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Brett Moffitt had opportunities with other teams — and even in other series.

But his decision to join GMS Racing’s Gander Outdoors Truck Series operation to pilot the No. 24 Chevrolet in 2019 was made for one reason — to win races and championships.

“As far as the market goes, I had options open,” the reigning Truck Series champion said during a teleconference Thursday. “None of them that would … necessarily continue to be in race-winning equipment, which is what I wanted ultimately. I had a few opportunities in some less-than-impressive Cup stuff and I had talks with some Xfinity teams as well, but the biggest thing to me is to go out and try to compete for a championship and win races.

MORE: Hattori Racing signs Austin Hill for 2019 | Drivers on the move

“So, I was kind of holding out, hoping that a deal like this would come together … I’ve had a relationship with (GMS Racing) ever since running the Xfinity race at Iowa a few years ago. Just kind of always been talks on and off. When this opportunity opened up for them, I believe I was the first person they called about it. So, I’m just glad we were able to make it happen.”

The No. 24 Chevrolet was the opportunity that Moffitt — who will bring a handful of partners to the group this season — held out for, despite other earlier offers.

“I think the depth of the organization is just huge,” he said. “They have quality equipment in all of their race teams. … Every truck they brought to the track was top of the line. They put all their best feet forward and as a driver, you notice that. That’s not taking anything away from my guys last year or anything, but from the outside looking in, they’ve got everything organized and put together well. It’s definitely not (for) a lack of effort if there is ever a struggle and they find a way to overcome it every time.

“As far as driving for them this year, that gets me super excited as a driver to be with a team that’s going to put everything they possible can into it and go to the race track week in and week out with the absolute best of the best that they can bring.”

GMS Racing announced Wednesday that veteran Johnny Sauter would not return to the team after three full-time seasons with the organization. Sauter earned 13 of his 23 career wins with the GMS Racing fleet, including the 2016 Gander Outdoors Truck Series championship. He finished fourth in the final 2018 standings to champion Moffitt, whom Sauter hinted could move to the GMS Racing operation during a Wednesday interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Moffitt’s Cinderella-esque march to the 2018 title included six trips to Victory Lane, the last coming at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He became a free agent when Hattori Racing Enterprises announced he would not return to the No. 16 ride.

While his rookie, championship-winning season was special, Moffitt looks to build beyond that this year with an organization he calls a “staple” in the Truck and Xfinity series.

“I’m looking forward to being in an opportunity where I’m not just lucky to be in that position,” he said. “I feel like GMS and the Gallagher family are really going to indulge in this and build a team around me and support me … I’m sure there will be challenges throughout the season but I feel like for the most part, we’re just going to put our heads down and work at winning races and winning another championship.

“And I feel like that as a driver is confidence-inspiring and I don’t really need Cinderella moments; I just want to go out there and win and win a championship.”

GMS Racing’s other driver assignments for the 2019 season:

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CONCORD, N.C. — Venturini Motorsports (VMS) announced Thursday the signing of Harrison Burton to a partial schedule in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards.

Burton, 18, a two-time ARCA Series winner, will pilot the No. 20 Toyota Camry for five events starting with the series’ season opener at Daytona International Speedway before moving onto Charlotte Motor Speedway (5/23), Pocono Raceway (5/31), Chicagoland Speedway (6/27) and the series finale at Kansas Speedway (10/18).

RELATED: On the move: 2019’s changes

Throughout the season, Burton will feature continued support from long time partners DEX Imaging, FIELDS, Morton Buildings and Rheem Heating, Cooling and Water Heating.

Burton, the son of former Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Jeff Burton, has made 11 career ARCA starts since 2017. With ARCA victories at Toledo Speedway and Pocono Raceway, the talented teenager has recorded seven top-five and 10 top-10 finishes throughout his brief series career.

Burton, a NASCAR Next alumnus, won the 2017 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Championship as well as numerous Super Late Model victories including marquee events such as the Rattler 250 at South Alabama Speedway and the ARCA/CRA Speedfest at Crisp Motorsports Park.

MORE: NASCAR Next alumni

“I’m super excited to join Venturini Motorsports and continue running in the series,” says Burton. “I love ARCA Racing and the community around it. The series is a great option in the grand scheme of things when it comes to my career development — it’s a great stepping stone as I continue to the next level.”

A member of the Toyota Racing Development (TRD) family, Burton’s ARCA effort will coincide with his full-season NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (NGOTS) effort driving the No. 18 Toyota Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM).

