Category: Truck Series News

Diversified Motorsports Enterprises completes purchase of JJL Motorsports

CHARLOTTE, N.C.: Officials from Diversified Motorsports Enterprises (DME) announced today that it has successfully completed the purchase of NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (NGOTS) team JJL Motorsports.

With the acquisition complete, Diversified Motorsports Enterprises hopes to compete in their inaugural NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race in the 2020 season-opening NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on Fri., Feb. 14, 2020.“This is a proud moment for Diversified Motorsports Enterprises,” said team principal Logan Puckett. “We appreciate Jason (Little) and everyone at JJL Motorsports for making the transition seamless and I’m excited about the outlook for our race team.”The team will start 2020 in a new shop near Charlotte, N.C. and has plans to run a majority of the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series season with mainstay driver Jesse Little.

“We have big plans for the season but we’re going to be thoughtful and attentive to our approach with everything we do,” added Puckett. “Being a young owner in the Truck Series, I’m eager to be competitive out of the box while also being ambitious with our marketing with the intention to bring new business to business partners into NASCAR and build our team towards a full schedule in 2021 and beyond.”

Puckett also says the organization will make a series of announcements in January.

“Even with the Holidays quickly approaching, it’s a busy time for Diversified Motorsports Enterprises,” he added. “I’m thrilled about some of the personnel we’ve acquired and making the announcement of our marketing partner for our debut race.”

Throughout the season, Diversified Utility Group Inc. will serve as a major associate partner in 2020.

Founded in July 2013, Diversified Utility Group is a turn key general contractor specializing in fiber optic telecommunications construction consisting of new build, maintenance, cellular towers for wireless providers, residential and commercial applications and more.

Be sure to visit team-dme.com for the latest on the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series’ newest team.

Follow the team on Twitter @TeamDME97 and get to know team owner Logan Puckett by following him on Twitter @LPuckett_89.

For more on Jesse Little, please like him on Facebook at Jesse Little Racing.

Little tweets too. Follow him @JesseLittle97.

NHRA Champion Tanner Gray set to transition to Truck Series full-time in 2020 with DGR-Crosley

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Dec. 16, 2019) – DGR-Crosley announced today that Tanner Gray would make a full-time transition to the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series in 2020. Gray will drive the No. 15 Ford F-150 in his national series rookie campaign. In addition, Gray will pick up select ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series East (ARCA East) races in 2020.

Gray joined DGR-Crosley’s development program in 2019 as he transitioned to stock car racing after winning the NHRA Pro Stock Championship in 2018. During the 2019 season, Gray competed in multiple series including late models, ARCA East, ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series. The 20-year-old’s main focus in 2019 was on ARCA East, where he collected one win, six top-five and nine top-10 finishes in 12 starts. Gray finished the season third in driver point standings. Gray also had a trio of second-place finishes in his three ARCA West starts.

“I’m really looking forward to next year,” said Gray. “Obviously running full-time in the Truck Series is going to be tough with how competitive the series is. It’s going to be challenging racing with these guys week in and week out, but I have a lot of great people around me. The experience in the DGR-Crosley guys will help me adapt and learn quickly. It’s also exciting that Ford is coming on board and giving us assets that will further advance our performance each week.”

In preparation of running a full schedule in 2020, Gray competed in the final three Truck Series races of the 2019 season at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, ISM Raceway in Phoenix, Ariz., and Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway, where he recorded three top-20 finishes after suffering issues in each race.

“Tanner has done a great job in his transition to stock car racing,” said team co-owner David Gilliland. “I was really impressed with how well he picked up the feel of the car and was able to provide very detailed feedback. It’s a big step up to the Truck Series, but there’s not a doubt in my mind that he’s ready for it. I’m confident that the team we are assembling at DGR-Crosley is going to be one that is a factor every weekend and will compete for wins. I’m really looking forward to it.”

