Right the Ship … Chase Purdy enters round 10 of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series campaign at Charlotte Motor Speedway (CMS) looking to right the ship and return to his top-15 form. The driver of the No. 16 BAMA Buggies Toyota Tundra TRD Pro has scored top-15 finishes in two of his last four starts and is aiming to tally another such performance at HRE’s home track. Purdy delivered what was arguably his most complete effort of the season two weeks ago at Kansas Speedway where he ran inside the top-10 and recovered from a pit road penalty to finish 13th. He and crew chief Matt Lucas are focused on bringing that raw speed and resilience to CMS in search for their first top-10 of the season.
Intermediately Familiar … The Meridian, Miss. native made his debut at “America’s Home for Racing” last season and will need to rely on his familiarity of other intermediate racetracks for success on Friday night. Purdy has produced top-15 finishes on nine occasions at intermediate venues in his young 38-race career, most recently at Kansas two weeks ago. In four events at 1.5-mile tracks this year, Purdy has an average finish of 15.5 and three results of 14th or better.
HRE Salutes … Purdy’s No. 61 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro will carry the names of Lucas’ grandfathers, both of whom were World War II veterans. Hartley R. Lucas served in the Army during WWII and landed on the beaches of Normandy one day after D-Day and was the recipient of a Purple Heart. Captain Frederick N. Russell served in the Navy, also during WWII, and served on the USS Cobia submarine in the Pacific fleet.
Chassis Selection … The No. 61 team has prepared chassis No. 018 for the third time this season. Purdy has driven this Toyota Tundra TRD Pro to two of his three best finish this year. Most recently, this chassis was driven to a 13th-place result at Kansas and a 14th-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March.
Tune In … FOX Sports 1 will carry all on-track activity from CMS beginning with practice and qualifying at 1:30 p.m. ET, followed by the green flag at 8:30 p.m. ET. Stay connected with the No. 61 BAMA Buggies team by following @Hattori_Racing on Twitter, @hattoriracing on Instagram, and Hattori Racing Enterprises on Facebook.
Chase Purdy Quote:
On rebounding at CMS:
“We’re running the same truck this weekend as we had at Kansas the other week and we have a lot of confidence in it. I think we can put together the same effort this weekend with our BAMA Buggies Toyota Tundra TRD Pro that we had in Kansas. I feel like we’ve made some gains, and this is another good chance for us to take another step and hopefully put the entire race together. We’d love to get a top-10 this weekend and kickstart a strong run through the summer months.”
HRE PR
