On Friday, Matt Tifft and BJ McLeod announced the formation of Live Fast Motorsports. They will compete in the NASCAR Cup Series in the No. 78 Ford Mustang with McLeod behind the wheel in 2021. The new team also announced a strategic partnership with Stewart-Hass Racing and will debut February 14th at Daytona International Speedway. Live Fast Motorsports acquired a charter from Go Fas Racing, and their headquarters will be located in Mooresville, NC.
#TeamLiveFast is here! 🏁 ▶️https://t.co/v6ImPg0P9x pic.twitter.com/7O6blRsbiR — Live Fast Motorsports (@teamlivefast) November 20, 2020
The new team released a statement on Twitter saying, “Live Fast Motorsports is excited to be joining an incredible group of owners, as well as the new teams and ownership coming into the sport. NASCAR’s Next-Gen car and model for teams will provide opportunities for new teams to compete at a higher level. Live Fast Motorsports and its partners are ready to take on the challenge to grow and develop as a team.”
In an interview with NASCAR.com, BJ McLeod discussed driving for his new team, saying, “It’s literally decades of dreaming, decades of work, decades of being focused. Just a lot of relationships being built to get us to this point. You can’t sum it up in one or two or three words, even. I guess the biggest thing to say is, just really looking forward to continuing to work the way that I have the last couple of decades to get to where I’m at now and see what we can make with this deal together. Matt, he’s going to make me stronger. He’s got some really good qualities about him that I’m excited about, helping some of the weaknesses that I might have. Just what we can do together, I just can’t wait to get going.”
In 2016, McLeod started his own racing team in the Xfinity Series, racing his own car. He has made 156 career starts in the Xfinity Series and 57 career starts in the Cup Series.
The other Co-Owner of Live Fast Motorsports, Matt Tifft, has not raced in NASCAR competition since October 2019, when he suffered a seizure and missed the season’s last four races. That year, he raced for Front Row Motorsports and scored a top-ten finish at Daytona. In the Xfinity Series, he raced for Joe Gibbs Racing, JGL Racing, and Richard Childress Racing in his four-year career. He started 77 races, winning two poles, nine top-five, and 38 top-ten finishes.
When Tifft was asked about his relationship with McLeod, Tifft said, “I think a lot of people don’t realize the relationship we’ve had over the years. When I was 12 years old, I went down to a stock car driving school in Florida and (McLeod) was one of the instructors. … I ended up being the best in the class there, so he and my dad started talking. He hadn’t owned a team yet but … lo and behold, the next year we did World Series of Asphalt at New Smyrna (with him) and that was his first time owning a late-model team. But basically, we started together then and my first Truck Series race was with him at Martinsville (in 2014). We finished in the top 10 for his first top 10 as an owner there.”
The last time the No. 78 was seen on the track was in 2018, when then Furniture Row Racing used it with Martin Truex Jr. behind the wheel. The team won the 2017 Cup Series championship. Live Fast Motorsports will announce sponsors and crew chief at a later date.
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