Category: Truck Series

CONCORD, North Carolina (May 18, 2016) – – Jesse Little has been anxiously waiting to return to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS).

The wait is finally over as Little and Rette Jones Racing (RJR) owned by racers Mark Rette and Terry Jones along with a technical alliance with powerhouse ThorSport Racing invade Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway ahead of Fridaynight’s N.C. Education Lottery 200.

Little hasn’t competed in a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race since the season-finale at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Motor Speedway, but it doesn’t mean that the third-generation driver hasn’t been keeping his eye closely on the tour knowing his return was imminent.

“I’m ready to get back in the truck, I’m really excited,” said Little who will drive the No. 30 The Carolina Nut Co. Toyota Tundra in the sixth race of the season. “Everyone at Rette Jones Racing has been working extremely hard to get this truck ready and we can’t thank the crew over at ThorSport Racing for their support. We know without them; this race wouldn’t be possible.”

While not having the opportunity to race full-time on the tour, Little knows that every chance he is given is an audition. Friday’s race is another chance for not only him to showcase his talent, but also propel his Rette Jones Racing team into the spotlight in their first race of the season.

“This team has really come a long way in a short amount of time,” Little added. “It has family-toned values and cores which immediately drew me to them. Owners Mark (Rette) and Terry (Jones) are hardcore racers who know what it takes to be successful, but understand the fundamentals of racing too.

“Together, we all want to come out of the box strong. We know that if we can have a good run this weekend it could open some doors to run even more races later in the season and that’s what we are chasing. I’ve never raced at Charlotte, but I’m looking forward to the challenge it brings.”

A good reason that Little doesn’t have to worry about his truck is the leadership of Rette who has prior experience at the 1.5-mile oval and the open-door relationship with Sandusky, Ohio’s ThorSport Racing which will field four entries in Friday night’s contest.

“We know that we have the equipment and personnel capable of putting in a good position this weekend at Charlotte, but we know we also need some luck too,” added Little. “These races are hard to win. Everything just has to be perfect. No mistakes. We know the competition is going to be fierce this weekend – but we have the motivation and willpower to go out there and try and be the David vs. Goliath.”

Like everyone else, Little knows that Mother Nature could try and soak the team’s objectives this weekend at Charlotte, but the Sherrills Ford, North Carolina native said his team is thinking positive.

“It’s no secret we don’t have any owner’s points, so it’s likely if it rains and qualifying is canceled, we could be going home, but we can’t let that detour us from our goals at hand,” Little explained. “The weather can change quickly in North Carolina, so we just have to keep our eye on the sky, stay focused on our plan and hope for the best.”

Rain or shine – Rette, the 2009 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards crew chief is proud of what his team has been able to build.

“We ran some truck races last year, but that was with a different driver and manufacturer,” Rette said. “Rette Jones Racing along with my partner Terry (Jones) is proud to have this opportunity to represent the Toyota family as well as work with ThorSport Racing. I’ve said it time and time again Jesse is a wheelman and I’m glad he’s on our side. Terry agrees. I can’t predict anything that’s going to happen this weekend, but we’re going to go out there and give 100 percent and hope everything else falls into place.”

In four truck starts, Little owns a best finish of 14^th at Homestead. In addition to Dover (Del) International Speedway, he has additional starts at Chicagoland Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway respectively.

The No. 30 Toyota Tundra will carry additional support from Performance Friction Brakes, Racing Electronics, Penske Shocks, Mac’s Speed Shop,Russo’s Tinting and Goodridge Fluid Transfer Systems as associate marketing partners.

In addition to his limited NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule, Little will also run select NASCAR K&N Pro Series East events also under the Rette Jones Racing banner.

For more on Jesse Little, visit JesseLittle.com and follow her on Twitter @JesseLittle97.

The latest on Rette Jones Racing is available at the team’s Facebook page, while also active on Twitter @RetteJones30.

