JR Motorsports will make its Truck debut this weekend at Martinsville
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Kelley Earnhardt Miller appeared on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Wednesday. Among other topics, she discussed JR Motorsports’ first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race this weekend at Martinsville Speedway.
Earnhardt Miller, co-owner of JR Motorsports, said earlier this year that there were no plans at that time to field the organization’s Camping World Truck Series team for any races beyond the 10 currently in place with driver Cole Custer.
On Wednesday she said that was still the case, but also said Sprint Cup Series Dale Earnhardt Jr. had broached the subject of driving the truck.
“He’s definitely mentioned that that’s something he might be interested in,” Earnhardt Miller said. “I think he would want to see how the program is going to do, and make sure we have the resources and the capability to do that. Let Cole the team get off the ground first and see how that goes.”
The organization will make its CWTS debut this weekend at Martinsville Speedway, fielding the No. 00 Chevrolet for Custer in Saturday’s Kroger 250 (FOX Sports 1, 2:30 p.m. ET). The entry will carry sponsorship from Haas Automation and will be under the direction of crew chief Joe Shear Jr.
Earnhardt Miller, Earnhardt Jr. and Sprint Cup Series team owner Rick Hendrick share ownership of JRM. One of the organization’s three full-time XFINITY Series teams features multiple Sprint Cup drivers, Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick and Kasey Kahne, behind the wheel for select events.
Two other full-time teams feature drivers Chase Elliott and Regan Smith, who finished 1-2 in points, respectively, last season.
“He (Earnhardt Jr.) and some others have expressed interest in running the truck,” Earnhardt Miller said. “We’ve actually gotten calls from other people saying ‘do you want to fill out the balance of your schedule and run it full time?’
“We really don’t want to do that. We want to focus on Cole. If the opportunity exists to put a couple of the Cup drivers in there to make our program stronger, (that’s) really why would we want to do that…
“I won’t say it’s not going to happen but there aren’t any concrete plans for it to happen right now.”
Even though the XFINITY Series is taking a one-week break after five consecutive races to open the 2015 season, it is shaping up to be a big weekend for JRM.
Custer, 17, made his NCWTS debut last season with Haas Racing Development and became the youngest winner in a NASCAR national series event when he won the UNOH 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. In only nine starts, he scored six top-10s and two poles.
Elliott, the defending XFINITY Series champion, will attempt to make his Sprint Cup Series debut in Sunday’s STP 500 at Martinsville. The 19-year-old is scheduled to step into the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet in 2016, replacing four-time series champion Jeff Gordon.
HMS will field a No. 25 entry for Elliott this weekend, with veteran crew chief Kenny Francis heading up the team.
With Elliott already tabbed for the move to Sprint Cup next season, Custer could be auditioning for a full-time XFINITY Series ride with the organization.
“Hopefully, that (truck effort) will roll into an XFINITY Series ride for Cole, depending on how he performs,” Earnhardt Miller said.
It will be the first start of the season for Custer, who is limited to competing on road courses and tracks 1.1 miles or less in length due to his age.
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