Joe Graf Jr. | RSS Racing Darlington Raceway Shriners Children’s 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Preview

No. 38 RSS Racing Team:

Driver: Joe Graf Jr. 

Primary Partner(s): Bethel Motor Speedway | Lefcourt Brothers Racing

Manufacturer: Ford Mustang

Crew Chief: Steve Addington

Spotter: Joe Campbell

Engine: Roush-Yates Engines

Driver Championship Point Standings: 23rd

Team Championship Point Standings: 23rd

Notes of Interest:

Settling In: After spending the last three seasons with SS GreenLight Racing with Jeff Lefcourt (2020 – 2022), Joe Graf Jr. moved to RSS Racing during the offseason where he’ll spend the majority of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series season competing for the Sugar Hill, Ga.-based team.

In addition to RSS Racing, Graf will also compete in a limited NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule driving the No. 19 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing.

NASCAR Throwback: Joe Graf Jr. and RSS Racing join most of the NASCAR Xfinity Series field by participating in this year’s NASCAR Throwback weekend at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

For Saturday afternoon’s 147-lap race, Graf Jr. will pay homage to a popular paint scheme ran at Bethel Motor Speedway.

Bethel Motor Speedway is a quarter-mile asphalt oval race track, located near the site of the original Woodstock Music Festival in White Lake, New York. The track located in Swan Lake, NY is also sanctioned by NASCAR as part of its Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series.

The track is promoted by Jeff Lefcourt, one of the two owners of Lefcourt Brothers Racing.

Lefcourt Brothers Racing was created by brothers Jeff and Jonathan Lefcourt to support up-and-coming drivers in the top three tiers of NASCAR. A lifelong fan of motorsports, Jeff has been involved in motorsports for many years as both a driver and a track owner.

After having an ownership stake in SS GreenLight Racing during the 2022 NASCAR season, Jeff wanted to expand his involvement. He and Jonathan decided to combine their love of motorsports with their business expertise to create a platform to help aspiring racers get more seat time and exposure to potential partners.

And thus, Lefcourt Brothers Racing was born.

Thanks For Your Support: With a little more than 30 percent of the 2023 Xfinity Series season complete, Joe Graf Jr. and RSS Racing would like to thank their associate marketing partners: AVOID, Bass Reaper Bait Company,  Bucked Up Energy Drink, CoverSeal, EAT SLEEP RACE Apparel, fgrACCEL, G-Coin®, GTECHNIQ, JACOB Companies, Lefcourt Brothers Racing, Love Motorsports, Model Electronics and ShopRite for their continued support.  

Catch Him On The Dial: Before Joe Graf Jr. straps into his No. 38 Bethel Motor Speedway | Leftcourt Brothers Racing Throwback Ford Mustang on Saturday, the RSS Racing driver will be featured on “The Frontstretch” on SiriusXM Satellite Radio Channel 90 with host Pat Patterson on Saturday morning, May 13, 2023, at approximately 10:00 a.m. ET.

Graf will also spotlight a commercial featuring GTECHNIQ in several spots throughout the weekend, including the full four-hour program on Sunday, May 14, 2023.  

Joe Graf Jr. Xfinity Series Darlington (S.C.) Raceway Stats: Saturday afternoon’s Shriners Children’s 200 will mark Graf’s seventh start at the track dubbed “Too Tough To Tame.”

In his previous six Darlington efforts, he delivered a track-best of 19th twice, most recently during the fall edition of the 2021 Sport Clips VFW Help a Hero 200 after starting 32nd for SS GreenLight Racing.

The Mahwah, New Jersey native earned a respectable 19th place finish in his Darlington Raceway debut in May 2020 when NASCAR returned to competition during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Joe Graf Jr. Xfinity Series Career Speedway Stats: At tracks classified as a speedway, Graf has competed in 51 NASCAR Xfinity Series races. He holds an average starting position of 25.6 and an average result of 25.8.

Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway | A-Game 200 Race Recap: In his most recent NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway, Graf competed in his seventh race of the season with the organization but the 10th Xfinity Series race overall of the season.