The N.C. Education 200 (134 laps / 200 miles) is the sixth of 23 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on the 2016 schedule. Practice begins onThursday, May 19 from 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. A second practice has been etched in from 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. with a final session on deck from 4:30 p.m. – 5:55 p.m. Qualifying is set for race day, Friday, May 20 beginning at 5:30 p.m. The 32-truck field will take the green flag shortly after 8:30 p.m. with live coverage on FOX Sports 1, the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90).

About The Carolina Nut Co:

For more than 60 years The Carolina Nut Co. has used unique handcrafted family recipes to create gourmet nut flavors for every nut lover. Located in Henderson, N.C., The Carolina Nut Co. is a family-owned company that is spreading its delicious nut creations throughout the nation.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (May 18, 2016) – Garrett Smithley will make his return to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) this Friday, May 20 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Smithley will drive for SS Green Light Racing with longtime supporters HeroBox and Instalco onboard the No. 07 Chevrolet Silverado.

The NC Education Lottery 200 will be Smithley’s second NCWTS start in 2016. This weekend will also mark Smithley’s first start at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 1.5-mile track located in Concord, N.C. and the home track for SS Green Light Racing.

“This will be a fun weekend with SS Green Light Racing,” Smithley said. “I highlighted Charlotte as one of the truck events I wanted to run this year, so I’m really excited Bobby [Dotter] wants me to drive his No. 07 Chevy Silverado. Hopefully I can do a good job for him and the team.”

“We’re familiar with Garrett, racing with him on a weekly basis in the NASCAR XFINITY Series,” said team owner Bobby Dotter. “We know what he can do and are very excited to have him in our truck this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He is an up-and-coming talent in our sport, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to work with him.”

Smithley earned an 18th-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway in his only NCWTS start so far this season. The 24-year-old also scored a career-best 12th-place finish in the NASCAR XFINITY Series last month at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
The NC Education Lottery 200 will take place at 8:30 p.m. EDT this Friday, May 20, and will air on FS1 and MRN.

About SS Green Light Racing:

SS Green Light Racing was founded and is currently owned by Bobby Dotter and Kevin Smith. SS Green Light Racing has become a developmental hub for drivers looking to break into NASCAR, including Tim Sauter, Mike Bliss and David Starr. Dotter and Smith have developed the team into a top-five contender each weekend in the NCWTS.

CONCORD, North Carolina (May 18, 2016) – – Like every NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) team wanting to do well near their home base, Tyler Young and his Young’s Motorsports team head to Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway this weekend planning to end a stretch of three consecutive races with their second top-10 of the 2016 season.

Last Friday at Dover (Del.) International Speedway, Young in his No. 02 Young’s Building Systems / Randco Chevrolet Silverado struggled with the handling throughout the two-day event and when the checkered flag was thrown, the Mooresville, North Carolina-based team was left with their worst finish of the season, 21^st.

While the finish would be respectable to some, the Young’s Motorsports team left the track frustrated, but assured the team did all they could to ensure the best finish possible. Friday night’s N.C. Education Lottery 200 provides the team an ample opportunity to bounce back and return to form.

“We know Dover was a little disappointing, but that’s behind us and we’re ready to move on,” said Young who sits eighth in the championship standings entering the fifth race of the season. “The good news coming out of Dover is that we learned a lot – and can take what we learned and apply it and come back better in 2017. Charlotte is what’s ahead and we’re anxious to get underway.”

Young, the Midland, Texas native has three prior starts at the 1.5-mile speedway with a personal best coming last May where Young finished 18^th after starting 20^th. Considering how his family-owned team has run on intermediate tracks this season, Young is optimistic for a top-10 finish.

“I think we’re plenty capable of finishing in the top-15 on Friday night, but we want to be back in the top-10,” he said. “We’ve come a long way with our Young’s Motorsports program since last year and other than our finish from Dover last weekend, I think the results have spoken for themselves. Charlotte is an extremely fast track, especially at night. While horsepower is crucial, handling is just as important. Thankfully, we have three practice sessions on Thursday that can help us dial in our No. 02 Young’s Building Systems / Randco Chevrolet Silverado.”

