Category: Truck Series PR

John Hunter Nemechek: Driver, No. 4 Safeway Toyota

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Overview:
Event: Worldwide Express 250, Race 18 of 23 (Race 2 of 3, Round of 10)
250 Laps – 70/70/110; 187.5 Miles
Location: Richmond (Va.) Raceway (0.75-mile D-shaped oval)
Date/Broadcast: Aug. 13, 2022, at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90

Neme’chek’ The Facts:

John Hunter Nemechek and the No. 4 Safeway team head into the second race of the Round of 10 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series playoffs at Richmond (Va.) Raceway, where they are the defending race winners. Nemechek led a race-high 114 laps and held off a late charge from KBM owner-driver Kyle Busch in last year’s event to claim the second of his series-leading five victories in 2022. In addition to collecting a victory in his lone Truck Series start at Richmond, Nemechek has made five Xfinity Series starts at the 0.75-mile track, tallying 171 laps led, two top-five and three top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 8.0. Earlier this season, Nemechek piloted the No. 18 GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing at the Virginia facility, leading a race-high 135 laps before finishing second. He has also made one Cup Series start at Richmond in 2020, bringing home a 30th-place finish.

Nemechek enters Saturday’s race 24 points above the cutoff line for advancing to the Round of 8 with two races remaining in the Round of 10. In the first race of the playoffs at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Nemechek captured the pole and led a race-high 75 laps but was relegated to a 10th-place finish after losing several spots after a restart in NASCAR overtime. He also earned an additional playoff point, should he advance to the Round of 8, by capturing the Stage One win.

With six races remaining in the 2022 Truck Series season, the second-generation driver leads all Truck Series regulars in poles (five), average starting position (6.7), and average running position (9.094). He is also second in driver rating (103.7) and laps led (263).

The Toyota Racing driver spent his off week from Camping World Truck Series action making his seventh Xfinity Series start of the season behind the wheel of the No. 26 GR Supra for Sam Hunt Racing at Michigan International Speedway. After qualifying 31st, Nemechek drove his GR Supra to a 19th-place finish.

Safeway will adorn the hood of the No. 4 Tundra TRD Pro this Saturday at Richmond Raceway. Safeway operates as a banner of Albertsons Companies, one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States. With both a strong local presence and national scale, the company operates stores across 35 states and the District of Columbia under 20 well-known banners.

Nemechek is a 12-time winner in Camping World Truck Series action, winning at least one race each season from 2015 to 2018 for his family-owned team, NEMCO Motorsports, and returning to victory lane in 2021 and 2022 with KBM. Across 141 career starts in NASCAR’s third division, he has compiled seven poles, 1,444 laps led, 47 top-five and 78 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 12.4.

Eric Phillips returned to lead the No. 4 team in 2022. His 42 career Truck Series victories make him the winningest crew chief in Truck Series history, with 33 of those coming while at KBM including five last year. Phillips led the No. 18 team at KBM in its debut season in 2010 and helped build the organization into one of the premier teams in all of NASCAR before departing at the end of the 2014 season. Under his guidance, the No. 18 team won eight races in its inaugural campaign and became the Series history to capture an owner’s championship in its first season of competition. In 2014, the Illinois native led the first team in Truck No. 51 team to an owner’s championship and his team’s 10 wins spearheaded KBM to a single-season Truck Series record of 14 wins. Phillips has been atop the box for just three Camping World Truck Series starts at Richmond Raceway. In those three starts, his drivers have recorded one win (Nemechek – 2021), 115 laps led, one top-five and one top-10 finish resulting in an average finish of 22.0.

John Hunter Nemechek, Driver Q&A:
John Hunter Nemechek | Richmond Raceway Preview
You won at Richmond last year in the Truck Series and had a strong run there earlier this year in the Xfinity Series. Is it a track you look forward going to?
“Yeah, it definitely is. Richmond being in the playoffs now is huge for us and our team, I think. Richmond has been a place I have always loved going to, I’ve always ran really well there, and a place I’ve just figured out as a driver. You have to have good equipment underneath of you and I’m excited to get back in our Toyota Tundra TRD Pro this weekend and go see if we can chase our second victory of the year and our second victory at Richmond. Hopefully, we can put all of our tools, resources, notes, and experience to the test and go out there and kick some butt.”

Last year was a day race, what differences do you expect this year with the race being at night?
“There definitely will be differences racing at night compared to the day; cooler temps, the track probably won’t be as slick, but it’s also later in the year so temps might be around the same as when we were there last year and it being a cooler Spring race. I don’t really know; I don’t know what to expect as far as day to night. I’m glad we’re starting at night and not transitioning from day to night because I feel like that would be an even bigger swing vehicle wise. Just got to stay in tune with what the racetrack is doing, make the right adjustments, be on top of it and just have the right strategy for the whole race.”

You’re 24 points above the cutoff line, how do you feel going into the last two races in the Round of 8?
“I don’t want to say I feel comfortable but I’m more comfortable than us being below the line. Twenty four points isn’t a lot but it’s a substantial amount to be above the line. Hopefully, we can just continue to push forward and lock ourselves in with a win this weekend, that would make things a lot easier to go to the second round.”