Without practice or qualifying due to inclement weather, Graf started his No. 38 JACOB Companies Ford Mustang from the 21st starting position.

Throughout the 200-lap race, Graf hovered inside the top-20 but dropped to 22nd in Stage 3 where he encountered green flag pit stops. Picking up a few positions in the waning laps of the race, the former ARCA Menards Series winner earned his best Dover finish since 2020.

Sneaker Mania: Along with the adrenaline of the Motorsports competition, Joe Graf Jr. also has a vogue for hype sneakers. In his current collection, he owns and wears at least 90 limited edition sneakers – and his collection continues to grow monthly.

The current estimated value of his collection tops $100,000.

From the Pit Box: Industry veteran Steve Addington is Joe Graf Jr.’s crew chief.

He will be crew chief for his 274th NASCAR Xfinity Series race as crew chief on Saturday and his 19th race at the historic track in Darlington, S.C.

In his previous 273 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts, he has collected 11 wins, 10 poles, 68 top-five and 118 top-10 finishes.

Hello From The Other Side: Graf Jr. has two teammates at RSS Racing.

Veteran Ryan Sieg will drive the No. 39 CMRroofing.com Ford Mustang, while younger brother Kyle Sieg will drive the No. 28 RSS Racing Ford Mustang.  

Ryan Sieg is set to make his 312th career Xfinity Series start overall and 13th at Darlington. His best Xfinity Darlington track finish occurred in the 2020 edition of the Sport Clips VFW Help a Hero 200, where he finished third after starting 11th for his family-owned RSS Racing team.

Kyle Sieg is set to make his 30th career Xfinity Series start overall and third at Darlington. His best Xfinity Darlington track finish occurred in the 2022 edition of the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200, where he finished 23rd after starting 38th also driving for his family-owned RSS Racing team.

Follow on Social Media: For more on Joe Graf Jr. visit JoeGrafRacing.com, like him on Facebook (Joe Graf Jr.), follow him on TikTok (@JoeGrafJr), Twitter (@JoeGrafJr), Instagram (@joegrafjr) and YouTube.

For more on RSS Racing, please like them on Facebook (RSS283839) and follow them on Instagram (@rss283839) and Twitter (@RSS283839). 

Joe Graf Jr. Quoteboard:

On Darlington Raceway: “I am pumped up about Darlington. It definitely is one of my favorite race tracks on the schedule. I haven’t always had the best finishes at Darlington, but I always have had speed.

“I think our No. 38 Bethel Motor Speedway | Lefcourt Brothers Racing throwback car looks great and I feel confident we can build off the last two races and earn ourselves another solid finish on Saturday afternoon.

“It is going to be a hot weekend at Darlington which should provide a weekend of great racing for the fans because the cars will slip around and lack grip.

“That gets me excited because I feel like I can really excel in those types of races. Hopefully, we have a good afternoon and build more momentum towards Charlotte Motor Speedway at the end of the month.”

On The 2023 Season: “We started the year off really strong between RSS Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing, but unfortunately we’ve had a few setbacks the last couple of weeks that has broken up the momentum.

“We were able to turn Talladega from a bad race into an OK race. We had another decent race at Dover. Hopefully Darlington will continue the righting of our year and putting our season back on track. We are definitely capable of it; we just need everything to come together.

“I just need to continue to stay focused, communicate with my team and utilize the knowledge that I’ve gained over the past three years to recover and have my best Xfinity Series season yet.”

Race Information:

The Shriners Children’s 200 (147 laps | 200.8 miles) is the 11th of 33 NASCAR Xfinity Series races on the 2023 schedule. Practice begins on Friday, May 12 from 5:05 p.m. – 5:35 p.m. Qualifying immediately follows at 5:35 p.m. The 38-car field will take the green flag the following afternoon, Saturday, May 13 shortly after 1:30 p.m. with live coverage on FOX Sports 1, the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90. All times are local (Eastern).