Austin Wayne Self ready for Talladega madness

On the heels of his first top-10 finish of the season last month at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) veteran Austin Wayne Self (@AustinWSelf) heads to Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway for Saturday’s Fr8Auctions 250, hunting for his first career victory.

It’s no secret that the progression and speed of Self aboard his No. 22 GO TEXAN | AM Technical Solutions Chevrolet Silverado for Niece Motorsports has been commendable. In 18 races, Self has gone from 22nd to 14th in points, with a season-high ninth-place finish at Las Vegas and carrying nine top-15s and 15 top-20 finishes overall.

While out of the Playoff picture in the series’ final restrictor plate race of the season, Self is still hoping to make noise with his team in his third start at the 2.66-mile superspeedway.

“I’m really looking forward to going to Talladega this weekend,” said Self, a native of Austin, Texas. “I really enjoy the fundamentals of restrictor plate racing and I’ve had relatively good success there and hope to build on that on Saturday.

“The mojo around the shop has been good the last couple of weeks. We needed that top-10 at Las Vegas. We’ve been working hard over the last couple of months and it was awesome to have a solid night at the track and have a result that gives us something to build on for these final five races.”

Self is no stranger to superspeedway success.

In 2017 at Daytona International Speedway, Self bounced back from an early-race incident and drafted his way back inside the top-10 in the closing laps. When chaos erupted on the backstretch, Self emerged unscathed and finished second, his career-best finish in 58 starts.

The 22-year-old Self knows that when push comes to shove, he could find himself in a similar situation Saturday.

“Plate racing is so unpredictable,” he said. “If you can keep the fenders on the truck, you have a shot. We proved that at Daytona and we’re ready to prove that again. It’s going to be a crazy race. Everyone wants to win Talladega. It’s a cutoff race for the Playoffs and it will be one of the strongest fields of the year.

“We just have to mind our manners – let the race play out and be ready to capitalize when the opportunity allows. It would be very cool to put the Niece Motorsports team in Victory Lane.”

For Talladega and Martinsville, Self and his Niece Motorsports team will support Dwarfism Awareness month. Since 2009, Little People of America (LPA) has been recognizing October as Dwarfism Awareness Month with the intention of raising positive awareness around dwarfism, addressing common misconceptions and increasing opportunities for people with dwarfism around the country.

Abel Greene, a relative of Self is just 2 years old and was diagnosed with Achondroplasia, a type of Dwarfism. Greene’s parents Amanda and Adam are both of average height with no history of any type of Dwarfism on either side of the family.

Recently, Abel visited the Niece Motorsports shop, where he was given an exclusive tour as well as some one-on-one time with Self and teammate Justin Fontaine. The team is hopeful the family will be their guests at Martinsville Speedway at the end of the month.

“Everyone at Niece is proud to support Dwarfism Awareness Month,” sounded Self. “October is traditionally known for Breast Cancer Awareness month and we’re huge advocates of that, but it’s important for us to remember the others too. At Talladega and Martinsville, we look forward to educating others on Dwarfism Awareness Month and everything the community has to offer.”

After 18 races, Self sits 14th in the series’ standings. He carries an average finish of 16.6 entering Talladega.    

Like last year, the Texas Department of Agriculture’s GO TEXAN program and AM Technical Solutions will also support Self in his 59th career start.

GO TEXAN represents Texas agri-business on state, national and international levels by building recognition with the GO TEXAN mark.

Along with its signature mark in the shape of Texas, GO TEXAN celebrates, promotes and supports the business savvy and plainspoken grit Texas agriculture is known throughout the world.

Don’t mess with Texas, CForce Bottling Company, Flying Circle and Kreuz Market will serve as associate partners in the 19th race of the year.

In 58 NCWTS races, the 2015 ARCA Racing Series Rookie of the Year has one top-five (second at Daytona 2017) and four top-10 finishes. The Texan maintains an average finish of 18.2 during his three years of competition.

For more on Austin Wayne Self, like his Facebook page (Austin Wayne Self) or follow him on Twitter @AustinWSelf.

For additional information on CForce premium artesian water, please visit cforce.com.

For more on Flying Circle, please visit flyingcirclegear.com, like them on Facebook (FlyingCircleGear) and follow them on Instagram (@flyingcirclegear) and Twitter (@flyingcircle_). Also connect with Flying Circle on Pinterest and YouTube.

For more on Niece Motorsports, please visit niecemotorsports.com.

The Fr8Auctions 250 (94 laps | 250.04 miles) is the 19th of 23 races on the 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck schedule. Practice begins on Fri., Oct. 12 from 9:05 a.m. – 9:55 a.m., while final practice is set for 10:35 a.m. – 11:25 a.m. Qualifying is set for later in the day beginning at 4:35 p.m. The 32-truck field will take the green flag the next day, Sat. Oct. 13 shortly after 12:00 p.m. with live coverage on FOX, the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90). All times are local (Central).

AWS PR