The first race of the 2020 season for Gray will kick off on Friday, February 14, at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

About DGR-Crosley: DGR-Crosley is a race team owned by NASCAR veteran David Gilliland and Crosley Brands CEO, Bo LeMastus. The Ford Performance team operates out of three buildings totaling 60,000 square feet in Mooresville, N.C. DGR-Crosley specializes in driver development where drivers are coached and given the tools to prepare for NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, ARCA Menards Series and Late Model competition. In just two years of operation, the newly formed team has achieved success across each series, collecting multiple wins and Championships.

STATESVILLE N.C. (Dec. 13, 2019) – GMS Racing announced today their crew-chief and number line-up for their four full-time NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series entries for the 2020 season. Chad Norris has been named crew chief for Brett Moffitt and the No. 23 Chevrolet team, Chad Walter will lead Tyler Ankrum and the No. 26 team, Kevin “Bono” Manion will call the shots for Zane Smith who will drive the No. 21 entry, and Jeff Stankiewicz will remain as the crew chief for the No. 2 team piloted by Sheldon Creed.

Norris has been with the Statesville, N.C. based organization for two years. He led GMS Racing to their first NASCAR Xfinity Series win with Spencer Gallagher at Talladega Superspeedway in 2018. The Iowa native has experience in all three NASCAR Series and has called the shots for many successful drivers like Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin. Most of his experience came in the Xfinity Series where has called the shots for 23 different drivers and has accumulated four wins, 39 top-fives, 132 top-10s and five poles.

Walter, who served as an engineer for Ankrum last year, will step up to lead the team. Walter is no stranger to the crew chief role, he has served as a crew chief in seven Cup Series and 208 Xfinity Series events since 2005 for Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and many others. In 208 Xfinity Series starts he claimed five wins, 42 top-fives, 101 top-10’s and eight poles.

Manion has called the shots atop the pit box for many notable top-name NASCAR drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and many others. Over all three NASCAR Series, Manion has accumulated five Cup Series wins, 27 top-fives, 65 top-10’s, and 10 poles, 15 Xfinity Series wins, 36 top-fives, 53 top-10’s, and nine poles, two Xfinity Championships with Martin Truex Jr. in 2004 and 2005 and four Gander Trucks wins, 16 top-fives, 28 top-10’s and one pole.

Stankiewicz will remain as crew chief for Sheldon Creed after the team hired him on partway through the 2019 season. The duo accumulated seven starts, two top-fives, four top-10s, and led 36 laps. In 2018, Creed won four races and earned 11 top-five, 12 top-10 finishes and three poles with Stankiewicz atop the pit box en route to the 2018 ARCA championship. Stankiewicz was previously with GMS Racing from 2015 – 2017 and led the team to an ARCA Championship in 2015 with Grant Enfinger.

“All four of our teams have veteran crew chiefs to lead the way and I don’t think we could get a better group,” said Mike Beam, President of GMS Racing. “All of them have the knowledge and experience to lead each of their teams to success this year and I am excited to see what they can do.”

ABOUT GMS RACING

GMS Racing competes full-time in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series with drivers Brett Moffitt, Sheldon Creed, Tyler Anrkum and Zane Smith. The team also competes in the ARCA Racing Series with Sam Mayer. Since the team began in 2014, GMS Racing won the 2016 NGOTS Championship, the 2018 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship and has grown to occupy several buildings located in Statesville, N.C. The campus also includes operations for GMS Fabrication. More information can be found at https://gmsracing.net/.

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STATESVILLE, N.C. (Dec. 10, 2019) – Ty Majeski will drive the No. 45 Chevrolet Silverado at Niece Motorsports full time in 2020 in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series.

“I’m really excited for the opportunity to race full time with Niece Motorsports,” said Majeski. “I’m appreciative of Al and everyone at the team for giving me this opportunity. We’re looking to continue to build on what Ross and the team accomplished this year. We expect to be contending for wins and ultimately the championship.”

In just its third full time season, Niece Motorsports and Ross Chastain earned one pole, three wins and 10 top-five finishes. In addition, Chastain captured the most stage wins and led the most laps. Chastain and the No. 45 team finished second in both the driver and owner point standings.

