Driver to join TriStar Motorsports for full XFINITY Series slate
TriStar Motorsports announced Thursday morning that Cale Conley will make the jump to a full-time ride in the NASCAR XFINITY Series next season.
Conley, 22, competed in 11 races last season in the Nationwide Series -- which is transferring title sponsorship to Comcast's XFINITY brand in 2015. His best finish in Richard Childress Racing's No. 33 Chevrolet was sixth at Kentucky Speedway in September.
"I am looking forward to working with people that are excited to work with me and help me mature as a driver and competitor in this series," Conley said. "I am grateful to Mark Smith and TriStar Motorsports for being willing to take a chance with me and let me race weekend after weekend after weekend, so I can get one step closer to my ultimate dream of being a NASCAR Sprint Cup champion."
TriStar, owned by Mark Smith, fielded 13 drivers in its four-car operation last season, with Mike Bliss, Eric McClure, Blake Koch and Jeff Green making the majority of the starts in the team's Toyotas. Mooresville, North Carolina-based team's best finish was a ninth-place from David Starr at Talladega Superspeedway in the spring.
A spokesperson for TriStar said that more announcements regarding the team's driver lineup for 2015 were coming in the next two weeks.
Conley brought his rich sprint-car background to NASCAR competition in 2011, gaining experience in the K&N Pro Series before venturing into Nationwide races. The West Virginia native notched his first victory on the K&N circuit at Columbus Motor Speedway in 2012.
In addition to his growth on the track last season, Conley made waves off the track when he settled a bet with Emma Blaney by wearing a dress. The campaign to add to Conley's Twitter following and the ensuing pictures prompted the social media hashtag #DriverInADress.
Conley is scheduled to appear as a guest on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90) on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. ET.