RSS Racing with Lefcourt Brothers | NASCAR Xfinity Series
Darlington (S.C.) Raceway | Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200
Fast Facts
No. 38 RSS Racing with Lefcourt Brothers Team:
Driver: Joe Graf Jr.
Primary Partner(s): fgrACCEL | Bucked Up
Manufacturer: Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Steve Addington
Spotter: Joe Campbell
Engine: Roush-Yates Engines
Driver Championship Point Standings: 23rd
Team Championship Point Standings: 28th
Notes of Interest:
Settled In: After spending the last three seasons with SS GreenLight Racing with Jeff Lefcourt (2020 – 2022), Joe Graf Jr. moved to RSS Racing during the offseason, where he’ll spend the majority of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series season competing for the Sugar Hill, Ga.-based team.
In addition to RSS Racing, Graf will also compete in a limited NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule driving the No. 19 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Welcome Aboard: RSS Racing with Lefcourt Brothers Racing and driver Joe Graf Jr. welcome fgrACCEL as the primary partner for Saturday afternoon’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
fgrACCEL, short for “Focus Goals Results and Acceleration,” is a highly specialized marketing agency with a primary focus on the motorsports industry. As a leading motorsports agency, fgrACCEL plays a crucial role in connecting corporations and marketing agencies with various racing properties.
The agency represents a diverse portfolio of racing entities, including NASCAR, NASCAR race teams, Formula 1 race teams, racing facilities and racing athletes.
The core mission of fgrACCEL is to facilitate partnerships between medium and large corporations and the motorsports world. By serving as a bridge between brands and racing properties, fgrACCEL aims to unlock the immense potential of motorsports as a strategic marketing platform.
Our integrated operations approach seamlessly handles every aspect of the sponsorship process from conceptualization to execution, ensuring our clients can fully leverage their motorsports partnerships with the utmost efficiency and effectiveness.
Learn more about fgrACCEL at fgrACCEL.com.
Glad To Have You Back: Joining fgrACCEL as a co-primary partner this weekend at Darlington is Bucked Up.
A long-time partner of Joe Graf Jr. since the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, Bucked Up will utilize the seventh race of the second half of the season to promote its full line of products.
Bucked Up is a sports nutrition and lifestyle brand focused on helping all athletes and individuals achieve their health and fitness goals. Offering over 500 different products ranging from supplements and energy drinks to apparel and accessories,
Bucked Up is committed to providing customers with the best products available. Dedicated to using high-quality ingredients and non-proprietary blends, Bucked Up’s pre-workout is the No. 1 best-selling product in its class.
The brand’s products are now offered in over 25,000 stores worldwide, including Walmart, Amazon, GNC and Vitamin Shoppe.
Thanks For Your Support: With a little more than 72 percent of the 2023 Xfinity Series season complete, Joe Graf Jr. and RSS Racing would like to thank their associate marketing partners: ArmsList.com, AVOID, Bass Reaper Bait Company, Bucked Up Energy Drink, CoverSeal, EAT SLEEP RACE Apparel, fgrACCEL, G-Coin®, GTECHNIQ, JACOB Companies, Lefcourt Brothers Racing, Love Motorsports, Model Electronics and ShopRite for their continued support.
Looking Ahead: Next weekend at Kansas Speedway, Graf will return to Joe Gibbs Racing as the driver of the No. 19 Toyota Supra for his penultimate NASCAR Xfinity Series race of the season with the powerhouse organization.
In addition to Kansas, Graf will return to the No. 19 Toyota Supra in October at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway.
Graf has made four starts this season for the Huntersville, N.C.-based team with a best finish of 11th in his inaugural race with JGR at Auto Club (Calif.) Speedway in March.
In his most recent race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July, Graf led eight laps and contended for a top-10 finish before being collected in a late race accident and finishing 29th.
Joe Graf Jr. Xfinity Series Darlington (S.C.) Raceway Stats: Saturday afternoon’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 will mark Graf’s eighth start at the track dubbed “Too Tough To Tame.”
In his previous seven Darlington efforts, he delivered a track-best of 19th twice, most recently during the fall edition of the 2021 Sport Clips VFW Help a Hero 200 after starting 32nd for SS GreenLight Racing.
The Mahwah, New Jersey native earned a respectable 19th place finish in his Darlington Raceway debut in May 2020 when NASCAR returned to competition during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Joe Graf Jr. Xfinity Series Career Speedway Stats: At tracks classified as a speedway, Graf has competed in 56 NASCAR Xfinity Series races. He holds an average starting position of 25.6 and an average result of 25.7.
