Ross Chastain and Niece Motorsports earned their third win of the season in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (NGOTS) on Saturday afternoon at Pocono Raceway. Chastain led 54 of 60 laps in a dominating performance in the No. 45 Baja/Acurlite Chevrolet Silverado.
The win is Chastain’s third overall this season in the NGOTS, and the second win counting towards his bid to make the playoffs.
“We stomped them in the dirt,” said Chastain of the dominating performance. “We pressed the attack. I’m so dang excited.”
Chastain started second and took the lead on Lap 1, leading the opening 26 laps before visiting pit road under green for a scheduled pit stop. Six laps later, Chastain made his way to the front of the pack again, leading all the remaining laps.
“I can’t say enough how proud I am of everyone at this organization,” said team owner Al Niece. “We might not have as many employees as some of these other teams, or as big of a budget, but we do have a lot of heart in the shop and behind the steering wheel.”
On June 4, when Chastain opted to switch his points declaration from the NASCAR XFINITY Series to the NGOTS, the 26-year-old watermelon famer from Alva, Florida needed to win at least one race, while also making the top-20 in the driver point standings.
He now has two victories that count towards his playoff bid and sits 18th in the driver point standings.
While the organization searches for a fulltime primary sponsor to join its championship bid, companies Baja and Acurlite joined the team the week of the race – as fans offering support to Chastain and the No. 45 team.
Next week, Chastain takes on a new challenge, visiting Eldora Speedway for the first time.
“Buck Stevens let me go out in his dirt modified this week and get some laps,” said Chastain. “We’ll go try and press the attack. We’re not going to back down. I always thought dirt was for farming, and asphalt is for racing. But we’re going to learn something new next week.”
The NGOTS will take the green flag for the Eldora Dirt Derby on Thursday, August 1 at 9 p.m. ET on FS1.
Niece Motorsports PR
