Josh Bilicki’s attempts to pull off double duty during the Chicago Street Race have taken a huge hit. According to a report by NBC’s Dustin Long, Bilicki’s No. 66 MBM Motorsports ride failed tech three times. Following this fiasco, NASCAR officials came down heavy on the driver and the team in announcing the penalties, which might prove too tough to overcome.

The team won’t be allowed to participate in the qualifying rounds today, and Bilicki will also have to serve a pass-through penalty when the Cup race goes green. That’s not it; the team will also lose pit stall selection along with the ejection of a crew member. This is far from the NASCAR comeback Bilicki was hoping for.

His only full-time Cup season came with Rick Ware Racing in 2021. Ever since, he has been on a part-time schedule, driving for the likes of Spire and Live Fast Motorsports. The veteran driver made his last Cup start at Homestead, ending with a P35 finish. As far as MBM Motorsports is concerned, they just haven’t been able to field a good race car in the races this season. Thus highlighting the inefficiencies of start-and-park teams, which are slowly fading off of NASCAR circuits.

Drivers like Timmy Hill, David Star, B.J. McLeod, and Chad Finchum did compete this season in the No. 66 MBM Ford. But at every race, the team has fielded their ride, the result has been awful, with drivers finishing at the tail end or with a DNF. They certainly haven’t helped their cause, failing the tech not once but three times. Even NASCAR fans turned towards them to highlight how the team has failed to keep up with changes in the sport. It looks like teams need more than parity to field a good enough race car on the track.

Fans react to NASCAR officials penalizing MBM Motorsports and Josh Bilicki

It’s hard to argue against MBM Motorsports’ lack of competitive race cars this season. For some reason or another, they break down due to mechanical failures or end up wrecking. Perhaps, this time around, they were trying to sneak their way into the race with improved performance, but by illegal means. “The slowest car in the field I guess you have to try something to make up more speed”.

P36, 37, 37, 38. This is the track record of the No. 66 ride in 2024. The team often ends up where they usually start. Therefore, mocking their dismal run, a fan after knowing about their recent penalties stated, “I mean the team is an embarrassment”.

NASCAR reserves 36 spots for the teams with the charters, and the rest of the four sports are open to teams looking to enter the race. But given the current conditions of the park and run entries, this particular fan highlighted why there’s no need to fill in the entire grid of 40 race cars; “For those of you who want full fields and start and parks in NASCAR again, remember that these are the cars you’re asking for”.

There were a few who even predicted that soon such teams would be extinct from NASCAR if they kept running into trouble while trying to field a ride. “Can it get any lower for this team before they end up folding? I mean I’m all for more teams getting a shot, but this team’s performance is laughable every time they attempt a race”.

Back in the day, such entries were used as fillers to complete the grid of a total of 40 entries. But with the changing dynamics of the sport and NASCAR racing, such entries are becoming irrelevant, and this was clear from this fan’s reaction. “Yeah stuff like this makes me not miss backmarkers/field fillers”.

Hopefully, this disadvantage doesn’t prove to be too costly for Josh Bilicki and MBM Motorsports. Although, it will be interesting to see where they end up competing against seasoned teams and drivers tomorrow.