“Last season was really a dream come true for me and this team,” said team owner Al Niece. “No one expected us to be contending for a championship in Homestead – but there we were. We’re confident that we can do the same next season. Ty is clearly extremely talented – he’s won in everything he’s driven. I’m excited to have him join the team full time. We’re looking forward to great things in 2020.”

The 2019 season saw Majeski compete in six ARCA Racing Series events, earning wins in half of those starts. In addition to his three wins (at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Chicagoland Speedway), Majeski also earned top-five finishes in all six starts and led a total of 112 laps.

Majeski earned four wins in the ARCA Midwest Tour in 2019. He teamed up with Niece Motorsports last season in his first Truck Series start at ISM Raceway in November.

“Ross is a wheelman, and his skill helped us to elevate our program and continue to build faster trucks,” said general manager Cody Efaw. “We’re really proud of everything we accomplished last season, and excited to continue to build on that with Ty. Any time you get a chance to put a driver like Ty or Ross in your trucks, you don’t pass that up. Ty is a tremendous talent and we are looking forward to a successful season with him.”

Majeski competed in 15 NASCAR XFINITY Series races for Roush Fenway Racing in 2017 and 2018, with his best finish of seventh coming at Iowa Speedway in 2018.

Majeski kicked off 2017 by earning his second-consecutive victory in the Rattler 250 Super Late Model race at South Alabama Speedway. The win put Majeski in elite company, as just the second driver to win the Rattler back-to-back, and only the fourth driver to win more than one Rattler 250.

Majeski, who started his racing career in go-karts at the age of nine, is the Snowball Derby track record holder at Five Flags. In addition, he also boasts many of late model racing’s biggest wins, including the 2015 and 2016 Governor’s Cup. He was also the 2016 Super Late Model Champion at the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway.

In his rookie season in the ARCA Midwest Tour, Majeski not only captured Rookie of the Year honors, but earned the championship on the strength of two wins. In his sophomore year, Majeski followed that up with five more wins and another championship. The young driver earned his third-consecutive championship in the series in 2016, earning six wins in just 10 races.

Majeski was one of seven drivers to compete in the first-ever class of the Kulwicki Driver Development program (KDDP). Majeski’s outstanding performance in the KDDP led him to being crowned the inaugural Kulwicki Cup Champion for 2015.

The remainder of Niece Motorsports’ driver lineup is forthcoming.

About Niece Motorsports:

Niece Motorsports is owned by United States Marine Corps Veteran Al Niece. In 2020, Niece Motorsports enters its fifth season in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series. Niece also owns Niece Equipment, which has for over 40 years provided clients with reliable products at competitive prices. Niece Equipment’s reputation is built on service, integrity and dependability. The company provides water and fuel / lube trucks that are engineered with quality and durability in mind for the construction and mining industry. Follow the team on Facebook and Instagram @NieceMotorsports as well as Twitter @NieceMotorsport.

STATESVILLE N.C. (Nov. 19, 2019) – GMS Racing officials announced today that NASCAR driver, Zane Smith will compete full-time in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series for GMS Racing in 2020, completing the organizations full-time Gander Truck’s line-up. Veteran crew chief, Kevin ‘Bono’ Manion has joined the organization to lead the team for Smith.

In 2018, Smith drove for MDM Motorsports and competed full-time in the ARCA Racing Series. Throughout the season, Smith captured four wins, 12 top-fives, 13 top-10’s, one pole award and earned a runner-up finish in the series’ standings. Also, in 2018, Smith made one Gander Trucks start with DGR-Crosley at World-Wide Technology Raceway where he finished fifth in his first Gander Truck Series start. Most recently Smith competed for JR Motorsports in 10 NASCAR Xfinity Series events and accumulated two top-fives and seven top-10 finishes.

“When I got the offer from Mike Beam asking me to run a truck full-time for GMS Racing, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity,” said Smith. “GMS is a Championship caliber team and to be a part of an organization like theirs is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I’m looking forward to working with Manion again. He has a lot of experience and I know we will be a great team.”

Manion has called the shots atop the pit box for many notable top-name NASCAR drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, and many others. Over all three NASCAR Series, Manion has accumulated an impressive resume including:

· Five NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series wins, 27 top-fives, 65 top-10’s, and 10 poles. Two of those wins being the 2010 Daytona 500 and 2010 Brickyard 400.