Even with the three practice sessions on Thursday, an eerie weather forecast for the weekend could potentially leave teams scrambling for track time, including both Thursday and Friday. Young says his team has kept their eye on the forecast hoping for the best.

“We know that weather is going to be a factor this weekend, we just have to see when the systems gets here, that will determine a lot,” he said. “We’ll look at practice in both qualifying and race setup, just in case the weather strikes on Friday and we can’t qualify. If not, we should be fine nonetheless.”

As for the race, Young is hoping the chassis that the team finished 11^th with at Kansas Speedway earlier this month will have similar results near the Queen City.

“This truck has been pretty good to us,” added Young. “The truck was really solid at Kansas. We kept working on it and working on it and it got better the more we adjusted. Unless something happens and we don’t race on Friday night, the conditions should be similar to Kansas on Friday night, so we’re upbeat. We made a gutsy call at the end of the race which paid off. We’re keeping that in the memory bank and hope we’ll be in position to capitalize once again.”

With four top-13 performances in five races, including a career-best finish in the season-opening NextEra Energy Resource 250 at Daytona, Young is happy with the season thus far.

“Thankfully, we don’t have a lot to complain about,” he mentioned. “We lost some spots in the points last weekend, but we’re confident we can get them back. The points are a tight race. Ideally, we’d like to be here sitting with five top-10 finishes in a row, but that’s just not how it goes sometimes. We’ve made some vast improvements from last year and at this point – that’s all we can ask for.”

For more on Tyler Young, please visit YoungsMotorsports.com or click on his Facebook page. Young is also active on Twitter. You can follow and tweet with him @TylerYoung02.

The N.C. Education 200 (134 laps / 200 miles) is the sixth of 23 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on the 2016 schedule. Practice begins on Thursday, May 19 from 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. A second practice has been etched in from 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. with a final session on deck from 4:30 p.m. – 5:55 p.m. Qualifying is set for race day, Friday, May 20 beginning at 5:30 p.m. The 32-truck field will take the green flag shortly after 8:30 p.m.with live coverage on FOX Sports 1, the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90).

Young’s Motorsports Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Fast Facts:

Driver: Tyler Young (@TylerYoung02)

Owner: Randy Young (Young’s Motorsports)

Crew Chief: Andrew Abbott

Manufacturer: Chevrolet Silverado

Engine Builder: Collins Automotive

On Track…The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) returns to the track this weekend in Concord, North Carolina for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200. Travis Kvapil will make his 7th NCWTS start at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

New Paint… The No. 50 GasBuddy Chevrolet will feature a new paint scheme this weekend at the home race track of Charlotte Motor Speedway. The scheme is designed to encourage fans to download the GasBuddy App.

This Week’s Silverado…The No. 50 GasBuddy Chevrolet will unload a chassis named “Snoodle” as all of MAKE’s Chassis are named after pigs. Snoodle was last seen at Kansas Speedway where Kvapil finished 20th.

Revving Up… GasBuddy, the world’s leading gas mobile app, will make their debut in the NASCAR circuit this weekend in full force as the primary sponsor on the the No. 50 Chevrolet.

Download This… With more than 56 million downloads and 15 million monthly active users, GasBuddy is home to the world’s largest network of people working together daily to save money at the pump.

Do Good… TUGG (Technology Underwriting Greater Good) is the community engagement platform that connects New England’s tech entrepreneurs with the riskiest social enterprises serving local under-resourced youth through entrepreneurial, educational, and life experiences. TUGG will be featured on the B-Post of the No. 50 GasBuddy Chevrolet.

Joining In… Corvetteparts.net, Wix Filters, ZAK Products, Beaver Bail Bonds, Laird Plastics, and Markanda Social Strategies are all associates on the No. 50 GasBuddy Chevrolet.