“I’m truly looking forward to working with Harrison this upcoming season,” said team owner Billy Venturini. “Harrison has a deep racing pedigree and is a terrific kid — it’s an honor to have the opportunity to work with such a storied name in our sport as a Burton. It’s also great to have another young Toyota Racing Development driver come through our program.”

Burton will join his new team at Daytona International Speedway this week to kick off their season with the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards open test that is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 11 and Saturday, Jan. 12.

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Three teams put in their first on-track activity of the new year Wednesday, with two new faces in prominent new places and the defending champ getting some early reps.

Those first glimpses came Wednesday at Auto Club Speedway, site of a two-day Goodyear tire test. Martin Truex Jr. marked his first on-track action in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota, and his predecessor — Daniel Suarez — took his first turn at the wheel of the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 Ford. The two were joined at the 2-mile track by 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano in the Team Penske No. 22 Ford.

RELATED: On the move: 2019’s changes

Wednesday’s early session represented the first of two days testing rubber ahead of the Auto Club 400 on March 17 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM). The fifth event of the 2019 season is part of a NASCAR doubleheader weekend with the Xfinity Series.

Truex moves in house with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2019 after five years with Furniture Row Racing, which ceased operations at the end of last season. His No. 19 test car carried sponsorship on its hood from Bass Pro Shops, which announced last week that it would continue its backing of Truex in a multi-year deal.

RELATED: Bass Pro Shops returns to Truex

Suarez’s quick transition to the No. 41 driver’s seat comes after being announced as SHR’s newest addition on Monday, his 27th birthday. And Logano, who will begin his title defense at the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 17, was back in the saddle less than two months after claiming his first premier-series crown. Both took the 2019 Mustang — Ford’s new model for Monster Energy Series competition — for a test drive.

All three drivers got a taste of the 2019 rules package for the Monster Energy Series. Air ducts, a larger rear spoiler and other aerodynamic changes were in effect, as was a tapered spacer intended to reduce horsepower to a target number of 550.

PHOTOS: See the 2019 Ford Mustang

The next test session for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is an organizational test, scheduled Jan. 31-Feb. 1 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

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Four-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion and NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2019 inductee Jeff Gordon is in the broadcast booth to stay for a while.

In a report by Motorsport.com, Gordon confirmed he has signed a multi-year contract extension with FOX Sports to continue as a race analyst for FOX NASCAR’s television coverage. His first contract with the network spanned through the conclusion of the 2018 season.

“It was a no-brainer for me, even more so this time around,” Gordon told Motorsport.com. “The first time, I didn’t exactly know what I was getting myself into. I didn’t know whether I was going to be any good at it, if I was going to enjoy it.”

RELATED: Gordon on Hall of Fame selection: ‘Timing couldn’t be better’

“I’ve enjoyed it a lot,” Gordon added. “I think it’s a great transition out of driving the car and what comes along with the competition and the teamwork that goes into being a driver.”

Along with his race weekend duties, the 47-year-old has also been a frequent visitor on the weekday show ‘NASCAR Race Hub’ throughout his time with the network. Gordon also continues to co-own the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driven by seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson.

Gordon will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame during the Induction Ceremony on Feb. 1 at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, joining fellow legends Davey Allison, Alan Kulwicki, Roger Penske and Jack Roush in the five-member class.

Posted on by Zack Albert

GMS Racing announced Wednesday that veteran Johnny Sauter will not return to the team for the 2019 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series. The organization indicated that the separation was effective immediately.

Sauter, 40, spent the last three seasons with the GMS No. 21 Chevrolet operation. In the first year of his partnership with the Maury Gallagher-owned team, Sauter marched to the 2016 series championship.

GMS indicated that plans for a new driver of the No. 21 Chevrolet would come at a future date. But Sauter, in a timely appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Wednesday, indicated that 2018 series champion Brett Moffitt was in line to replace him with GMS.

MORE: Moffitt joins GMS Racing for 2019

“I’m a big boy, 40 years old, and have been racing a long time,” Sauter told SiriusXM. “That’s the way it goes sometimes. That’s all I know about it. That’s all I can tell you.”

Sauter has competed full-time in the Truck Series since 2009, finishing among the top five in the standings in eight of those 10 seasons. Of his 23 career wins on the circuit, 13 have come in the last three years with GMS.

RELATED: Sauter’s career stats | On the Move: 2019 changes 

“We cannot thank Johnny enough for his contributions to the growth and success of GMS Racing,” GMS president Mike Beam said in a statement released by the team. “He won the first championship for us and added a lot of trophies to our shop. We wish him all the best for his future endeavors, both in and out of racing.”

Sauter scored six victories last year, matching Moffitt’s series lead, but wound up fourth in the standings after a 12th-place finish in the season finale behind race winner Moffitt.

