Max Gresham will continue his rise up the NASCAR ladder when he makes his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut this Saturday in the Smith’s 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“I’m really excited to make my first start in the Truck Series this weekend,” said Gresham. “It will be great to do with Turn One Racing. What more could I ask for? I’ll have a great veteran driver in Stacy Compton and veteran crew chief Trip Bruce working with me. The goal will be to make some solid laps and get some good seat time. It’s all about learning and those guys will really help my learning curve. It’s going to be a good weekend.”
Gresham comes to Las Vegas propelled by a stellar summer of racing that produced a NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship. Driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, Gresham scored two wins and led the NKNPSE in top-five finishes (nine), top-10’s (11) and poles (four). He was the only driver to complete every lap – all 1,705 circuits – in K&N Series East competition this season.
Gresham has also turned in a solid 2011 ARCA season behind the wheel of a Venturini Motorsports entry. Gresham’s superspeedway driver development program with the team was a big success producing a second-place finish at Michigan along with a pole position qualifying run and a sixth-place effort at Pocono Raceway.
This past weekend, Gresham closed out the Venturini association winning the pole and finishing fourth-place in the ARCA race at Kansas Speedway.
It was Gresham’s first career event at those raceways, so coming to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the first time shouldn’t be that intimidating to the 18-year-old Griffin, GA driver.
“What I really know about Las Vegas is stuff I have picked up by word of mouth from other drivers,” said Gresham, who will wheel the No. 66 Rheem World Crown 300 Silverado in Saturday’s race at LVMS. “A lot of guys tell me it’s rough like Chicago, a place I tested at in the past. It’s another mile and a half track, just like Kansas was for the ARCA race this past weekend. Las Vegas just has more banking and speed to it. It’s going to be important for me to adjust quickly so we can get the truck dialed in. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
In addition to the Las Vegas Truck Series event, Gresham will also compete in the Kroger 200 at Martinsville (VA) Speedway on Saturday, October 29 and in the Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami (FL) Speedway Friday, November 18.
“It’s going to be a big step in my career,” Gresham stated. “I’m there to learn how to drive a truck. It will be all about learning what adjustments they need to make them drive better. It’s all about making good laps.“
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