Joe Graf Jr. NASCAR Xfinity Series Career Stats: In 117 career Xfinity Series starts, Graf has earned three top-10 finishes, including a seventh-place outing at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in February 2023. During that tenure, he also holds an average finishing position of 25.7.
He earned a career-best Xfinity Series qualifying effort of 13th last year at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway with SS GreenLight Racing with Jeff Lefcourt.
Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway | Wawa 250 Race Recap: In the most recent NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway, Graf hunted for his second top-10 finish of the season.
After starting his No. 38 Wawa Recharger from the 26th position, Graf made solid progress throughout the race and drafted inside the top 15 early in Stage 2, but the RSS Racing team was eliminated from the race after being collected in a multi-car accident on Lap 42.
The damage relegated Graf and the team to a frustrating 34th-place finish.
Sneaker Mania: Along with the adrenaline of the Motorsports competition, Joe Graf Jr. also has a vogue for hype sneakers. In his current collection, he owns and wears at least 90 limited edition sneakers – and his collection continues to grow monthly.
The current estimated value of his collection tops $100,000.
From the Pit Box: Industry veteran Steve Addington is Joe Graf Jr.’s crew chief.
He will be crew chief for his 288th NASCAR Xfinity Series race as crew chief on Saturday and his 20th at the historic track in Darlington, S.C.
In his previous 287 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts, he has collected 11 wins, 10 poles, 68 top-five and 118 top-10 finishes.
Hello From The Other Side: Graf Jr. has two teammates at RSS Racing.
Veteran Ryan Sieg will drive the No. 39 RSS Racing Ford Mustang, while younger brother Kyle Sieg will drive the No. 28 Cedar Ridge Landscaping Ford Mustang.
Ryan Sieg is set to make his 326th career Xfinity Series start overall and 14th at Darlington.
Kyle Sieg is poised to make his 42nd career Xfinity Series start and fourth at Darlington.
Follow on Social Media: For more on Joe Graf Jr. visit JoeGrafRacing.com, like him on Facebook (Joe Graf Jr.), follow him on TikTok (@JoeGrafJr), X | Twitter (@JoeGrafJr) and Instagram (@joegrafjr).
For more on RSS Racing, please like them on Facebook (RSS283839) and follow them on Instagram (@rss283839) and X | Twitter (@RSS283839).
Joe Graf Jr. Quoteboard:
On Darlington (S.C.) Raceway: “Darlington has always been one of my favorite tracks. It is a challenging track to compete at, but I enjoy the challenge. The track requires extreme focus and hitting your marks every lap and momentum from execution is never more critical than at Darlington.
“The RSS Racing with Lefcourt Brothers team brought me an incredibly fast No. 38 Ford Mustang in the spring and we were well in contention for a top-10 finish – but we were involved in a chain-reaction incident on a restart and did not get the finish we were looking for.
“Our mentality is to go to Darlington, finish what we started in May, and bring home a solid finish for our team. We had a fast car last weekend at Daytona, too – just at the wrong place at the wrong time.
“We have had a lot of speed lately; we just don’t have the finishes. I hope we can change that on Saturday afternoon and give myself and this team some confidence for Kansas next weekend.”
On The 2023 Season: “As we press on during the second half of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, it is essential for me to utilize what I have learned with the RSS Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing teams and apply that behind the wheel.
“August wasn’t necessarily a good month for me in terms of results, but it has not come from the lack of effort from myself or my team. We will continue fighting hard, inch forward over the final nine races, and kick off September strong.
“We started the year off strong but then fell a little bit. We’re slowly but steadily trying to put ourselves in a good position for the end of the summer and into the fall.
“I just need to stay focused, communicate with my team, and utilize the knowledge I’ve gained over the past three years to recover and end the season on a high.”
Race Information:
The Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 (147 laps | 200.8 miles) is the 25th of 33 NASCAR Xfinity Series races on the 2023 schedule. Practice begins on Saturday, September 2 from 10:35 a.m. – 11:05 a.m. Qualifying immediately follows at 11:05 a.m. The 38-car field will take the green flag shortly after 3:30 p.m. with live coverage on the USA Network, the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90. All times are local (Eastern).
About RSS Racing:
RSS Racing fields multiple entries in the NASCAR Xfinity Series led by mainstay driver Ryan Sieg.
RSS Racing has competed in NASCAR events since 2009 from its headquarters in Sugar Hill, Ga.