Sauter said he heard rumblings about his ouster last month at the season-ending awards banquet. He also said his plans for competing in 2019 remain uncertain.

“It’s kind of late in the game, obviously,” Sauter told SiriusXM. “Daytona’s only a month away, so you don’t want it to go down like that but there ain’t a whole hell of a lot I can do about it. It’s just life. What’s next for me? Don’t have a clue. You see a lot of drivers get sidelined — good drivers — and that’s the nature of the beast.”

RELATED: 2019 Truck Series schedule 

Posted on by Pat DeCola

It’s no secret the biggest move over the NASCAR offseason was Joe Gibbs Racing’s dual acquisition of Martin Truex Jr. and crew chief Cole Pearn from Furniture Row Racing. The pair racked up 16 wins over the past three seasons and added a championship in 2017 — making them the hottest free-agent commodities in NASCAR toward the end of last season.

Kyle Busch, on the other hand, enters his fifth season with crew chief Adam Sevens and things seem to be trending up with the No. 18 team as well. The pair have notched 22 wins together, with a whopping eight coming last season. They, too, have won a championship together in 2015, which was arguably the most trying year of Busch’s career. The veteran’s road from major injury to major celebration cemented his pairing with Stevens as one of the best in the garage.

The big winner in all of this is Joe Gibbs, himself. The acquisition of Truex Jr. and Pearn can only help all four teams at JGR, but the question remains — with two of the best driver/crew chief pairings under one roof, who’s got the better shot at the title? NASCAR.com’s Jonathan Merryman and Pat DeCola debate.

RELATED: On the move — driver changes analyzed

Merryman: Who’s the 2019 favorite at JGR? In my eyes, it’s more of the same. Kyle Busch is the greatest driver currently competing in NASCAR at any level, and the addition of Pearn and Truex Jr. to the Gibbs organization will only elevate that.

Busch is just 33 years old and already has 51 wins at the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series level. Twenty-two of those have come with Adam Stevens since they linked up in 2015 — that’s a lot of winning in just four years. If you do the math, 43 percent of Kyle’s career wins have come in that short span and that doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon.

Sure, Pearn is thought of as one of the top three crew chiefs in NASCAR and yes, the No. 19 team will be a force in 2019. The old adage is that “a rising tide lifts all ships.” Busch is at the top already and Pearn’s notebook makes Gibbs as a whole better, making Busch and Stevens that much better as well.

DeCola: This debate really is a bit of a coin flip. We know both of these guys are likely to make a deep playoff run, with the end goal of racing against each other in Miami in the Championship 4. We also know Truex and Pearn being in-house at JGR will be a boon for the whole organization in many ways, it just comes down to who benefits the most from it.

And I think we’ll see the revamped No. 19 Toyota with Truex and Pearn at the helm see the most advantage from it.

The increased success that Furniture Row Racing had with Truex and Pearn over the past few years was in large part due to their alliance with JGR. Truex went from having three career wins through 2015 (he started his full-time career in 2006) to adding 16 over the past three seasons with that partnership. And that partnership was one that, mind you, was between two race shops 1,500 miles and a few time zones apart.

It’s hard see how Truex and Pearn actually being in-house at JGR full time won’t allow them to set the bar even higher for themselves in 2019. Then you can take into consideration the fact that the team won’t have the distraction of an uncertain future hanging over it again like the second half of last year at FRR and the pairing’s shot at the title looks even more rock-solid.

I seriously think the 2017 champion  Truex is a threat to contend for double-digit wins, and is, in my opinion, not just the most-likely title contender at JGR, but the title favorite overall.

Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Gus Dean will move up to the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series in a full-time opportunity for the 2019 season, Young’s Motorsports announced Wednesday at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Dean will drive the No. 12 Chevrolet Silverado with crew chief Jeff Stankiewicz and primary sponsorship from LG HVAC and Baker Distributing — their first voyage into the sport.

“I’m in one of the big three (series) with a full-time schedule, unveiling my truck at the NASCAR Hall of Fame,” Dean said following the announcement. “The sun was definitely shining a little brighter when I woke up this morning. … If you can imagine a kid for the first time walking into Disney World, that’s about where I’m at right now.”

RELATED: Latest Silly Season updates | Boyd to run No. 20 truck in ’19

The 23-year-old joins Spencer Boyd after Young’s Motorsports unveiled Monday that Boyd would pilot the No. 20 entry for the upcoming season.

Dean is optimistic about joining an organization that continues to grow in the Truck Series and feels he can be a strong contender for Sunoco Rookie of the Year.