John Hunter Nemechek Career Highlights:

• Twelve-time winner in Camping World Truck Series action, winning at least one race each season from 2015 to 2018 for his family-owned team, NEMCO Motorsports. Across 141 career starts in NASCAR’s third division, has compiled seven poles, 1,444 laps led, 47 top-five and 78 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 12.4. Registered a career-high and series-leading five victories in 2021, earned the NCWTS Regular Season championship and finished third in the final standings after qualifying for the Championship Four for the first time in his career.
• Produced three top-10 finishes and an average result of 22.4 while competing for rookie of the year honors in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2020. He recorded a career-best eighth-place finish twice, both coming at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
• Across 63 career XFINITY Series starts, has totaled two wins, one pole, 510 laps led, 17 top-five and 36 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 12.0.

John Hunter Nemechek’s No. 4 Safeway Tundra:
KBM-58: The No. 4 Safeway team will unload KBM-58 for Saturday night’s race at Richmond Raceway. Nemechek has raced this Tundra twice in 2022, once at Martinsville (April) where he earned a fourth-place finish and once at Gateway (June) where a mid-race incident relegated him to a 35th-place finish. In 2021, Nemechek piloted KBM-58 to three wins, including leading a race-high 114 laps at Richmond en route to his second win of the year. Overall, KBM-58 has recorded four wins – three with Nemechek in 2021 and one with owner-driver Kyle Busch in 2019 – 474 laps led, eight top-five and nine top-10 finishes in 16 starts resulting in an average finish of 11.1.

KBM Notes of Interest:

• Across six starts at Richmond, KBM drivers have tallied one win, 164 laps led, three top-five and three top-10 finishes, with an average starting position of 12.8 and average finish of 10.5.
• Nemechek picked up the organizations lone win at the 0.75-mile facility in 2021, leading a race-high 114 laps.
• KBM holds the Camping World Truck Series records for most career wins (96) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). With his victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 19, Corey Heim became the 18th different driver to win a Truck Series event for KBM. In addition to collecting a series-record seven Owner’s Championships, the organization has produced two championship-winning drivers: Erik Jones (2015) and Christopher Bell (2017).
• The No. 4 has 17 career victories at KBM and was the number for both of the organization’s driver championships.

BTS Returns to the No. 15 for Worldwide Express 250

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (August 10, 2022) — Black’s Tire reunites with David Gilliland Racing (DGR) and Tanner Gray for Saturday’s NASCAR Camping Word Truck Series event at Richmond (Va.) Raceway. It will be the fourth and final time that the longtime partner will grace the sides of the No. 15 Ford F-150 in 2022.

BTS Tire & Wheel Distributors will utilize the opportunity to partner with and highlight 40 of their Goodyear G3X Partner Dealers who serve North Carolina, South Carolina and Southern Virginia. The name and town of each dealer will be featured on the bed top of Gray’s F-150.

In three races with Black’s Tire on the hood, the 23-year-old Gray has scored two of his best finishes of the season with a fourth at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and a sixth at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. The other finish was a 21st-place effort in a rough-and-tumble race at Martinsville (Va.) Raceway.

“For whatever reason we seem to run really well with Black’s Tire on the truck,” said Gray. “I hope we can continue that this weekend at Richmond and put together a good race from start to finish. The stress of making the playoffs is gone and we have nothing to lose, so we can focus all of our efforts on going after a win.”

The Worldwide Express 250 at Richmond Raceway will be televised live on FOX Sports 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 13. Radio coverage will be provided by the Motor Racing Network.

About Black’s Tire

Black’s Tire was formed as Black’s Service Station by W. Crowell Black in Whiteville, N.C. in 1929. Now, with more than 60 locations in both North and South Carolina, Black’s remains a local, family owned and operated tire sales and service and vehicle repair business as well. In addition to retail and commercial locations, Black’s Tire also operates 6 warehouse and distribution centers, 3 satellite wholesale operations, BTS Tire & Wheel Distributors, a commercial sales division and a tire-retreading business, Carolina Retreads. The Black’s Tire family includes more than 925 team associates.

To learn more about Black’s Tire or to find a location, visit www.blackstire.com. Follow Black’s Tire and Auto Service on social media: Twitter at @BlacksTire, Instagram at @BlacksTire and Facebook at facebook.com/blackstire.

About David Gilliland Racing

David Gilliland Racing (DGR) is a race team owned by NASCAR veteran David Gilliland and businessman Johnny Gray. The team specializes in driver development, competing full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, multiple ARCA Menards Series divisions and CARS Tour with factory support from Ford Performance. In its first four years of operation, DGR has achieved success in each series tallying up multiple wins and championships. The team operates out of three buildings totaling 60,000 square feet in Mooresville, N.C.

