CHARLOTTE, N.C. – NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team owner Brad Keselowski announced Tuesday that Austin Cindric will drive the team's No. 29 Cooper Standard-sponsored Ford in this weekend’s Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway.
"Obviously we want to see Austin Theriault back in the truck as soon as possible," Keselowski said. … "We've had an opportunity to shuffle the deck, not the way we wanted it to come. … That truck is the truck that won in the spring so it's a tremendous opportunity for Austin.”
Cindric, 17, will be making his NASCAR debut. The Columbus, Ohio native has two career ARCA starts.
"I've never been to Martinsville so it'll be a whole new experience," Cindric said in a release provided by the team. "I'll just take it lap by lap and absorb as much information as possible. I just need to make sure I gain the respect of the competitors because I'm new to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. I have no expectations. I'll just take what the weekend brings me and go from there."
The move became necessary after Austin Theriault, who had made eight starts in the entry, was injured in a crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway earlier this month.
Brian Keselowski, brother of the team owner, handled the driving duties last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, leading 10 laps before finishing 17th.
Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Alex Tagliani have also made starts in the No. 29 this season. The organization also fields the No. 19 Ford for driver Tyler Reddick, who enters this weekend's race second in points.