Miguel Paludo will return to JR Motorsports for three NASCAR Xfinity Series races in 2022. (HHP/Chris Owens Photo)
Miguel Paludo will return to JR Motorsports for three NASCAR Xfinity Series races in 2022. (HHP/Chris Owens Photo)
NASCAR Xfinity Series

Paludo Back With JR Motorsports For Three Xfinity Races

December 1, 2021

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Miguel Paludo will return to JR Motorsports for three NASCAR Xfinity Series road course events next year.

Paludo, a seven-time champion and current defending winner of the Porsche Carrera Cup, will drive the No. 88 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet in the Xfinity Series races at Circuit of the Americas (March 26), Road America (July 2) and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course (July 30).

A native of Nova Prata, Brazil, Paludo will compete for JR Motorsports in a BRANDT-branded entry in Xfinity Series competition for the second-straight year. The No. 88 expands BRANDT’s on-track presence to a pair of Chevrolets in the three events. Paludo will race alongside teammate and full-time Xfinity Series driver Justin Allgaier, who drives the No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet.

“We are back for 2022,” said Paludo during Wednesday’s announcement at the BRANDT do Brasil headquarters in Londrina, Brazil. “Last year proved to me that JRM has the best team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and I can’t wait to get back to the track with this group, especially now that we will have the opportunity to practice and qualify this season. I am very excited to again represent BRANDT and Brazilian agriculture on three of America’s most exciting tracks.”

Additionally, next season will see the return of weekly practice sessions – which had been temporarily suspended in 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions – and of the No. 88 to the JR Motorsports stable for the first time since 2018. Paludo is set to join team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. behind the wheel of the No. 88 in 2022. Earnhardt is scheduled to drive at Martinsville Speedway (April 8).

“I can’t tell you how proud we are to have our brand on the iconic No. 88,” said Rick Brandt, CEO & President of BRANDT. “To race the same car number that Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. will drive—in front of our best customers and prospects from Brazil—is just humbling to say the least. I can’t wait to watch Miguel in the No. 88 and Justin (Allgaier) in the No. 7 battle it out and fight for wins in three events next year.”