With a solid start to his rookie season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS), Niece Motorsports rookie of the year contender Justin Fontaine (@driverFontaine) heads to Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway eyeing another successful weekend in Friday night’s Stratosphere 200.
After earning his first career top-10 finish at Daytona, his No. 45 ProMATIC Automation team earned a respectable 19th-place finish this past weekend at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway.
Set to embrace the second straight track he’s yet to compete at, the Asheville, N.C. native looks to better his Atlanta performance and keep his team on a solid path three races into the year.
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to Las Vegas,” offered Fontaine who sits 13th in the Truck Series standings. “Atlanta was a fast and tough mile-and-a-half, but Las Vegas should be a little similar to the other mile-and-a-half tracks I’ve run in ARCA and at Chicagoland last year in a Truck.
“I’ve been told that you really need to get your truck to rotate through the corners to carry the speed on the straightaways. Our Niece Motorsports team has a great technical alliance with GMS Racing and I know that relationship should be a benefit for us this weekend.”
With a two-week break on deck following Las Vegas, Fontaine says it’s important for his Darrell Morrow-led team to have a solid run in Sin City to propel them towards his return to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway next month.
“We’re pretty happy with the way our season has kicked off,” added Fontaine. “Darrell and the guys have really busted their tails to make sure they bring the best possible truck for me. We learned a lot at Atlanta together – and I learned even more as a driver.
“Not every weekend is going to be great, but it’s about making gains and leaving the race track knowing we accomplished something. Las Vegas is going to be a quick race, but I think we should be able to put ourselves in a position to contend for our second top-10 finish of the year.”
After serving as an associate partner last weekend at Atlanta, ProMATIC Automation, which specializes in the design and build of custom factory automation equipment, returns as the primary partner for the second race this year.
“Everyone at ProMATIC was really pumped up after our run at Daytona,” sounded Fontaine. “It was really important for me to show my gratitude with on-track performance. The plan is go to Las Vegas and see if we can duplicate or better what we did at Daytona.”
The Stratosphere 200 (134 laps / 201 miles) is the third of 23 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races on the 2018 schedule. Practice begins on Thurs., Mar. 1 from 2:05 p.m. – 2:55 p.m. A final practice session is set for 4:05 p.m. – 4:55 p.m. Qualifying is set for race day, Fri., Mar. 2, beginning at 3:05 p.m. The 32-truck field will take the green flag shortly after 6:00 p.m. with live coverage on FOX Sports 1, the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90). All times are local (Pacific).
For more on Justin Fontaine, please visit JustinFontaine.com, like his Facebook page (Justin Fontaine) or follow him on Twitter @driverFontaine.
Niece Motorsports PR
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