· 15 NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) wins, 36 top-fives, 53 top-10’s, and nine poles. Two Xfinity Championships with Martin Truex Jr in 2004 and 2005.

· Four Gander Trucks wins, 16 top-fives, 28 top-10’s and one pole.

“I am really excited to join GMS Racing and Zane (Smith) for the 2020 season,” said Manion. “With GMS Racing’s championship caliber equipment and Chevrolet support, we have all the resources to win some races and be in the hunt for the 2020 Championship. I got the opportunity to crew chief Zane (Smith) in his first Gander Trucks start in 2018 at Gateway and we worked really well together. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish next season.”

Over the past seven years in Gander Trucks competition, GMS Racing has 27 wins, 103 top-fives, 204 top-10’s, 13 pole awards, and one Championship in 2016 with Johnny Sauter.

“We are thrilled to welcome Zane (Smith) and Kevin (Manion) into the GMS Racing family for the 2020 season,” said Mike Beam, president of GMS Racing. “With Kevin’s veteran crew chief knowledge and Zane’s skill they will make a great team. I think we have a solid line-up for 2020 and I can’t wait to see what we can accomplish.”

Additional information on sponsorship and an assigned truck number for Smith will be announced at a later date.

ABOUT GMS RACING

GMS Racing competes full-time in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series with drivers Brett Moffitt and Sheldon Creed, and in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with John Hunter Nemechek. The team also expanded their competition to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, as well as in the ARCA Racing Series with Sam Mayer and late models with Toni Breidinger. Since the team began in 2014, GMS Racing won the 2016 NGOTS Championship and has grown to occupy several buildings located in Statesville, N.C. The campus also includes operations for GMS Fabrication. More information can be found at https://gmsracing.net/.

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Tundra Extends Series Record for Most Titles in Series’ 25-Year History

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (Nov. 15, 2019) – Toyota ended the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (NGOTS) season in familiar fashion at Homestead-Miami Speedway, earning the 11th manufacturer’s championship – a high for any manufacturer in the series. It marked the manufacturer’s sixth title in the last seven years as Tundra drivers captured wins in 12 of 23 races in 2019.

“The success Toyota has had this year is just another testament to the hard work and dedication of our teams and drivers – whether it’s our young, up-and-coming drivers or veterans like Kyle Busch,” said Paul Doleshal, group manager of motorsports and asset management for Toyota Motor North America (TMNA). “The Truck Series has a long history of producing some of the best racing in NASCAR and we’re proud to be able to continue to showcase the Tundra and to add another manufacturer’s championship to its name.”

Five Tundra drivers contributed victories en route to this year’s NGOTS manufacturer’s championship with Toyota drivers combining to win 12 races and lead 1,164 laps in 2019. In five Truck Series appearances, Kyle Busch went undefeated while former Cup Series driver, Greg Biffle, made his first Truck Series start in nearly 15 years, driving his Tundra to Victory Lane in Texas. Three Tundra drivers also collected their first career Truck Series victories, including Austin Hill (four wins), Todd Gilliland (one), and NGOTS Rookie of the Year Tyler Ankrum (one), adding to Toyota’s winning tradition.

Since joining the series in 2004, Toyota has won 191 Truck Series races and captured 152 poles in 381 races. In addition to this year’s title, Toyota also claimed manufacturer championships in 2006 (12 wins); 2007 (13 wins); 2008 (13 wins); 2009 (14 wins); 2010 (15 wins); 2013 (13 wins); 2014 (18 wins), 2015 (14 wins), 2016 (14 wins) and 2017 (12 wins).

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About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 38 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold 2.8 million cars and trucks (2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2018.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Tyler Ankrum joins Brett Moffitt, Sheldon Creed, and Sam Mayer at GMS Racing in 2020

STATESVILLE N.C. (Nov. 14, 2019)– GMS Racing officials announced today that NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series driver, Tyler Ankrum will compete full-time in the Gander Truck Series for the organization in 2020. The 18-year-old will join the teams stacked line-up along-side the 2018 Gander Trucks Champion, Brett Moffit, Sheldon Creed and the 2019 K&N East Champion, Sam Mayer.

