Austin Wayne Self sets sights on strong superspeedway return with Niece Motorsports

Ever since Austin Wayne Self (@AustinWSelf) earned a career-best second place finish in February’s NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, he has been patiently waiting for the return of Saturday afternoon’s fred’s 250 powered by Coca-Cola for an opportunity to magic restrictor plate magic flow again.
 
At Daytona, Self found himself a victim in an array of multi-truck accidents which made his AM Racing prepared Toyota Tundra look more like something out of Bristol Motor Speedway’s rough and tumble half-mile oval than a smooth and breathtaking superspeedway oval.
 
Even with an array of damage, Self nestled his way through a crazy final lap to come within inches of earning his first career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory. Even though the Austin, Texas native had to settle for second when it was all said and done, Self has been waiting for the chance to do it again.
 
“I’ve become a fan of restrictor plate racing,” said Self. “It’s a great opportunity for us – working on an admirable budget to have the capabilities of running with some of the top fleet organizations of the sport.”
 
“We did what we had to do at Daytona. We avoided the chaos for the most part and put ourselves in position when it counted. We need to do the same at Talladega this week.”
 
For the 19th race of the Truck Series season, Self will reunite with NIECE Motorsports and drive the No. 45 Snap Track Toyota in his second career NCWTS start at the 2.66-mile superspeedway.
 
Self has drove for the newly founded Truck Series team in two occasions this season earlier in the year at Kansas Speedway and Iowa Speedway respectively. In their debut, the team negotiated a hard fought and respected 15th place finish.
 
With an identical truck to his Daytona vehicle, Self is determined to bring NIECE Motorsports to the front and deliver their first top-10 finish.
 
“I’m appreciative for the chance to work with Cody (Efaw) and the whole crew from NIECE Motorsports again,” offered Self. “I felt in the two races we ran together, we showed a lot of promise and ability.”
 
“Talladega is going to be completely different to a place like Kansas or Iowa, but I think we easily know what we want to do. For us, it’s just a matter of getting through the madness you come to expect with plate racing and hope for the best.”
 
Of course, Self enters Talladega already on the heels of being a part of a winning team.
 
Last Friday afternoon at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, Self’s girlfriend Jennifer Anderson won the Better Half Dash charity race on the quarter-mile of the track’s 1.5-mile surface.
 
Self as her spotter guided Anderson through a series of late-race restarts which ultimately allowed her to swipe the lead from Paige Keselowski, wife of NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski for the trophy and champagne celebration.
 
She also collected a $10,000 check which she donated to the Hermie and Elliott Sadler Charitable Foundation.
 
“Jennifer did an amazing job in the Better Half Dash,” offered Self. “She was incredibly smooth and fast with her finesse and I think she really surprised a lot of people. Her brother (Jordan) and I race every week in the Truck Series, but it was an incredible feeling to be on the same side of the fence cheering on someone we care a lot about. She carried the AM Racing banner and did it well!”
 
“Now, it’s my turn to win,” Self said with a chuckle.”
 
In addition to Snap Track, B&D Industries Inc., Superior Essex, Accu-Tech, AM Technical Solutions and Don’t Mess with Texas will serve as an associate marketing partner for Self’s 36th career NCWTS race.
 
In 13 races this season driving for AM Racing, Martins Motorsports and Niece Motorsports, Self earned a career-best second place performance in the season-opening NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and earned an additional top-10 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, both finishes driving for AM Racing. Overall, Self has earned one top-five, two top-10, seven top-15 and 10 top-20 finishes respectively.
 
The fred’s 250 powered by Coca-Cola (94 laps / 250.04 miles) is the 19th of 23 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races on the 2017 schedule. Practice begins on Fri., Oct. 13 from 12:00 a.m. – 12:55 a.m., with a final practice session is set for 2:00 p.m. – 2:55 p.m. Qualifying is set for race day, Oct. 14 beginning at 10:30 a.m. The 32-truck field will take the green flag shortly after 1:00 p.m. with live coverage on FOX, the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90). All times are Eastern (ET).
 
For more information on Don’t mess with Texas and how you can become involved in the program, visit dontmesswithtexas.org. 
 
For more on Niece Motorsports, please visit niecemotorsports.com.
 
To learn more information on AM Racing please visit amracingteam.com.
 
For more on Austin Wayne Self and AM Racing, please visit awsracing.com, like his Facebook page (Austin Wayne Self) or follow him on Twitter @AustinWSelf.

AM Racing PR