Brennan Poole will compete full-time in the NASCAR XFINITY Series for Chip Ganassi Racing this season, an opportunity that the Woodlands, Texas, native called “a dream come true.”
“It’s emotional; you really can’t put it into words,” the 24-year-old told NASCAR.com. “To run for a championship at the NASCAR level is something I’ve wanted to do for as long as I can remember.”
CGR will field two XFINITY Series entries this year, the No. 48 Chevrolet for Poole with funding from DC Solar, and the No. 42 that will feature Sprint Cup driver Kyle Larson for 17 races. A second driver has yet to be named for the No. 42 for the remaining 16 races.
Former Roush Fenway Racing crew chief Chad Norris, paired with drivers Darrell Wallace Jr. (20 races) and Ryan Reed (13) last season, will serve as crew chief.
“I’m confident that in our renewed partnership with Chip Ganassi, 2016 is going to be a winning season, and that DC Solar will continue to successfully engage and educate the NASCAR audience on solar energy and the DC Solar brand,” Jeff Carpoff, president and CEO of DC Solar, said. “We couldn’t be more excited to return to the track with Brennan and competing for a championship.”
Poole ran a limited schedule in ’15, splitting seat time with Larson in the No. 42 entry when the organization ran under the HScott Motorsports with Chip Ganassi Racing banner. In 17 starts, he finished in the top 15 on 10 occasions with a best result of ninth at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The Las Vegas start was his very first in the series.
Much of the previous two seasons was spent as a spotter and working with Dartfish, a video software analysis program, “and just trying to get in a car whenever I could,” Poole said.
In spite of the limited seat time, Poole said he felt the team had “some great runs” last year. “Obviously we still want to improve on them and be better,” he said.
“I feel like we’ve shown at times we’ve been capable of really having not just a good weekend but a great weekend. As long as we continue to build on that and keep moving in the right direction, I’m really excited about what we can do.”
Poole, who has one career start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, is a six-time winner in the ARCA Series.
The full-time opportunity with Ganassi, which fields Sprint Cup entries for Larson and Jamie McMurray, is the latest step in what he hopes will be a long career behind the wheel.
“I can’t put into words what it means to be part of such a great team,” Poole said. “There are only so many owners in the garage and I’m with one of the best. To have someone like that believe in you, it’s crazy.”