“Adding Tyler (Ankrum) to our line-up is a great addition to our Truck Series program,” said Mike Beam, president of GMS Racing. “He is a talented young driver with a lot of potential and a great future ahead of him in NASCAR. I look forward to the success he will bring GMS in 2020.”

At the age of 17, Ankrum claimed the 2018 K&N Pro East Series Championship, as well as the K&N East Rookie of the Year title. In his first full-time Gander Trucks season, the San Bernadino Cali., native collected his first Gander Trucks win at Kentucky Speedway propelling him into the Round of 8. As the only Rookie contender to make the Playoffs, Ankrum clinched the 2019 Sunoco Rookie of the Year title at the conclusion of the regular season. On top of winning his first Gander Trucks race, Ankrum has accumulated three top-fives and nine top-10’s, with one race remaining in the 2019 season this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“I’m excited to move on to the next chapter in my racing career with GMS Racing and Chevrolet,” said Ankrum. “I’m pumped to work with my new teammates and hope I can bring something special to the team. I think we will win a lot of races and contend for the championship in 2020.”

Ankrum will be sponsored by LIUNA and RAILBLAZA for the majority of the 2020 Gander Trucks season. Additional information regarding crew chief and truck number will be announced at a later date.

ABOUT GMS RACING

GMS Racing competes full-time in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series with drivers Brett Moffitt and Sheldon Creed, and in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with John Hunter Nemechek. The team also expanded their competition to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, as well as in the ARCA Racing Series with Sam Mayer and late models with Toni Breidinger. Since the team began in 2014, GMS Racing won the 2016 NGOTS Championship and has grown to occupy several buildings located in Statesville, N.C. The campus also includes operations for GMS Fabrication. More information can be found at https://gmsracing.net/.

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Todd Gilliland won his first career NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (NGOTS) race at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday. Gilliland’s No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota passed Ross Chastain on Lap 191 and held the lead after a late final restart into overtime.

“It feels amazing. This place is really hard to win at. This Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra is not as pretty as we hoped it would be when we crossed the start-finish line, but man, it looks even better with water and Gatorade on it. Can’t thank JBL, Toyota, all the fans enough. Thank you guys for sitting around. I think that was a good finish. I don’t really know. Luckily we were out front. Just wish we could’ve been a little bit faster all weekend, but as a driver that’s what you always hope for and this thing was fast enough today.” Gilliland said.

Johnny Sauter finished third, Grant Enfinger fourth and Timmy Hill finished fifth.

The playoff contenders Brett Moffitt, Austin Hill and Tyler Ankrum were involved in wrecks and Matt Crafton had to change a battery and computer system on lap 81. Crafton finished 23rd, Ankrum was 25th, Austin Hill 26th and Moffitt was the lowest-finishing playoff contender in the 29th position.

“We had a good Tundra. We were just kind of hanging around there in 10th. We kept on getting shuffled back and getting moved out of the way. We had good speed. I know a lot of guys are having a lot of issues right now. I know Matt (Crafton) and I know (Austin) Hill. Those were really the two guys we were racing around the bubble and so was the 45 (Ross Chastain). We’ll see when we head to Phoenix.” Ankrum said.

The series heads to ISM Raceway for the Lucas Oil 150 on Nov. 8, 8:30 p.m. ET.

The four highest-ranked playoff drivers after ISM Raceway will battle for the NGOTS championship on Friday, Nov. 15, at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Series standings after Martinsville:

1 Brett Moffitt (P) 3107
2 Stewart Friesen (P) 3097
3 Ross Chastain (P) 3082
4 Austin Hill (P) 3071
5 Matt Crafton (P) 3062
6 Tyler Ankrum # (P) 3056

Race Results for the 21st Annual NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 – Saturday, October 26, 2019
Martinsville Speedway – Martinsville, VA – 0.526 – Mile Paved
Total Race Length – 201 Laps – 105.726 Miles