Chase Purdy: Bristol Dirt Race Preview

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Overview:

Event: Weather Guard Truck Race on Dirt, Race 6 of 23, 150 Laps – 40/50/60; 75 Miles

Location:Bristol Motor Speedway (half-mile, dirt oval)

Date/Broadcast: April 8, 2023, at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90

‘Chase’n Checkers:

Chase Purdy slides into the truck race on dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway riding the momentum of a career-best runner-up finish in last week’s race at Texas Motor Speedway. For Purdy, it marked the first time that he finished inside the top five of a Truck Series event. Prior to Texas, his best finish across his first 56 starts was a sixth-place result at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in 2021. Despite being only five races into the season, the 23-year-old driver has already produced a career-high three top-10 finishes. He currently ranks seventh in the series point standings, 58 tallies behind points leader Ty Majeski. He ranks sixth among series regulars in average finish (12.2), seventh in fastest laps run (12) eighth in average running position (13.086) and ninth in driver rating (78.8).

In his two prior Truck Series starts on the dirt at Bristol, Purdy has recorded an average finish of 15.5. His best result was a 13th-place finish in last year’s race. The 4 team will be unloading KBM-35, which is the chassis that John Hunter Nemechek raced in both dirt events last year, finishing third at Bristol and second at Knoxville Raceway.

The Mississippi native is in his third full-time season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and first with KBM. He enters Saturday’s race having totaled one top-five, eight top-10 finishes, and 18 laps led across his 57 career Truck Series starts. Purdy finished 16th in the Truck Series final standings in 2022 after competing in 22 of the 23 events. He posted two top-10 finishes and nine laps led, with a season-best finish of seventh coming at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in October.

Purdy will be trying to etch his mark in the KBM historical archives this weekend at Bristol as he looks to collect the organization’s 100th NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory. KBM-owner driver Kyle Busch collected KBM’s record-extending 99th-career victory with his dominant victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway leaving his organization one shy of the century mark. William Byron collected KBM’s record-breaking 51st Truck Series victory in July of 2016. Overall, 18 different drivers have won at least one race behind the wheel of a KBM truck, led by Busch’s 47. Four drivers rank second on the list with seven victories: Byron, Christopher Bell, Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek. KBM has collected three of those victories on dirt, most recently with Martin Truex Jr. at Bristol in 2021. Bubba Wallace (2014) and Bell (2015) each scored victories at Eldora Speedway when that was a stop on the Truck Series schedule.

Jimmy Villeneuve is atop the pit box for Purdy and the No. 4 Chevrolet team this season. Prior to being promoted to crew chief for the 2023 season, Villeneuve served as a Truck Chief at KBM since the 2017 season and in that role was a part of 18 wins, a driver’s championship with Christopher Bell in 2017 and the 2019 owner’s championship with the No. 51 team. Prior to joining KBM the New Hampshire native served as a truck chief at Athenian Motorsports in 2015 when the team won with John Wes Townley at Las Vegas. He was promoted to crew chief five races into the 2016 season. Saturday’s race will be Villeneuve’s second race atop the pit box for a dirt race. He finished 21st with Brady Boswell at Eldora Speedway in 2016.

Bama Buggies, your one-stop shop for all the biggest names in powersports and utility vehicles, will be the primary sponsor on Purdy’s No. 4 Chevrolet Saturday and for the majority of the events on the 2023 schedule. They are Central Alabama’s powersports experts, serving as an authorized dealer of Polaris, Slingshot, and Seadoo.

Chase Purdy, Driver Q&A:

What are your thoughts on racing on the dirt at Bristol?

“It’s interesting to say the least. I’m not exactly sure what to expect this year because I don’t think there has been as many races that have been run on it since the dirt has been put down as there was the last two years. I think that will make it interesting to see how the track is run in and takes rubber and what lines we can use. I’m not really sure what to expect with our Bama Buggies team but coming off a great weekend at Texas I’m really excited to get back to the track.

Do you anything different in your preparation for a race on dirt?

“Yeah, I think you kind of just throw a lot of the things you would tend to do on asphalt tracks out the window here. There are some guys in the series you can talk to that are dirt guys like Stewart Friesen or anyone else that has run in dirt. Stewart is a good one because he’s run a truck a lot on dirt and he races dirt cars all the time when the trucks aren’t racing. I just think you have to go back and watch the previous years races to study because that’s all you have.”

Chase Purdy Career Highlights:

• Across 57 career Truck Series starts, has produced 18 laps led, one top-five and seven top-10 finishes. Posted a career-best runner-up finish at Texas Motor Speedway in April of 2023.
• Finished 16th in Truck Series championship standings in 2022.
• Finished fourth in the 2018 ARCA Menard’s Series championship standings after recording 84 laps led, 10 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes.
• Earned the 2017 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East rookie of the year honors and finished fourth in the championship standings after posting four poles, 200 laps led, five top-five and eight top-10 finishes across 14 starts.
• Won the prestigious Snowflake 100 Pro Late Model race at 5 Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla., in Dec. of 2018.

Chase Purdy’s No. 4 Bama Buggies Silverado RST:

KBM-35: The No. 4 Bama Buggies team will unload KBM-35 for Saturday’s race on the dirt at Bristol. This is the same truck that John Hunter Nemechek finished inside the top five at both dirt events last year, including a third-place finish at Bristol. Before being converted to a dirt truck last year, KBM-35 had one win across 17 pavement starts, which came with Daniel Suarez at Phoenix Raceway in November of 2016.

KBM-35 Performance Profile:

Starts	Wins	Average Start	Average Finish	Laps Led
19	1	6.5	12.3	275

KBM Notes of Interest:

• KBM drivers has scored three wins, one pole, 495 laps led, 10 top-five and 17 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 12.7 across 32 career starts on dirt tracks. Martin Truex Jr. won the inaugural race on the dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2021, while Bubba Wallace (2014) and Christopher Bell (2015) each scored victories at Eldora Speedway.
• KBM holds the Craftsman Truck Series records for most career wins (99) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). With his victory at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway last year, Corey Heim became the 18th different driver to win a Truck Series event for KBM. In addition to collecting a series-record seven Owner’s Championships, the organization has produced two championship-winning drivers: Erik Jones (2015) and Christopher Bell (2017).
• The No. 4 has 18 career victories at KBM and was the number for both of the organization’s driver championships