Progressing Forward … The newly redesigned Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS) is another welcome sight for Chase Purdy as he continues to progress forward with his newly assembled HRE squad. The driver of the No. 61 David S. Gray: Found Love Toyota Tundra TRD Pro delivered a bounce back effort at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS) two weeks ago when a 14th-place finish netted him 11 positions in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings. Purdy will make his second start at AMS on the newly repaved and reprofiled configuration pursing his first top-10 finish of the season.
Rising Stock … Over the final stretch of 2021 and into 2022, Purdy’s stock has been rising. The 22-year-old Mississippi native has scored five top-15 finishes over his last eight starts, including a career best sixth-place finish at World Wide Technology Raceway last August. He also has a stretch of eight top-15 results in his last 11 outings dating back to Nashville Superspeedway last June. Purdy’s first official start with HRE resulted with a resilient effort at LVMS after being involved in an early incident which yielded a 14th-place finish.
A Special Place … AMS is a track of great significance for team owner Shige Hattori and HRE. The organization earned its first Camping World Trucks victory at AMS on February 24, 2018 with driver Brett Moffitt. That night sparked an incredible season that saw HRE earn six victories en route to the series championship. Purdy looks to add to HRE’s stat line at AMS on Saturday afternoon which includes one win, three top-five and four top-10 finishes in six races.
Chassis Selection … Crew chief Matt Lucas and the No. 61 team prepared chassis No. 019 for Purdy’s second start at AMS. This chassis is a new addition to the HRE fleet after competing last season and was outfitted with a new Toyota Tundra TRD Pro body during the offseason.
Tune In … FOX Sports 1 has coverage all weekend from AMS beginning with practice at 3:00 p.m. ET on Friday afternoon. FOX Sports 2 will begin coverage of qualifying on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. ET followed by NASCAR Raceday at 2:00 p.m. ET on FS1 and the green flag at 2:30 p.m. ET. Stay connected with the No. 61 team by following @Hattori_Racing on Twitter, @hattoriracing on Instagram, and Hattori Racing Enterprises on Facebook.
Chase Purdy Quote:
On racing at the reconfigured AMS:
“The higher banking and narrower race track are going to completely change the racing at Atlanta. I think everyone has an idea of what to expect with some pack racing, but there’s probably going to be some things that catch everyone off guard throughout the weekend. We’ll probably be wide open all race long, even in the draft. Restarts will be really intense and critical with the engine package and hopefully we’ll be able to keep our David S. Gray: Found Love Toyota Tundra TRD Pro clean all race and be there at the end. It’ll be really cool to have David at a race so close to his home. Hopefully we can keep improving and this weekend, come away with a top-10 finish and keep making progress with our team.”
HRE PR
