Gresham to make Truck Series debut at LVMS

CONCORD, N.C. -- Max Gresham will continue his rise up the NASCAR ladder when he makes his Camping World Truck Series debut Saturday in the Smith's 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Gresham will drive the No. 66 for Turn One Racing.

"I'm really excited to make my first start in the Truck Series this weekend," Gresham said. "It will be great to do with Turn One Racing. What more could I ask for? I'll have a great veteran driver in Stacy Compton and veteran crew chief Trip Bruce working with me. The goal will be to make some solid laps and get some good seat time. It's all about learning and those guys will really help my learning curve. It's going to be a good weekend."

Gresham comes to Las Vegas propelled by a summer of racing that produced a NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship. Driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, Gresham scored two wins and led the series in top-five finishes (nine), top-10's (11) and poles (four). He was the only driver to complete every lap -- all 1,705 circuits -- in K&N Pro Series East competition this season.

Gresham has also turned in a solid 2011 ARCA season behind the wheel of a Venturini Motorsports entry. Gresham's superspeedway driver development program with the team was a big success producing a second-place finish at Michigan along with a pole and a sixth-place run at Pocono.

This past weekend, Gresham closed out the Venturini association winning the pole and finishing fourth in the ARCA race at Kansas.

It was Gresham's first career event at those raceways, so coming to Las Vegas for the first time shouldn't be that intimidating to the 18-year-old native of Griffin, Ga.

"What I really know about Las Vegas is stuff I have picked up by word of mouth from other drivers," Gresham said. "A lot of guys tell me it's rough like Chicago, a place I tested at in the past. It's another mile and a half track, just like Kansas was for the ARCA race this past weekend. Las Vegas just has more banking and speed to it. It's going to be important for me to adjust quickly so we can get the truck dialed in. I'm looking forward to the challenge."

In addition to the Las Vegas Truck Series event, Gresham will also compete in the Kroger 200 at Martinsville on Oct. 29 and in the Ford 200 at Homestead on Nov. 18.

"It's going to be a big step in my career," Gresham said. "I'm there to learn how to drive a truck. It will be all about learning what adjustments they need to make them drive better. It's all about making good laps."