Just three weeks after NASCAR Truck Series team Kaulig Racing parted ways with driver Daniel Dye after making insensitive comments on a livestream in March, the recently reinstated driver will now find himself competing in multiple Cup Series races later this season.
Live Fast Motorsports announced Monday that Daniel Dye will drive the No. 78 car in four Cup Series races, including the Jack Link's 500 this coming weekend at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.
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Even setting aside Dye's suspension and insensitive comments, his results in the Truck Series and O'Reilly Auto Parts Series are an odd decision by Live Fast Motorsports. The 22-year-old driver has no experience in the Cup Series, and his results in the lower series do not guarantee a multi-race seat at the highest level.
He has raced 48 times in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, including The LEUNA at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 14. He finished 15th in that and has only finished in the top-20 in two of his three OARS races this year. In his last 21 races in that series, his average finishing position was 21.9.
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In the Truck Series, he failed to finish in the top-12 in the three races before his suspension. Going back even further, his average finishing position was 16.44 with only one top-five finish (Talladega) in his last 13 Truck races.
As far as off-track, in addition to the insensitive comments, Dye was arrested in April 2022 while a student at Father Lopez Catholic High School and was charged with a felony, but that was later reduced to a misdemeanor.
As for why Dye is getting this ride with Live Fast Motorsports in the Cup Series, it's worth noting that his father, Randy Dye, is a former pro late model driver who owns the Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram dealership in Daytona Beach and serves on the NASCAR Foundation's board of directors. Money and influence certainly seem to have been heavy factors in the opportunity given to Dye.
