Maddie Hightower Steps Away Mid-Season, DDS Drivers Given Development Rides in Car 43

One of the tough luck stories this season has been Maddie Hightower. The driver for Team Grounded's development crew has not finished inside the points at any time in the first 17 races this season. After her disastrous run at EuroSpeedway Lausitzring she announced her retirement from racing for the time being, and Team Grounded began looking for drivers.

One of the first places the team looked was to the DDS. As she watched the development drivers run their Daytona 300, team owner Brenna Carmichael made her plan as to who would take over the 43.

Brenna Carmichael's Plan:
Place the winner of the DDS race in the 43 car. The only way the winner would not get the 43 is if they were running in both series, in which case Hightower would run the 43.

So far Brenna's plan has not really worked out. Alyssa Longwood took over the 43 for New Hampshire after winning the Daytona 300, she spun out and flipped on lap 2. Joshua Hyatt the Sonoma winner took over at Watkins Glen, he was involved in an early incident with Brenna and somehow came away with an 18th place finish. Brenna has announced that Mark Jones will drive the 43 next week after winning at Darlington.