truck Series debut at Eldora Speedway in 2019, where he raced from the 23rd starting position to finish fourth.
“There is a lot there for me to come in and overcome to be competitive,” Marlar told Forward Bite Podcast host Kyle Armstrong on Monday. “I’m looking forward to it and hopefully I can get everything in the race OK and stay clean. Just finishing is going to be worth a lot.
“I think we can be competitive, but it’s a different world.”