Chandler Smith: Driver, No. 18 Charge Me Toyota

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Overview:
Event: Worldwide Express 250, Race 18 of 23 (Race 2 in the Round of 10)
250 Laps – 70/70/110; 187.5 Miles
Location: Richmond (Va.) Raceway (0.75-mile D-shaped oval)
Date/Broadcast: Aug. 13, 2022, at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90

Chandler Chatter:
Chandler Smith and the No. 18 Charge Me team head to Richmond Raceway for the second race in the Round of 10 of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series playoffs Saturday. In the opening race of the playoffs, Smith qualified second and finished second in Stage One at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, but saw his race take a turn for the worse in the closing laps of Stage Two when Zane Smith got loose underneath him while attempting to make a pass for third place. The No. 18 Tundra TRD Pro sustained significant damage after getting slammed into the wall and would limp home to an 18th-place finish. Smith, who entered the playoffs second on the grid, slid down into a tie for fifth with his KBM teammate John Hunter Nemechek, but did see his margin above the cutoff line increase from 20 to 24 despite the incident.

Smith will be racing for the first time as a father on Saturday. He and his wife, Kenzie, welcomed Chandler Smith Jr. to the world on Aug. 2, 2022 at 9:16 a.m. ET.

The 20-year-old driver will be making his third Truck Series start at Richmond. He led 24 laps and finished fourth in last year’s race at the 0.75-mile D-shaped oval after finishing 12th in 2020.

The Toyota Racing Development product has produced two wins, seven top-five and 11 top-10 finishes across 17 Truck Series starts this season. He won the second race of the season at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway and was victorious again in the regular season finale at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. Smith has already eclipsed the number of top-five and to-10 finishes he recorded in his rookie campaign. He ranks first among Truck Series regulars in laps completed (2219) and quality passes (571), second in average finish (9.3) and third in driver rating (100.4) and average running position (9.132).

Smith made the playoffs last year in his first full-time campaign as the 10th seed. He advanced to the Round of 8 with a must-win victory at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in the final race in the Round of 10. He found himself in another must-win situation in the final race in the Round of 8 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and saw his playoff run end when he finished fourth. As a consolation prize, he won the pole and swept all three stages in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series finale at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway.

The Georgia driver earned NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year honors in 2021 after producing two victories, one pole, 213 laps led, six top-five and nine top-10 finishes in his first full-time season. He earned his first career Truck Series victory at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in September of 2021. Across 54 career Truck Series starts, the Toyota Racing Development driver had recorded four wins, one pole, 451 laps led, 21 top-five and 29 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 13.1.

Veteran crew chief Danny Stockman will once again call the shots for Smith and the No. 18 team in 2022. Stockman’s drivers have produced eight victories at KBM since he joined the organization in 2020, including four with Smith behind the wheel. The veteran crew chief captured a Truck Series championship with Austin Dillon in 2011 and also won an Xfinity Series championship with Dillon in 2013. Stockman has been atop the pit box for two Truck Series races at Richmond, both with Smith, with a best result of fourth in last year’s event.

Charge Me will be the primary sponsor on Smith’s No. 18 Tundra TRD Pro for the final time this season Saturday at Richmond. Charge Me was founded on the principle that the electric vehicle (EV) revolution will require robust infrastructure support at all levels.

Chandler Smith, Driver Q&A:
Chandler Smith | Richmond Raceway Preview
Talk about the experience of welcoming your first child to the world.
“It’s been amazing to say the least. Everyone talks about how life changing it is to have a child, to get married and to be a father, and to both of those points that is still an understatement saying that its life changing. We are simply blessed – it was an amazing experience for my wife through labor and delivery, and an amazing experience for myself. Obviously, me and my wife have gotten even closer now that we have a child, so it’s just overall a surreal experience and I’ve never been so happy in my life.”

You finished fourth at Richmond last year. What is your mindset heading back there this year?
“It’s a short track essentially and we have a good notebook going back there. Last year, we weren’t great there, we finished fourth, but we didn’t have a fourth-place truck. We took probably a 10th-place truck and salvaged a fourth place out of it – which is really good from a team aspect. We have a lot of notes going back on what we did wrong and what we need to do to fix that. I feel like our short track program has come a long way since last year at Richmond as well, so I’m feeling really confident in myself and my team and everybody that’s at KBM.”

How do you approach Saturday’s race being 24 points above the cutoff line for advancing to the Round of 8.
“I wouldn’t say I’m not worried about making the cutoff because anything can happen. IRP (Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park) is a prime example, we were second starting and now we are fifth or sixth, so one race can really shift things a lot. I wouldn’t say I’m not worried, but I will say that we are still going for wins, stage points, playoff points – that’s our main focus still. I feel like if the performance is there than the points will come with it.”

Chandler Smith Career Highlights:

• Across 55 career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts has recorded four wins, 464 laps led, 21 top-five and 29 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 13.2.
• Earned NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year honors in 2021 and finished eighth in the championship standings after producing two victories, one pole, 213 laps led, six top-five and nine top-10 finishes in his first full-time season. He earned his first career Truck Series victory at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in September and in the series finale at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway earned his first career pole and swept all three stages en route to his second victory.
• Has posted an average finish of 29.5 across two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts in 2022, with a best result of 22nd coming at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway.
• Has collected 10 wins, 10 poles, 1894 laps led, 23 top-five and 30 top-10 finishes en route to an average finish of 5.2 across 35 career ARCA Menards Series starts.

