Kaulig Racing sign Jonathan Davenport to drive at the Bristol Dirt race

NASCAR team Kaulig Racing have signed Dirt Late Model driver Jonathan Davenport for the Bristol Dirt race on April 10. Davenport will make his Cup Series debut after a stellar season last year.

The team announced their third entry for the Food City Dirt Race, where Davenport will drive the #13 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. The veteran driver will debut in the cup series at the age of 39.

In an interview with NBC Sports, he revealed his excitement for his cup series outing:

"It’s pretty hard to put into words. It’s something that I’ve dreamed about since I was a little kid and kind of lost hope on it. I figured where I’m at is where I was going to be."

The five-time World 100 champion admitted:

"I never thought I would get this opportunity now that I’m older. I thought my window had went by the wayside. It’s just awesome and pretty unbelievable that I’m even going to get a chance to race (in Cup)."

Kaulig Racing and Davenport's late model dirt car had a common sponsor in Nutrien Ag. The Agro-based company will sponsor Davenport's entry into the Cup Series as well. Davenport will join Kaulig Racing's regular drivers Justin Haley and AJ Allmendinger for the race in Bristol.

Jonathan Davenport, nicknamed "Superman," is a three-time Lucas Oil Dirt Model Series champion. The dirt-racing Superman notched 24 victories last year, including the Eldora Million. The Blairsville, Georgia native collected $2 million in prize money last year, winning the XR Super Series title.

Chris Rice, president of Kaulig Racing, spoke in high regard about Davenport's 2022 season:

“You cannot put it into words. And I want to say it with ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. You can’t put it into words. It’s absolutely amazing."

With the dirt race less than a month away, Davenport has begun preparations for the Cup race.

---

Kaulig Racing keen on learning from Jonathan Davenport

Chris Rice, president of Kaulig Racing, is hoping Davenport's entry will help other drivers and their team to better the team's dirt racing program. Although Justin Haley is a skilled dirt racer, it is Davenport's experience that will help the team.

The team president said in the interview:

"That’s what this is about, trying to make our program better, trying to make our drivers better."

Kaulig Racing hopes the collaboration will be fruitful for both parties as Davenport hopes to make an impression when NASCAR reaches Bristol.

He also revealed that he had previously raced Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch in Legend cars years ago.

He added:

"I’ve raced against them before, some of them. It was mainly in my environment, and some come down to the Late Model world and race there. I’m now going to their world and racing with them. I’m definitely going to be a student of the sport."

The 39-year-old hopes to prove that dirt late model racers deserve a chance at NASCAR's national series.