GMS Racing Camping World Trucks Daytona Road Course Preview

Sheldon Creed, No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado

Daytona Road Course Camping World Trucks Stats

– Starts: 1, Wins: 1, Best start: 14, Best finish: 1, Laps led: 19

2021 Camping World Trucks Stats

– Starts: 1, Best start: 2, Best finish; 6, Top 10s: 1, Laps led: 1

Notes:

– Sheldon Creed won the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course in August 2020.

– Creed and the No. 2 team will compete with chassis No. 122 this Friday in Daytona. this is the same chassis that Creed took to victory lane in last year’s event. This chassis has four total road course starts for GMS including a victory at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in 2018.

– Creed has two Camping World Trucks starts on road courses and has finished in the top five in both events. Creed also made two NASCAR Xfinity Series road course starts in 2017 as well as the ARCA West event at Sonoma in 2017 where he finished ninth.

– Jeff Stankiewicz returns to crew chief for the No. 2 team this season.The 2020 championship winning crew chief reunited with Creed mid-season in 2019 after winning the 2018 ARCA Menards Series championship together. Stankiewicz has seven Camping World Trucks wins as a crew chief including five in 2020 en route to the series championship.

Quote:

“I’m really excited to get back to the Daytona Road Course. I’ve been putting in a lot of time in on iRacng to prepare for this weekend. I want to go back to back so the goal is to end the night in victory lane.”

Zane Smith, No. 21 Chevy Accessories Chevrolet Silverado

Daytona Road Course Camping World Trucks Stats

– Starts: 1, Best start: 1, Best finish: 13

2021 Camping World Truck Stats

– Starts: 1, Best start: 8

Notes:

– Zane Smith’s only previous NASCAR start on a road course was in last year’s event at the Daytona Road course where he led the field to green and finished 13th.

– Smith and the No. 21 team will compete with chassis No. 125 this weekend at the Daytona Road Course. This chassis has one top-10 finish in three road course starts for GMS and is the same chassis that Smith competed with in last year’s Daytona Road Course event.

– Smith will carry Chevy Accessories colors for Friday night’s BrakeBest Pads 159 at Daytona Presented by O’Reilly.

– Kevin “Bono” Manion returns for a second season with Smith and the No. 21 team. The pair racked up two wins and 13 top-10 finds in 2020 en route to a second-place finish in the championship standings. Manion has six Camping World Trucks wins, 17 NASCAR Xfinity Series wins and five NASCAR Cup Series wins in 19 years as a crew chief in the sport.

Quote:

“Awesome to have Chevy Accessories on our Silverado this weekend and I know we’re going to be fast. I don’t have a lot of stock car experience on a road course, but my background is on road courses through all those years of karting and off road so I’m pretty confident. The heat was a big factor for us last year so racing at night this year is going to be a nice change.”

Chase Purdy, No. 23 Bama Buggies Chevrolet Silverado

Daytona Road Course Camping World Trucks Stats

– No prior Camping World Trucks starts at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course.

2021 Camping World Trucks Stats

– Starts: 1, Best start: 4

Notes:

– Chase Purdy has one NASCAR sanctioned start on a road course at Watkins Glen in 2017 where he started 13th and finished 15th.

– Purdy and the No. 23 team will compete with chassis No. 121 in Friday night’s race. This is the same chassis that the No. 23 team finished second with at the Daytona Road Course in 2020. This chassis went to victory lane at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in 2019 and has never finished outside the top 10 in five road course starts for GMS.

– Tuscaloosa, Ala.-based company Bama Buggies will sponsor Purdy for Friday night’s event.

– Jeff Hensley rejoins GMS as crew chief for Purdy and the No. 23 team. Hensley has 18 Camping World Truck wins in 395 races atop the pit box through 17 seasons in the series. Hensley was previously at GMS in 2016 and served as crew chief for Spencer Gallagher.

Quote:

“I’m looking forward to the Daytona Road Course. I think it’ll be fun and racey. I don’t have a lot of road course experience so I’m going to be watching a lot of film and doing everything I can to be prepared for Friday night.”

Raphael Lessard, No. 24 CANAC Chevrolet Silverado

Daytona Road Course Camping World Trucks Stats

– Starts: 1, Best start: 10, Best finish: 3, Laps led: 3

2021 Camping World Trucks Stats

– Starts: 1, Best start: 5, Laps led: 12, Stage wins: 1

Notes:

– Raphael Lessard has two Camping World Trucks starts on a road course. He finished 10th at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in 2019 and scored a podium finish of third last season at the Daytona Road Course in August. Lessard finished seventh on a street course in the Pinty’s series in 2019.

– CANAC, an independent hardware and construction materials chain from the Quebec City region, will sponsor Lessard for Friday night’s BrakeBest Pads 159 at Daytona Presented by O’Reilly..

– Lessard and the No. 24 team will compete with chassis No. 123 on Friday. This chassis last ran at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in 2018 where it finished seventh.

– Chad Walter shifts to the No. 24 Silverado to crew chief for Lessard in 2021. Walter has five wins in 208 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at crew chief and led Tyler Ankrum’s team to a playoff berth in 2020 in his first season as a Camping World Trucks crew chief.

Quote:

“I’m looking forward to the Daytona Road Course. It was a good race for me last year. I finished third last year so I’m looking to finish two spots ahead.”

Tyler Ankrum, No. 26 LiUNA! Chevrolet Silverado

Daytona Road Course Camping World Trucks Stats

– Starts: 1, Best start: 5, Best finish: 6, Top 10s: 1

2021 Camping World Truck Stats

– Starts: 1, Best start: 11, Laps led: 6

Notes:

– Tyler Ankrum has two top-10 finishes in his two career Camping World Trucks road course starts. The 19-year-old won the pole for the 2018 ARCA East event at Watkins Glen.

– Ankrum and the No. 26 team will utilize chassis No. 124 on Friday night. This is the same chassis that Ankrum competed with last year at the Daytona Road Course where he started fifth and finished sixth. GMS has competed with this chassis five times on a road course and has finished in the top 10 in each of these five events.

– LiUNA returns as primary sponsor for Ankrum’s No. 26 Chevrolet for Friday night’s race at the Daytona Road Course.

– Charles Denike move to captain the No. 26 crew for Tyler Ankrum in the 2021 season. 2020 marked Denike’s first full-time season as crew chief and produced two memorable wins, with Chase Elliott at Charlotte in May 2020 as well as Sam Mayer’s commanding win of Bristol in September.

Quote:

“I love the Daytona Road Course. I had a blast there last year and we ran up front most of the time. We got really good stage points throughout the race and ended up finishing sixth. A top five or a win is the goal for this weekend. I had a rough way to end Daytona Speedweeks, but that’s why they gave us a second shot at Daytona. Two weeks in a row to improve and I’m happy with our chances for the road course”