- Chase Purdy and the No. 4 team head to Phoenix Raceway for the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The 23-year-old driver has shown improved results over the second half of his first season with KBM. Purdy boasted an average finish of 17.09 over the first 11 races of the season and an average result of 13.09 over the last 11 events. He captured his first career pole at Kansas Speedway in September and a second one at Talladega Superspeedway.
- The Mississippi native has gained two positions in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series point standings since the start of the playoffs and now ranks 11th, which is the highest that a non-playoff driver can finish. Purdy entered the 2022 season having never earned a top-five result in Truck Series action but has produced two across 22 races in his first season at KBM. He has also produced a career-high 10 top-10 finishes this season, after posting just two each in 2021 and 2022. His most recent top-10 result came in the series’ last stop at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
- He is in his third full-time season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and first with KBM. He finished 16th in the Truck Series final standings in 2022 after competing in 22 of the 23 events. He posted two top-10 finishes and nine laps led.
- Purdy has three career Truck Series starts at Phoenix Raceway with a best result of 13th in 2018. KBM as an organization has six wins at Phoenix, but the No. 4 truck has never one at the Arizona track.
- Friday night’s race will be the final race in a storied chapter for KBM. The organization holds the Craftsman Truck Series records for most career wins (100) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). Owner-driver Kyle Busch picked up his organization’s first-ever win at Nashville Superspeedway in April of 2010 and also picked up its 100th Truck Series victory at Pocono Raceway in July of 2023. In addition to collecting a series-record seven owner’s championships, the organization has produced two championship-winning drivers: Erik Jones (2015) and Christopher Bell (2017). The No. 4 has 18 career victories at KBM and was the number for both of the organization’s driver championships.
- Jimmy Villeneuve is atop the pit box for Purdy and the No. 4 Chevrolet team this season. Prior to being promoted to crew chief for the 2023 season, Villeneuve had served as a Truck Chief at KBM since the 2017 season and in that role was a part of 18 wins, a driver’s championship with Christopher Bell in 2017 and the 2019 owner’s championship with the No. 51 team. This will be Villeneuve’s second race calling the shots for a race at Phoenix. He earned a 19th-place finish with Dylan Lupton in the 2016 event.
- Bama Buggies, your one-stop shop for all the biggest names in powersports and utility vehicles, will be the primary sponsor on Purdy’s No. 4 Chevrolet Saturday and for the majority of the events on the 2023 schedule. They are Central Alabama’s powersports experts, serving as an authorized dealer of Polaris, Slingshot, and Seadoo.
Chase Purdy;
Give an evaluation of how your season has gone.
“I definitely think that the back half of our season was better than the start, just with how far we’ve come as a group and what we’ve learned. I think that we have learned what we expect out of one another and the things that we want. I’m just excited that I’ve been able to work with this group of guys. I’m happy with how we’ve done things the last half of the year. I think that if we could start the season over, we would be playoff contenders and we would be going into Phoenix as a part of the Championship 4.”
Phoenix is a unique racetrack, do you like racing there?
“I do like Phoenix. I’m excited to go there in a KBM truck. It seems like every track that we’ve gone to has been significantly better than what I’ve had in previous years there. Phoenix is a cool track and I like racing it. I’m excited to see what it’s like in a KBM truck.
What does it take to have a fast truck at Phoenix?
“You have to have your truck turning good. You don’t want to be tight. My crew chief, Jimmy Villeneuve, has said that we haven’t been tight all year long, so I don’t expect it to be tight at Phoenix. I’m looking forward to it and excited about it.”
How do you feel being one of the drivers to race in the final race for KBM?
“I’ve definitely thought about it. I’m the last full-time KBM driver that there’s going to be at KBM. I just want to go out there and deliver a good race for KBM in the final race. I want to make the bossman and everyone else who has put their hard work, sweat, and tears into this proud. It’s my job to go out there and run well and win. “
Kyle Busch Motorsports PR