Chandler Smith’s No. 18 Charge Me Tundra:

KBM-70: The No. 18 Charge Me team will unload KBM-70 for Saturday’s race at Richmond. Smith has two victories with this Tundra TRD Pro, earlier this year at Las Vegs Motor Speedway and in last year’s season finale at Phoenix Raceway. He raced this Toyota most recently at World Wide Technology at Gateway, where he led 40 laps and earned the Stage One win before getting put into the wall while leading early in Stage Two. He would recover from the incident to earn a third-place finish.
KBM-70 Performance Profile:

KBM Notes of Interest:

• KBM drivers have produced one win, three top-five and three top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 10.5 across six Truck Series starts at Richmond. John Hunter Nemechek was victorious in last year’s Truck Series race. Kurt Busch picked up the team’s lone NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at the Virginia track in April of 2012.
• KBM holds the Camping World Truck Series records for most career wins (96) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). With his victory at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway, Corey Heim became the 18th different driver to win a Truck Series event for KBM. In addition to collecting a series-record seven Owner’s Championships, the organization has produced two championship-winning drivers: Erik Jones (2015) and Christopher Bell (2017).
• The No. 18, the number which was on the first Tundra that went to victory lane for KBM in 2010, has 25 career victories.

Corey Heim: Driver, No. 51 JBL Toyota

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Overview:
Event: Worldwide Express 250, Race 18 of 23 (Race 2 in the Round of 10)
250 Laps – 70/70/110; 187.5 Miles
Location: Richmond (Va.) Raceway (0.75-mile D-shaped oval)
Date/Broadcast: Aug. 13, 2022, at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90

The Story on Corey:
Corey Heim and the No. 51 JBL team head to Richmond Raceway for Saturday’s Worldwide Express 250, the second of three races in the Round of 10 of the owner’s playoffs. After Heim scored a fifth-place finish at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in the opening race, the No. 51 team sits fourth on the playoff grid, 25 points above the cutoff line for advancing to the Round of 8. For Heim, it will be his first start in a National Series event at Richmond. He was the first driver to cross the finish line in the Pro All Star Series Open Super Late Model Commonwealth Classic at the Virginia track in 2019, but his car failed post-race inspection.

The No. 51 team qualified for the owner’s portion of the playoffs via Heim’s two wins this season (Atlanta Motor Speedway and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway). They are tied with the No. 38 team with a series-leading three wins this season. In addition to Heim’s two wins, Kyle Busch was victorious at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway in June.

The No. 51 team has captured the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series owner’s championship three times (2013-2014 & 2019) and as on organization KBM has collected a series-record seven owner’s titles.

Across 10 Truck Series starts this season, Heim has produced two wins, two poles, 64 laps led, four top-five and five top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 16.5. The Georgia driver picked up his first career Truck Series victory in just his fifth start earlier this season at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway in March and was also victorious in June at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. He’s one of just three drivers to earn multiple pole awards this season. John Hunter Nemechek leads the series with five, while Ty Majeski also has two.

With two victories across his first 10 Truck Series starts, the 19-year-old driver became one of just 12 drivers in series history to net multiple victories in their first 10 starts. Kasey Kahne and Mike Skinner each produced five victories, Mark Martin collected four wins, Ron Hornaday Jr., Ted Musgrave and William Byron brought home three checkered flags and Heim, Kyle Busch, Erik Jones, Rich Bickle, Clint Bowyer and Tony Stewart all delivered two wins.

Heim is competing for the 2022 Truck Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year award. Despite only having competed in 10 of the 17 events so far this season, he leads the standings by 62 points over Lawless Alan. Heim will look to join three other KBM drivers that have won the award, reigning winner Chandler Smith, William Byron (2016) and Erik Jones (2015).

In addition to his part-time Truck Series schedule Heim is competing in a six-race schedule for Venturini Motorsports in the ARCA Menards Series. Heim led 74 of 90 laps en route to the victory at Daytona in February to pick up his eighth career ARCA Menards Series victory. Most recently he led a race-high 54 laps and came home with a runner-up finish at Michigan International Speedway last Saturday. Across 41 career ARCA Menards Series starts he has produced 713 laps led, 30 top-five and 39 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 4.3. Heim finished second to Ty Gibbs in the 2021 ARCA Menards Series championship standings.

Mardy Lindley returned to KBM for his second season atop the pit box of the No. 51 team. Lindley has led his team to six wins since coming to KBM at the start of the 2021 season, including two with Heim and one with Kyle Busch this year. In 2021, his drivers produced three victories, two with Busch and one with Martin Truex Jr. Before arriving at KBM, Lindley guided his drivers to 32 wins and four ARCA Menards Series East championships since 2013, including back-to-back titles with Sam Mayer the last two seasons. Additionally, he earned the ARCA Menards Series Sioux Chief Showdown championship with Mayer in 2020. Behind the wheel, the second-generation driver won 11 races on the Pro Cup Series from 2000 to 2006 and was crowned the series champion in 2001. Lindley’s lone race calling the shots at Richmond was a runner-up finish with Kyle Busch last year. Lindley’s father, Butch, was a two-time winner in NASCAR Xfinity Series action at the Virginia track.

