Landon Cassill, Brad Keselowski perform well in first season at JR Motorsports
HOMESTEAD, Fla. - JR Motorsports completed its first season after merging of Nationwide Series operations with Hendrick Motorsports with four victories, a top-five points finish and a rookie of the year title.
Landon Cassill wrapped up the Raybestos Rookie of the Year championship at Homestead as one of the team’s drivers even though he wasn’t even in the race. When good friend Bryan Clauson blew an engine at Homestead, Cassill clinched the rookie battle. Cassill had five top-10 finishes and one pole in 19 starts, 16 of which were in Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 5 Chevrolet.
“That’s funny because I was spotting for David Green tonight, and [had] one eye on David and one eye on Bryan all night,” Cassill said. “But I was just kind of watching with one eye closed, just kind of cringing the whole time, especially when Bryan was in the Top 10. He had a good race car early on.
“Rookie of the year is a very prestigious award. … Raybestos Rookie of the Year was a phrase that I had known since I was a little kid. So to be able to have a title like that is awesome, and hopefully it does catapult into a ride or something.”
Cassill doesn’t have a guaranteed seat next year as sponsorship issues will likely limit the No. 5 team to a part-time schedule with Sprint Cup drivers.
“I was proud of Landon,” Earnhardt Jr said. “He did a good job for the most part of the year. He got the finishes he needed to win. He had some pretty good competition, and he got some really good finishes at parts of the year and showed a lot of good, showed he’s got a lot of talent.”
Teammate Brad Keselowski showed that, too, winning twice and finishing third in the point standings. He was the first non-Cup driver in points.
“It’s been awesome, it’s been a special year, it really has,” Keselowski said. “It’s been everything I could have asked for and more. So it was cool to get two wins. I had a lot of fun. I’ve got a great group of guys, and [we’re] building momentum and going to try and make a run for the championship and celebrate like Clint [Bowyer] is right now next year.”