Watch and Listen… The North Carolina Education Lottery 200 can be seen live on Friday, May 20th on FOX Sports 1. Race coverage will begin at 8 p.m. EST, and the event can also be heard live on MRN Radio as well as SiriusXM Radio, channel 90.

Travis Kvapil on Racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway:
“Charlotte is always fun to run because it is our version of home field. Our families come out and we have a great time. Nothing beats the action of racing under the lights at Charlotte Motor Speedway. I am happy to have GasBuddy on board to show them the famous Charlotte Motor Speedway.”

Travis Kvapil NCWTS Results at
Charlotte Motor Speedway:
Starts: 6
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Top 5: 1
Top 10: 2
Laps Led: 7
Average Start: 16
Average Finish: 13.7

About MAKE Motorsports
Hailing from Shelby, N.C., MAKE Motorsports is a race team that competes in the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The moniker “MAKE” is made up of the first letters of the first names of the owners’ children – Mark Beaver’s son Mikey and daughters Amanda and Emily, and Tracy Lowe’s daughter Katelyn. For more information about MAKE Motorsports, please visit www.MAKEMotorsports.com, Facebook.com/MAKEMotorsports or find them on Twitter (@MAKEMotorsports).

About GasBuddy
GasBuddy is the world’s leading app that helps consumers find cheap fuel. With over 56 million downloads and 15 million monthly active users, GasBuddy is home to the world’s largest network of people working together daily to outsmart the pump. The app has the most real-time fuel prices with more than 2 million user-submitted price updates every day. From price hike alerts to exclusive discounts on favorite brands, GasBuddy is the most comprehensive money-saving companion while on the road. Download the free app at www.gasbuddy.com/app

Food Country Driver Going After Third Straight Truck SeriesTop 10

ABINGDON, Va. (May 16 2016) – Caleb Holman can’t wait to get on the road to Charlotte this week. It’s not the drive to Charlotte he’s so excited about, it’s the driving after he gets there.

Holman and his Food Country NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team has been idle since posting a ninth-place finish in the second race of the season two months ago. It is the team’s only start of the season.

“It’s hard,” Holman said of the down time. “We’ve kept very busy with different things around the shop. But it’s difficult to sit on your hands, especially when you’ve had some good runs.”

Holman is accustomed to extended breaks between truck series starts. The Henderson Motorsports team makes only a handful of starts a year, opting to make sure they are as competitive as possible when they do arrive at the track.

The break between races was longer than usual this spring because the team has been anticipating the approval of NASCAR’s new spec engine for the truck series, which will cost about half of the normal lease fee the team pays each race. The engine has yet to be given NASCAR’s final stamp of approval for teams to use, though.

“We’ve been waiting for that new engine to come out. We can go to two races for what it would cost us to go to one,” said Holman. “It was supposed to be ready by Charlotte, but it’s not ready yet.

“We decided to go to Charlotte because if we’re gonna do this, we have to race.”

Holman’s last two starts have resulted in top-10 finishes. He posted an eighth at Martinsville Speedway last fall before the ninth at Atlanta earlier this year. The Atlanta finish has Holman and crew chief Chris Carrier feeling confident about Friday night’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“You can lump Charlotte into the same category as Atlanta and Kentucky. All three are mile-and-a-half tracks,” said Holman. “I’ve run a lot at Atlanta and Kentucky. Because Atlanta was our last race will help this week. We’re taking the same truck we had at Atlanta and I think we have improved it some. We’ve got the same type of motor we had at Atlanta.

“We get more confident when we go out and run to our potential and that’s what we did the last two races.”

Despite the long layoff Holman knows he needs to be fast as soon as he rolls onto the track for the first practice session Thursday.

“I had better be fast the first lap. That’s what Chris expects. That’s what I need to do,” said Holman. “We have to be as good as everyone else is instantly. He expects me to be wide open the first lap and come in and tell him what he needs. And that’s not unfair. That’s what I need to do.”