JBL, the authority in engineering superior sound, will adorn the No. 51 as part of their 11-race schedule with Heim on Saturday. Crescent Tools, a premier hand tool brand from Apex Tool Group, will serve as a primary sponsor for three more races this season.

Corey Heim, Driver Q&A:
Corey Heim | Richmond Raceway Preview
This is your first time racing at Richmond in a truck, but you’ve been there in a Super Late model before. What do you think about the track?
“Yeah, Richmond is cool. It’s definitely an aging race track – very abrasive on tires. KBM has really had a lot of success there in the last couple of years. Really looking forward to getting there in my JBL Tundra TRD Pro this weekend.”

You’ve recorded top-five finishes in each of your last two starts. After having some DNF’s throughout the season, as a team are you concentrating more on producing consistent finishes to advance in the owner’s playoffs?
“I think to start the year we were make or break — we either won the race or had some sort of mechanical issue, or some sort of issue on my part and all together as a team I think we were a little inconsistent to start the year. The past couple of weeks we’ve really been clicking of some top fives and running really good during the race and getting stage points. I think that’s going to be super important for the playoffs and maintaining a good points run to get to Phoenix and hopefully compete for the owner’s championship.”

Corey Heim Career Highlights:

• Picked up first career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway March 19, 2022 in just his fifth start. Across 13 career starts has two wins, two poles, 66 laps led, four top-five and five top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 16.7.
• Made three Truck Series starts in 2021 with a best result of 11th coming at Martinsville Speedway in October.
• Finished runner-up in the ARCA Menards Series championship standings in 2021 after collecting six wins, three poles, 406 laps led, 16 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 3.1 across 20 starts.
• Across 41 career ARCA Menards Series starts has eight wins, 713 laps led, 30 top-five and 39 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 4.3. Picked up his first career ARCA Menards Series victory at Kansas Speedway Oct. 16, 2020.

Corey Heim’s No. 51 JBL Tundra TRD Pro:
KBM-62: The No. 51 JBL team will unload KBM-62 for Saturday’s race at Richmond. This Tundra TRD Pro has finished inside the top five in both of its starts this season, a third-place finish with KBM owner-driver Kyle Busch at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in April and a fifth-place finish with Heim at Indianapolis Raceway Park in July. KBM-62’s best result across 11 starts was a runner-up finish with Busch at Richmond in 2021.

KBM Notes of Interest:

• KBM drivers have produced one win, three top-five and three top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 10.5 across six Truck Series starts at Richmond. John Hunter Nemechek was victorious in last year’s Truck Series race. Kurt Busch picked up the team’s lone NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at the Virginia track in April of 2012.
• KBM holds the Camping World Truck Series records for most career wins (96) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). With his victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway Heim became the 18th different driver to win a Truck Series event for KBM. In addition to collecting a series-record seven Owner’s Championships, the organization has produced two championship-winning drivers: Erik Jones (2015) and Christopher Bell (2017).
• With 40 victories, the No. 51 is the winningest number in KBM’s Truck Series fleet.

A Win with Fr8Auctions.com Can Put Team Back on Top

 MOORESVILLE, N.C. (August 9, 2022) – Zane Smith and the No. 38 Fr8Auctions.com team are ready to win in the NASCAR Camping World Series Playoffs. Their next opportunity comes this Saturday night at the Richmond (Va.) Raceway.

The team currently sits second in the playoff standings, but a win can catapult the team back to the top spot. Grant Enfinger leads the playoff standings with his win at Indianapolis after passing Smith on the last lap with fresher tires. Smith and the Fr8Auctions.com team still hold a 50-point gap inside the cut line of the top eight teams to advance to the next round. But Smith and the team isn’t concerned about the large point margin, but a win on Saturday night.

“We had a chance to steal a win at Indy, but that didn’t happen,” Smith said. “Now it’s back to another short track and hopefully we’re running up front all night and have a chance at the win. That is really our focus. Just winning.”

Smith has had success with Fr8Auctions.com on the side of the No. 38 Ford F-150 this season. The team has one top-10, and one top-five finish with the black and white scheme. The bold Fr8Auctions.com colors are prime for victory lane.

“Ever since I got to FRM, there has been a lot of talk about getting Fr8Auctions.com a win,” said Smith. “I know it would be special for them, even better in the playoff, too. We should have a good chance this weekend. We just need to be in the best position at the end. The guys have been working hard on this chassis and truck. We’ve been really good off the hauler so many times this year. A one-day show like Richmond, we need to come into Saturday ready to go. I know we’ll be ready.”

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Darlington will air live on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. ET on FS1.

