After nearly a seven-week sabbatical, Chad Finley Racing (CFR) returns to NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (NGOTS) competition this week with driver Chad Finley for Friday night’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.
Dewitt, Mich. native Chad Finley will grab the reins of the team’s No. 42 Chevrolet Silverado for his second race of the season with a host of marketing partners making his Charlotte Truck Series debut possible.
“It feels like forever since I’ve been back in the Truck Series, so I’m eager to get to the track this week and get down to business,” said Chad Finley.
“I’m super happy to have the support ofStrutmasters.com, Air Lift Company and Auto Value Certified Service Centers a part of my Charlotte debut.”
For Finley, a second-generation driver, Charlotte is the prime opportunity to thrust his Chad Finley Racing team into the limelight with the track nestled 45-minutes from the team’s shop in Mooresville, N.C.
With the guidance of crew chief Bruce Cook, the team has worked thoroughly on the team’s truck to prepare for Finley’s seventh career NGOTS start.
“Everyone wants to run well at Charlotte, including us,” added Finley. “It’s important race because it’s in the backyard of where a lot of the teams are based, and the race certainly draws a lot of attention for those reasons. But for us, we want to draw attention for ourselves this weekend with our on-track performance and not necessarily where we come from.”
“Bruce and the guys have worked methodically on our No. 42 Strutmasters.com | Air Lift Company | Auto Value Certified Service Centers Chevrolet Silverado to make sure we can go out there and be competitive. A top-10 run would certainly feel like a victory for us and give us some much-needed momentum into the summer.”
While circumstances beyond the team’s control have forced them to adjust their intentions of running the full Truck Series schedule this season, team principal Jeff Finley explained that the team’s ability to regroup and run a partial schedule will ultimately prove to be the right decision.
“We’ve could have gone out and run every race this season, but it would not have been up to the standard we set forth every time we leave the shop and head to the race track,” sounded Jeff Finley.
“Chad Finley Racing prides itself on putting competitive equipment with an opportunity to run up front. Now, that we’re able to pick and choose our races and we’re confident in our capabilities and look forward to the chance to showcase that not only at Charlotte but in future races no matter who is behind the wheel.”
Strutmasters.com, Air Lift Company and Auto Value Certified Service Centers will serve as the primary marketing partners for Friday night’s anticipated thriller.
Since 1999, Strutmasters.com has served as an industry leader in suspension parts and air to non-air suspension conversion kits.
Finley also has additional support from Northsidetowing.net and XLT Engineering as well for the eighth race of the season.
In addition to his six prior Truck starts, Finley, 27, has 20 ARCA Menards Series starts to his credit.
In his years of ARCA competition between 2009 and 2018 Finley has mounted one-win (Nashville 2017), eight top-five and 11 top-10 finishes, including a pole (track record) at Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway in 2009.
Finley is the son of former ARCA winner and NASCAR driver Jeff Finley.
The North Carolina Education Lottery 200 (134 laps| 201 miles) is the eighth of 23 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series races on the 2019 schedule. Practice begins on Fri., May 17 from 9:05 a.m. – 9:55 p.m. A final practice session is set for 10:35 a.m. – 11:25 p.m. Qualifying is set for later in the day beginning at 4:35 p.m. The 32-truck field will take the green flag shortly after 8:30 p.m. with live coverage on FOX Sports 1 (FS1), the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90). All times are local (Eastern).
CFR PR