“To build and grow as a driver with a team as they’re building and growing, you can lean on each other, learn from each other and really progress forward,” Dean said. “That’s a quick and easy way to really turn heads.”

The No. 12 truck Gus Dean will drive in 2019.
Chase Wilhelm | NASCAR Digital Media

Dean has competed in the ARCA Racing Series for three years, participating in the full-time schedule for the past two seasons. In 2016, Dean ran seven races and scored his first career victory at Talladega. Dean finished fourth in the final points standings in 2017 and notched another victory and a sixth-place points position last season.

The Gander Outdoors Truck Series NextEra Energy 250 season opener at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 15 will be Dean’s first NASCAR national series start.

“I’ve always loved the big tracks and restrictor-plate racing,” Dean said. “I know these trucks are going to handle a lot different in the air, so I’m excited to learn about that, but I think that we’re going to do great.”

RELATED: 2019 Truck Series schedule

In 2018, Austin Hill ran the full-time schedule with the organization in the No. 02. The seat opened up for Dean in a renumbered truck as Hill will move over to Hattori Racing and the No. 16 truck for 2019.

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Hailie Deegan and Julie Giese were named to Forbes’ “Women In Sports To Watch In 2019,” giving NASCAR two representatives on the list.

Deegan made history in 2018 with her win in the Sept. 29 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at Meridian Speedway. She became the first female to ever win in the K&N Pro Series. The 17-year-old NASCAR Next driver is returning to the K&N Pro Series West ranks with her eyes on capturing the series championship.

RELATED: Deegan makes history with win | Deegan: ‘I want to be the best driver’

Giese was named President of ISM Raceway in October of 2018 and presided over the first weekend of the track’s completed renovations. The bulk of the track enhancements were focused on upgrading the fan experience and included new seating as well as updated areas around the garages and pit row to allow for closer access for fans.

BUY TICKETS: See the races at ISM Raceway and other 2019 action

Posted on by Pat DeCola

Music megastar Justin Timberlake sent the city of Charlotte into a tizzy the past couple of days, taking a few swings at the Topgolf driving range, getting in some hoop work at the Charlotte Hornets’ practice facility and, perhaps most importantly, grabbing some BBQ at a popular Queen City establishment.

And this was all before electrifying an audience at the Spectrum Center on Tuesday night — a crowd that included a slew of NASCAR’s biggest stars.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsZucerjNse/

During the show, though, only one of these guys got a shoutout on stage from JT, himself — and it was JG.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsZtRjTj4MO/

Timberlake is already holding a mic — as the retired Gordon does in his current profession as a broadcaster — so the cool throwback dance move pretending to hold a steering wheel was definitely the right choice.

Posted on by NASCAR.com

Amid a rush of personnel changes for the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, two drivers among last year’s final eight in the postseason hunt take over new rides: Kurt Busch moves to the No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, and Martin Truex Jr. assumes driving duties for the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

But which star driver in a new spot will have the most immediate success? Our Kathy Sheldon and Zack Albert tackle the topic.

RELATED: Drivers, other moves for 2019 | Kurt Busch to CGR

SHELDON: Kurt Busch. He qualified for the NASCAR Playoffs all five seasons he was with Stewart-Haas Racing, with 2018 the most successful in terms of poles (5), average starting position (8.8) and top-10 finishes (22). Busch won a single race in 2018, but his teammates picked up another 11 trophies, and he very well may thrive as the veteran member of a two-man team with Kyle Larson rather than amid a four-car squad.

The 2004 champion should continue to contend for wins, and achieve more than one in 2019 as Chip Ganassi Racing enters its second year with the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Chip Ganassi said when Busch’s move to the No. 1 car was announced that he was excited to have a veteran driver who did a good job providing feedback on car set-ups in his previous stops. Busch’s experience, combined with Larson’s drive to run fast and up front — and bounce back from a disappointing 2018 — should fuel both drivers.

ALBERT: Martin Truex Jr. The 2017 Monster Energy Series champ is on the move for the season ahead, but the transition is likely to have fewer seams than other driver-team shifts. Truex’s efforts for Furniture Row Racing the last three seasons had been under the auspices of a technical alliance with his now-new team, Joe Gibbs Racing. Bringing that satellite operation in house should smooth the waters, and keeping masterful crew chief Cole Pearn connected with Truex should lift all boats.

Here’s an honorable mention for Matt DiBenedetto’s new partnership with Leavine Family Racing, which now assumes the mantle of the JGR alliance — a development likely to produce sweeping gains in performance. But for now, going with the chalk means MTJ, who is most likely to retain the championship-caliber form he’s had for the last four seasons.