ABOUT FR8 AUCTIONS

Fr8Auctions partner with freight lines, distribution companies, and consumer product-based businesses to help sell excess, discontinued or damaged inventory outside of traditional distribution channels. Utilizing industry leading merchandising techniques, product presentations, and a competitive bidding environment, Fr8Auctions offers both their partners and buyer’s opportunities to maximize returns on their investments. Buyers can also access online (sealed bid) auctions to bid on the thousands of pallets of merchandise, which can range from gas grills to ceiling fans and cleaning products.

ABOUT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS

Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the NASCAR Cup and Camping World Truck Series and the 2021 Daytona 500 champions. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by successful entrepreneur, Bob Jenkins. FRM fields the No. 34 and the No. 38 NASCAR Cup Series teams along with the No. 38 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team– from its Mooresville, N.C. headquarters. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on social media: Twitter at @Team_FRM, Instagram at @team_frm and Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.

Saturday, August 13
Track: Richmond Raceway, 0.75 mile oval
Race: 18 of 23
Event: Worldwide Express 250 for Carrier Appreciation (250 laps/187.5 miles)

Schedule
Saturday, August 13
Practice: 3:05 p.m. ET
Qualifying: 3:35 p.m. ET
Race: 8:00 p.m. ET (FOX Sports 1)

Hailie Deegan, No. 1 Pristine Auction Ford F-150 

• Hailie Deegan enters Richmond (Va.) Raceway for the 18th race of the 2022 season — her 41st career start in the NCWTS.
• The Temecula, CA native displayed a resilient performance at IRP, coming home the highest finishing DGR truck by evading multiple wrecks in the final stage en route to a 13th-place finish.
• Looking to carry positive momentum into Richmond, the 21-year-old enters the .75-mile short track with three top-15s in her last five appearances. She finished 17th in her lone Richmond outing in 2021.
• Effective as of this race weekend, Crew Chief Jerry Baxter, an 18-time winner in NASCAR’s top three series, will sit atop the box for Deegan. Baxter, a veteran of over 200 truck races, is currently in his first year at DGR, having moved over from the No.15 team where he spent the first 17 races of the season.

Tanner Gray, No. 15 Ford Performance F-150

• Tanner Gray will enter Richmond Raceway for his 18th start of the 2022 season and 66th NCWTS start of his career.
• In the series last outing at IRP, Gray ran within the top-10 in the final stage before chaos on the final lap dealt his Ford F-150 light damage and a 23rd-place finish.
• The 23-year-old has made two career starts at the short oval, with a career-best finish of 16th in last year’s appearance.
• Crew Chief Mike Hillman Jr. will move to the No. 15 team to close out the season. Hillman Jr. has enjoyed a decorated Truck Series tenure, collecting 23 wins and two championships throughout his 16-year career. He’s currently in the midst of his second full-time season with the organization, having guided Deegan’s 2021 rookie efforts.

Taylor Gray, No. 17 Ford Performance F-150

• Taylor Gray will line up for his sixth start this season, taking on Richmond Raceway for the first time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
• Gray is currently tied for the ARCA Menards Series lead in wins with three while carrying an average finish of 23.8 in his limited NCWTS starts.
• The 17-year-old was in line for his first career Truck Series victory last time out at IRP, sailing to the lead on a green-white-checkered restart before being taken out by John Hunter Nemechek as they entered turn three. The incident relegated him to a 21st-place finish.
• Crew Chief Chad Johnston enters Richmond Raceway for the 18th time in his career, totaling six top-tens, two top-five’s, and a Cup Series victory at the facility with Kyle Larson in 2017.

STATESVILLE, NC: GMS Racing is proud to announce a new partnership with e-commerce platform, SureDone, and existing team partner AutoParts4Less, on Grant Enfinger’s No. 23 Chevrolet Silverado RST. The primary partnership will be showcased at Richmond Raceway in the second postseason race for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Round of 10.

Through their relationship with AutoParts4Less, SureDone looks to enter the NASCAR partnership space for the first time with GMS Racing’s winning No. 23 team. From humble beginnings through massive growth, SureDone has revolutionized the e-commerce industry with their suite of software solutions used in online marketplaces. Their software aims to help businesses attract new customers through streamlining listings on retailers such as eBay, Amazon, Meta, Google Shopping Actions, BigCommerce, Shopify, Magento, and more.

AutoParts4Less offers consumers a unique online purchasing experience in which they can not only buy automotive parts, but also schedule installation services for a quick, one stop shop type of approach when it comes to modifying vehicles. Their website offer a wide variety of parts and services from countless manufacturers, on an all-inclusive marketplace that is enticing to buyers and sellers alike.

Parent company, The 4Less Group, initially joined forces with GMS Racing with their LiftKits4Less brand in 2021, and has been featured on Jack Wood’s No. 24 Chevrolet for two races this season along with their partners North Industrial Machine and ChannelAdvisor. As a primary partner, The 4Less Group earned two race wins with the team and Sheldon Creed at World Wide Technology Raceway and Darlington Raceway last year.

