Talkin'... XFINITY Series and Roots Racing with Dylan Lupton

Dylan Lupton drives the No. 28 thinQ Technology Partners Ford Mustang in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. Lupton has been in the NASCAR ranks since 2011 when Lupton was first seen in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. In his debut in the series, Lupton finished 12th. Since that start at Montana Raceway Park, he has made starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck, NASCAR XFINITY, and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

Talkin' NASCAR NEXT Program 

Lupton has all that experience and has been around the sport and still some people are don't know who he is. The best thing for Lupton is that he's seemed to find his home at JGL Racing with teammate Kaz Grala and is beginning to build his career, one brick at a time.

"Even though I raced in the K&N series and was a member of the NASCAR Next program for two years, a majority of NASCAR fans never heard of me when I started racing in the XFINITY Series. The industry follows the lower series and the drivers are recognized as an up and coming talent in the sport, but a lot of fans are not introduced to us drivers until we enter the national series."

Even though the NASCAR NEXT program is made to make fans aware of our next generation of drivers, it doesn't always do so and for some the one year they are in it are the only time they get the attention. Lupton was a member of the 2014 class which also had Ben Rhodes, Ryan Preece, Erik Jones, Cole Custer, Gray Gaulding, and Jesse Little, all of which are names you should've heard of by now. On the other hand, Brandon McReynolds, Ryan Gifford, Ruben Garcia Jr. and Kenzie Ruston were the other four members that filled out that years NASCAR NEXT Class. Those four names are either still working their way up the ranks or they are no longer racing.

True, you could argue that not everyone will make it in the sport but still, NASCAR needs to do a better job at promoting these drivers and promoting that they are the cream of the crop. Unless you keep an eye on these drivers on your own time, they don't get that much attention unless they end up in victory lane and even then they have to catch the eye of someone who "matters". Also true is that a victory is the best way to get attention but even then, the lack of attention on the K&N Pro Series, Pinty's Series, PEAK Mexico Series, and other NASCAR related series is an issue that needs to be addressed.

Talkin' XFINITY and Truck Series Schedule

In 29 starts in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, Lupton has raced at 19 tracks on the schedule. Out of those 19 tracks, Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa has seen Lupton the most with three appearances. His best career finish came on a road course in 2015 where he finished 9th at Mid-Ohio. The only tracks that Lupton hasn't raced at in the series are Talladega, Bristol, Indianapolis, Charlotte, and Homestead. The XFINITY Series races at a majority of the tracks that the Cup series races at which gives those drivers some extra time to prep for the big time.

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series though is where a driver makes his name and gets the attention of the upper management in both the XFINITY Series and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Lupton feels that tracks that are currently on the K&N Pro Series schedule could replace those miles and a half tracks and keep the series fresh and in the eyes of fans that wouldn't normally watch a truck race.

"I think the trucks go to too many 1.5 mile long tracks when they should be going to a handful of short tracks across the country that the Xfinity and Cup Series don’t go to," Lupton told The Motorsports News Source. "Tracks such as South Boston, Kern County, Irwindale, and more would be great venues to bring the truck series too. Not only will this grow larger crowds to short tracks, but it will also help smaller teams be more competitive throughout the season. "

Lupton also has four starts in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and has experience at tracks like Martinsville and Sonoma. Those two tracks are ones that either is completely left out of both XFINITY and Truck schedules (Sonoma) or are missing from the XFINITY Schedule (Martinsville).

"I think there needs to be a good balance between having their own schedule and accompanying the Cup series. It would be nice to see the XFINITY Series have a handful more races by themselves because it always highlights the series and series’ drivers in a bigger spotlight than when we are racing at the same track as the Cup series."

Talkin' Cup Guys in XFINITY Series 

So far in this series, we've heard many different viewpoints on Cup guys racing in the XFINITY Series but in the end all of the drivers we have spoken to have understood why they are there. Lupton has raced against some of the biggest guys in NASCAR whether it be Kyle Busch or Brad Keselowski. When those Cup drivers aren't teammates you don't learn much especially when you are lower on the totem pole in the form of funding.

"I think when the Cup drivers come down to race the XFINITY and Truck series, they take a chunk of exposure away from the series regulars. Our team works extremely hard with the resources, assets, and budget that we have; but at this point, it is not at the same level as the top teams in the series such as Penske, Gibbs, etc. It’s a little hard to learn anything from these drivers when they have more experience and are in the best cars on the track." (Koelle,2018)

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