While there are some drivers in NASCAR whose names alone ensure that they will get a big rise from the crowd in driver intros, plenty of others have to find ways to either raise their racing profile or otherwise make themselves notable in order to hear any kind of noise. This weekend, one driver in the NASCAR Xfinity Series field just might get a reaction when he drops in -- literally -- to race for 300 miles.
According to a report by Dustin Albino of Jayski.com, driver Matt Jaskol will skydive into Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon for driver introductions prior to the Alsco Uniforms 302 Xfinity Series race. Jaskol, who will drive the No. 66 Toyota for MBM Motorsports, is a professional skydiver when he is not racing.
Jaskol will jump out of a helicopter at approximately 4 p.m. local time, about an hour and a half prior to the scheduled green flag. On Thursday, Jaskol prepared for his Saturday stunt with a practice jump.
Filmed on a GoPro 360, this is from Jaskol's practice jump yesterday. pic.twitter.com/xdNSPNLbV2
— Dustin Albino (el-bee-no) (@DustinAlbino) September 24, 2021
A veteran road racer who has competed in the Indy Pro Series among other disciplines, Jaskol finally broke into NASCAR this year with a part-time schedule driving Xfinity cars for longtime independent car owner Carl Long. He has run five races so far this season with a best finish of 19th at Mid-Ohio. On Saturday, Jaskol will start 34th in the 40-car field.
Jaskol's gravity-induced entrance offers some interesting subtext to the Xfinity Series' second race of the season at Las Vegas, which marks the beginning of the seven-race Xfinity Series Playoffs. After the two staged a thrilling finish that decided both the race and the regular season championship at Bristol last week, defending Xfinity champion Austin Cindric and AJ Allmendinger will start from the front of the field.
