Getty Kaz Grala will join Alpha Prime Racing for select races in 2022.
Kaz Grala has just secured a new opportunity for the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season. He will make four starts for Alpha Prime Racing while serving as the official reserve driver of the team.
Alpha Prime Racing announced the news on Monday, January 24, and set Grala’s schedule. He will make his season debut on February 26 at Auto Club Speedway. Grala will return to the team for races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Phoenix Raceway, and New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Additionally, Grala will jump into one of the full-time entries if any of the other drivers are not available for any reason.
🚨 Welcome to the team, @KazGrala!
Kaz will join APR for four races and also operate as our official reserve driver in any instance that a driver is unable to compete.
“I’ve been friends with Tommy Joe for years now and have always thought of him as one of the best guys in the garage,” Grala said in a statement. “Towards the end of last year, he and I talked about what they’re building at Alpha Prime Racing and what their long-term vision is for the team. I wanted to be involved any way I could, so I’m really thrilled and grateful to be a part of the program this year as they grow.
“We’ve circled some of my favorite tracks on the schedule, as well as my home race to work together this year, with the opportunity to even add races here or there. I feel like we’re going to turn some heads this year, and we’re definitely going to have fun doing it.”
Alpha Prime Racing Has a Packed Week of News
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The update about Grala kicks off a busy week for Alpha Prime Racing. The team has a packed schedule set for January 24-28, which will feature several major updates about the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.
Alpha Prime Racing announced on January 23 that the week will feature five days of announcements. The tease didn’t clarify whether these reveals would specifically focus on drivers or if there would be updates about sponsor additions or other important details.
The Xfinity Series team has already provided numerous updates about the season and the drivers that will make starts in the No. 44 and No. 45 entries. Alpha Prime Racing also revealed that Heartbeat Hot Sauce will join Ryan Ellis for a trip to Talladega Superspeedway on April 23.
The Press Release Contained Another Major Update
While the news release focused on Grala’s role with Alpha Prime Racing, there was another major piece of information buried at the end. The team revealed one of co-owner Tommy Joe Martins‘ starts.
Alpha Prime Racing noted that Martins will take over the other entry for the February 26 race at Auto Club Speedway. The Xfinity Series veteran will make several starts during the 2022 season, but he had not provided any of the dates. Now he has revealed that he will head to Southern California and will join Grala for an early-season race.
“Kaz is one of the best young drivers in NASCAR,” Martins said in a statement. “When Caesar and I talked about available free agents, Kaz was an easy choice. We’re extremely excited to have him on our roster for the first year of Alpha Prime Racing & we hope we can for years to come.”