Chase Purdy returns to Richmond Raceway for his second start in the capital of the Commonwealth aiming to regain his career-best form. The driver of the No. 61 AISIN Toyota Tundra TRD Pro constructed the best three-race stretch of his career in June and July by earning three consecutive finishes of 13th or better at Nashville Superspeedway, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, and Pocono Raceway. The Mississippi driver looks to rebound at Richmond on Saturday night after a finish outside the top 20 at Indianapolis Raceway Park due in large part to a loose wheel. Purdy has displayed the wherewithal to rebound by earning a career high 10 top-15 results this season.
Rooted in Southern Short Tracks … Purdy’s racing roots are based on southeastern short tracks after making his way through asphalt late model, NASCAR K&N Pro Series (NKNPS), and ARCA Menards Series competition. Tight confines and abrasive surfaces are nothing new for Purdy, who claimed the 2018 Snowflake 100 at Pensacola’s Five Flags Speedway. Purdy has just one prior start at Richmond, which came last season, but has 10 races worth of short track experience in NKNPS competition and 11 short track starts in the ARCA Menards Series. His career high stats coupled with his short track experience has Purdy set up for another notable outing at Richmond.
Season to Date … After 16 starts in his sophomore season, Purdy has reached career highs in top-15 finishes with 10, and a career best average finish of 17.4, on pace to be five positions higher than his rookie campaign. He resides 15th in the drivers’ championship standings with six events remaining.
Chassis Selection … The No. 61 AISIN team led by crew chief Matt Lucas have prepared chassis No. 020 Saturday’s 250 lap event. This Toyota Tundra TRD Pro was most recently in action at Texas Motor Speedway in May. It’s first appearance this season came at the first short track event of the year at Martinsville Speedway.
Tune In … Every lap of Camping World Trucks on-track action at Richmond can be seen live on FOX Sports 1, beginning at 3:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon with practice and qualifying. Race coverage begins with NASCAR Raceday at 7:00 p.m. ET followed by the green flag at 8:00 p.m. ET. Stay connected with the No. 61 AISIN team by following @Hattori_Racing on Twitter, @hattoriracing on Instagram, and Hattori Racing Enterprises on Facebook.
Chase Purdy Quote:
On regaining momentum at Richmond Raceway:
“We’ve been able to put down some good finishes at a lot of different racetracks this year and our team is motivated to put IRP behind us. All the guys on this No. 61 team have put a lot of time and effort in our AISIN Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for this weekend and I’m ready to go. I love short track racing, and Richmond is a really cool place because there’s not many other tracks like it. There’s a lot of speed down the front stretch, but as you get laps on the tires, the grip kind of goes away and you need to manage your tires to make them last for the entire fuel run better than the guys around you.”
HRE PR
