NASCAR Xfinity Series team Big Machine Racing will be back for a second season in 2022, and with more firepower than this year. On Thursday, the team announced it has agreed to an “enhanced partnership” with technical ally Richard Childress Racing, while Jade Buford will return to the #48 Chevrolet Camaro.
Founded by Big Machine Records owner and sports car racer Scott Borchetta, Big Machine Racing débuted with Danny Bohn finishing nineteenth in the 2021 season opener at Daytona. Buford took over the car for the rest of the season (he was supposed to run the full schedule but was not approved for Daytona). After twenty-seven starts in the #48, he sits twenty-third in points with a top ten at Michigan where he finished ninth.
Buford, also a sports car veteran, made the jump to NASCAR in 2020 as a road course ringer. That year, he recorded his first career top ten at the Charlotte Roval, where the Xfinity Series is racing this weekend, when he placed eighth for SS-Green Light Racing.
“I’m over-the-top excited for the future of Big Machine Racing,” Buford stated. “An alliance with an organization like RCR will give us a huge advantage in improving our racing programme and add another level of consistency that will help us achieve better results across the entire season.
“With support and access to RCR’s resources, we will have a much better playbook going into every race. Thank you to our team owner, Scott Borchetta, for making this opportunity possible. This will be a huge step forward in making Big Machine Racing a weekly frontrunner in the Xfinity Series.”
The expanded alliance with RCR entails increased chassis and engineering support from said team; Big Machine will also move headquarters from Mooresville, North Carolina, to a site closer to RCR’s base in Welcome. The team already receives engines from RCR-operated ECR Engines.
“To be able to join Richard Childress and the iconic RCR means we just put a turbocharger on our Big Machine Racing programme,” said Borchetta. “As a racer and fan, I’ve always looked up to Richard, all of his accomplishments, and his organization. He’s a winner in the truest sense and I look forward to the day that we can share our first victory together.”
RCR, winner of the 2019 Xfinity championship with Tyler Reddick (whose family incidentally is also in the music industry), currently fields the #21 for Myatt Snider. Snider scored his first Xfinity win at Homestead in March to qualify for the playoffs, and he is currently eighth in points with nine top tens. Reigning Camping World Truck Series champion Sheldon Creed will join the team in 2022.
“Scott Borchetta and everyone at Big Machine Racing have built a great program and we look forward to not only continuing our relationship in 2022, but to enhancing it with additional technical and engineering support,” commented Childress. “Our team partnership model is proven, and we know that this partnership will be beneficial for Big Machine Racing, RCR, ECR and Chevrolet.”
