Another major change has taken place in a national NASCAR series. Josh Williams and BJ McLeod Motorsports have announced that they have mutually agreed to part ways, effective immediately.
Both the team and Williams announced the news on August 10 with separate releases. Williams thanked BJ and Jessica McLeod while confirming his departure from the team for the remainder of the Xfinity Series season. Williams then said that more information about his next move “will be shared shortly.”
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The change takes place after Williams made his 17th start of the Xfinity Series season. He did not qualify for the races at Circuit of the Americas, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
Williams has posted an average finish of 25.9 during the 2022 season while posting a season-best finish of 17th at Road America, but he has also failed to finish six races with only one being due to a crash. Electrical and mechanical issues disrupted the other five races.
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Williams is the second driver to part ways with BJ McLeod Motorsports in 2022. Nick Sanchez, the ARCA Menards Series points leader, made his Xfinity Series debut with the organization before announcing that he would not finish out his schedule with the team. The reason is that Sanchez had received an opportunity to make some starts for the Richard Childress Racing-affiliated Big Machine Racing.
Williams Joined BJ McLeod Motorsports Ahead of the 2022 Season
GettyJosh Williams joined BJ McLeod Motorsports before the 2022 season.
The 2022 season marked the first time in Williams’ Xfinity Series career that he drove for BJ McLeod Motorsports. The majority of his 126 other starts were with DGM Racing. Though he also made one start for Jimmy Means back in 2016.
Williams achieved the most success during his three full-time seasons with DGM Racing (2019-2021). He qualified for all but two races, and he had an average finish of 19.96 over this three-year span. Williams also posted all eight of his career top-10 finishes in a DGM Racing-owned Chevrolet.
The situation changed in November 2021. Williams announced that he would leave DGM Racing after five seasons and he would pursue other opportunities. He kept his next destination quiet until December when he announced that he would join BJ McLeod Motorsports for the 2022 Xfinity Series season.
Williams Wanted Some Starts in Multiple NASCAR Series
GettyJosh Williams made his Cup Series debut in 2022.
One of the reasons for the change, which Williams revealed in December 2021, was the opportunity to gain experience in another series. The veteran told Jayski’s Dustin Albino that he wanted to run a couple of Cup Series races. Live Fast Motorsports, the team that McLeod co-owns, would potentially provide that opportunity.
“I was looking for something to expand a little bit, grow a little bit and try to get somewhere where I could start running a couple of Cup races per year,” Williams said in 2021. “With the possibility that we’ll find some partners that want to go full-time Cup racing, it just worked out that BJ has the Xfinity team and has his Cup team.”
Williams was able to achieve this goal during his limited time with BJ McLeod Motorsports. He made his Cup Series debut in the No. 78 Ford Mustang at Bristol Motor Speedway (dirt) and turned in a 25th-place finish. He then returned to the entry at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and finished 25th for the second time.
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BJ McLeod Motorsports Mutually Parts Ways With Fan-Favorite Driver