When the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (NGOTS) resumes action next weekend at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, the series will have a new team attempt to make the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series 250.
Hill Motorsports owned by veteran race car driver Timmy Hill plans to be one of the 32-competitors in the 250-lap race at the 0.526-mile paperclip oval. Hill Motorsports plans to run a limited Truck Series schedule throughout 2019 split with Hill and brother Tyler Hill who recently made his first Xfinity Series start of the year last weekend at ISM (Ariz.) Raceway.
“I’m excited and nervous at the same time,” said Timmy Hill. “We’re looking forward to going to Martinsville and have a successful showing. This is a big undertaking for us, but we’ve acquired some good equipment and I hope we’re able to make the most of the opportunity.”
“We bought two trucks from MDM Motorsports and we’ve been putting those together through the winter and those have been coming together pretty well like we’ve hoped. I’ll be sharing the ride with my brother Tyler. We’re roughly looking at 10 races, we’re still trying to finalize the schedule, but we’re going to dive in and try to make it successful.”
Hill Motorsports will utilize the No. 56 number during competition, which Timmy Hill says has significance and brings a larger family dynamic into the realm.
“The No. 56 has a lot of meaning to me and to our family,” Hill mentioned. “It’s important to us because it’s the number my dad used when he ran his own team in the 1990s. Our team is based in Thomasville, North Carolina and I’ve been fortunate enough to have the support of my dad, but also from owners that I’ve driven for Carl Long and Rick Ware who have been more than accommodating to help us with this journey.”
While Timmy Hill will make his second NGOTS start of the season at Martinsville, Tyler Hill is slated to drive the team’s Chevrolet Silverado at Dover (Del.) International Speedway in May.
Timmy Hill says taking on the ownership role in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series is a huge responsibility, but a title he embraces and is looking forward to the challenges and benefits it brings.
“I’ll be the driver and owner, which is pretty neat,” added Hill. “You don’t really see that much in NASCAR anymore. I’m excited to bring that aspect back. I know Jordan (Anderson) does and he has made great strides in building his program from the ground up.”
As for Martinsville, the plan is simple.
“A good day at Martinsville is to hope it doesn’t rain,” Hill chuckled. “We want to make the race, we have to make the race on speed. It’s a quality program, we should be able to do that. I know we can have a quality program. If we can finish inside the top-15, it will be a good day and give us something to build off of.”
Looking ahead and putting the resources together long-term, Hill eventually eyes Victory Lane and believes they can get there in time.
“In the bigger picture is to try and put something competitive and that can run in the top-10 and ultimately at some point in time compete for wins,” he said. “That’s something in my driving career that I’ve always been striving for. I have an opportunity now in the Truck Series with the Ilmor motor and that gives us an opportunity to jump on it and have a shot at running better.”
Morristown, Tenn.-based Southern Freight Services will support Hill in his 26th career Truck Series race.
In 25 previous Truck Series starts, Hill earned a career-best sixth at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway driving for Rick Ware Racing in 2013.
Transitioning from Late Models, Tyler Hill made four ARCA Menards Series starts in 2018 earning a career-best seventh at Kansas Speedway, while also producing four top-14 finishes. In two Xfinity Series starts between 2018 and 2019, the 25-year-old finished a respectable 20th at Phoenix.
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