Enfinger, who recently qualified for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series playoffs, welcomes the new partnership after winning the series’ most recent race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. “I’m happy to have SureDone and Auto Parts 4Less on our #23 Chevy for our upcoming race at Richmond. The e-commerce industry is a competitive space, and It’s great to see companies like Auto Parts 4Less recognize the impact that our sport has, and be able to capitalize on their partnership through some of their existing relationships with other brands.” said the driver.

Additionally, joining Enfinger’s No. 23 Silverado RST as associate partners will be two SureDone customer companies in Nivel Parts and Dealer Sales Solutions, who both actively use the solution platforms in their online sales. Grant’s anchor partner, Champion Power Equipment, will remain on the lower quarter panels as an associate as well.

Jason Nadaf, Founder and CEO of SureDone, looks forward to seeing the partnership hit the ground running. “SureDone continues to support the growth of the auto parts industry with a streamlined integration to AutoParts4Less.com. We’re excited to partner with GMS Racing and Grant Enfinger’s No. 23 Chevrolet Silverado RST, along with Auto Parts 4Less, to help scale this destination for NASCAR Camping World Truck Series enthusiasts and everyone who is searching for auto parts.”

Watch Grant Enfinger race the No. 23 SureDone Chevrolet Silverado RST in the World Wide Express 250 at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, August 13th at 8:00 PM ET on FS1. Follow Grant across all social media platforms with his official handle, @GrantEnfinger.

ABOUT THE 4LESS GROUP, INC.:

Building off the knowledge and success of their e-commerce website www.LiftKits4Less.com, that targets the aftermarket automotive parts for Jeep Truck and SUV vehicles, The 4Less Group, Inc.(www.The4LessGroup.com) is now focused on launching the world’s first automotive parts only multi-vendor digital marketplace under the URL www.AutoParts4Less.com.

ABOUT SUREDONE:

Reducing your time spent on operational tasks and freeing up time to focus on sales, SureDone provides global multichannel listing, inventory and order management for growing businesses, brands, and enterprises with built in connections to marketplaces such as Autoparts4Less, eBay, Amazon, Walmart, Google, Facebook and Instagram, along with storefronts like Shopify and BigCommerce. It also includes a flexible automation engine, connecting to suppliers and internal systems, supporting the import and export of inventory, pricing, order and product data in almost any format, and a comprehensive open API to extend the platform. While supporting all categories, SureDone also has an extensive feature set to support the automotive and motorsports parts and accessories vertical. Together, these capabilities automate normally expensive and time consuming tasks while allowing for rich integrations with other applications. On the web: www.SureDone.com or contact us at hello@suredone.com.

ABOUT GMS RACING:

GMS Racing competes full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series operating the No. 23 and the No. 24 Chevrolet Silverado RSTs, as well as the ARCA Menards Series with the No. 43 Chevrolet SS. Since the team was formed in 2012, GMS Racing has won five titles across multiple series, including the 2016 and 2020 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship, the 2015 ARCA Menards Series championship, as well as the 2019 & 2020 ARCA Menards Series East championships. GMS has grown to occupy several buildings located in Statesville, N.C. including operations for GMS Fabrication. The GMS Racing campus also houses operations for Petty GMS, a two car full-time NASCAR Cup Series team formed in 2021.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content, follow GMS Racing on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Mooresville, NC (August 3, 2022) – Spencer Boyd’s ability to attract and retain sponsors in the sport of NASCAR has shown itself again with WML Demolition & Contracting returning for a second season as a primary sponsor. The blaze orange paint scheme highlighted with a chrome number 12 will make its debut as the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to Richmond Raceway on August 13, 2022.

WML Demolition & Contracting is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) offering full-service demolition services for commercial customers, government and military contracts, homeowners, and residential builders. Headquartered in Sterling, VA, WML services jobs all over the Mid-Atlantic region.

“The new paint on this year’s WML truck is sick!” exclaimed Spencer Boyd. “They wanted something that would stand out, scream demolition, and I think we have delivered. Richmond is my favorite track and promoting Veteran owned businesses is something I’m passionate about, so we have a great combination for this race and partnership.”

WML is named for the founder’s grandfather, a police officer, a volunteer firefighter, businessman and father of four. Corey Lockhart, Founder of WML, commented on the relationship with Spencer, “He’s one of us. He busts his ass day in and day out just like us. When I call him, he picks up the phone. That is the kind of person we want representing our brand.”

WML Demolition & Contracting was the primary sponsor of Boyd’s No. 20 Silverado in last season’s Richmond race.

Lockhart elaborated on his company’s involvement in NASCAR, “We love the access! I get to entertain people at the track and get so close to the action. In my business, relationships are key and this is a great way to show appreciation to people that have helped WML along the way.”

To commemorate the sponsorship, limited-edition WML t-shirts are available on www.spencerboyd.net for purchase prior to the race.

Friday, July 29
Track: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, .686-mile oval
Race: 17 of 23
Event: TSport 200 (200 laps, 137 miles)

Hailie Deegan, No. 1 Wastequip Ford F-150
Start: 17th
Stage 1: 26th
Stage 2: 26th
Finish: 13th

Hailie Deegan qualified 17th for the TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. The 21-year-old fought an uphill battle early, wrestling with an ill-handling Ford F-150 from the drop of the green. Tightness in the center and a lack of rear grip hindered her to back-to-back 26th place finishes in Stage 1 and 2. However, a plethora of yellows in the race’s closing stages opened the door for Deegan to climb back up the order. Escaping the carnage of volatile late-race restarts proved beneficial, as the Temecula, CA native guided the Wastequip Ford F-150 to a 13th-place finish, her third top-15 of 2022.

Tanner Gray, No. 15 Lincoln Welders Ford F-150
Start: 14th
Stage 1: 17th
Stage 2: 18th
Finish: 23rd

Tanner Gray started 14th in the TSport 200 and struggled early with the handling on his F-150 battling loose into the corner and tight on exit. He finished 18th in Stage 1 and made wholesale adjustments at the break. After firing off 14th in Stage 2, a late yellow with 13 to go provided an opportunity to pit for further adjustments. The No. 15 would stack up 12th in the Stage 2 rundown. Gray battled inside the top-10 early in the final stage peaking as high as eighth before the handling began to go away. Caution flag waved with 10 laps remaining and he pitted from 16th for four fresh tires. Chaos on the final lap dealt the Lincoln Welders F-150 light damage and a 23rd-place finish.

Taylor Gray, No. 17 Ford Performance F-150
Start: 13th
Stage 1: 17th
Stage 2: 18th
Finish: 22nd

Taylor Gray qualified 13th for his first NCWTS appearance at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. The younger Gray made it to 11th before fading back to 17th by the end of Stage 1. A caution at the end of the second stage gave the No. 17 team a chance to make adjustments and they settled for an 18th-place finish in Stage 2 to better line up for the start of the final stage. The 17-year-old driver fired off 14th and battled around there before electing to pit under yellow on lap 156 for fresh tires while the majority of the field stayed out. While marching through the field, the caution waved again with 10 laps remaining and Gray stayed out to restart on the front row for the green-white-checkered restart. The Ford driver sailed off into turn one as the leader, but second place running John Hunter Nemechek had other ideas and sent Gray spinning off his nose in turn three, ripping away a potential first career NCWTS victory.

Next event: Worldwide Express 250 at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia on August 13 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Grant Enfinger, No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST

START: 5TH
FINISH: 1ST
POINTS: 1ST

Quote: How does this help the team continue to move forward?

“Well, we’re finally moving forward at all! This is my first win since [Martinsville]. [We had a] terrible [regular season], not because of these guys behind me, you know we’ve just been a little off as an organization. I can’t say thank you enough to Mike Beam, Maury Gallagher, Ron Booth, everybody at GMS Fabrication, and everybody on this No. 23 team. We’ve been working so hard because, we’ve been sucking. It hurts to say it, but we have had a terrible season to this point, but we had a great No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet all day. It felt like every time we got to the lead, the caution came out. It put Hensley in a bad spot, but I knew from experience to just trust his gut. I couldn’t keep my mouth shut every time I kept trying to edge him on, but I had one of my Pop Pop’s Bible verses in there, so it’s a pretty special night and I’m definitely very, very thankful.

I did hear that a few times, you said ‘Just go with your gut’. Where does that trust come from between the two of you, you and Jeff Hensley?

For four years, we’ve rode the roller coaster together. We’ve been in the lows, we missed the playoffs in our first year together, but we haven’t missed it since. We’ve had some success together, he’s a racer and I’m a racer, and neither of us are very smart, but we put it together tonight.”

Jack Wood, No. 24 Chevrolet Military Appreciation Chevrolet Silverado RST

START: 20TH
FINISH: 25TH
POINTS: 25TH

Quote: “We fought a handling issue throughout the majority of the race tonight at IRP. Our No. 24 Chevy was really tight, and my guys made a bunch of adjustments to fix it, but unfortunately we just could never get it to turn as well as we hoped. While I’m disappointed in the finishing result, I’m glad that we were able to see the checkered flag after the brutal past few weeks we’ve had. I’m really happy for Grant and the No. 23 team, this is a big win for the entire GMS Racing organization as a whole and I’m happy to see them pull it off. Onto Richmond.”

ABOUT GMS RACING:

GMS Racing competes full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series operating the No. 23 and the No. 24 Chevrolet Silverado RSTs, as well as the ARCA Menards Series with the No. 43 Chevrolet SS. Since the team was formed in 2012, GMS Racing has won five titles across multiple series, including the 2016 and 2020 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship, the 2015 ARCA Menards Series championship, as well as the 2019 & 2020 ARCA Menards Series East championships. GMS has grown to occupy several buildings located in Statesville, N.C. including operations for GMS Fabrication. The GMS Racing campus also houses operations for Petty GMS, a two car full-time NASCAR Cup Series team formed in 2021.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content, follow GMS Racing on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.