A welcomed sight in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series garage will occur this weekend at Michigan International Speedway, a debut of a new team.
Mooresville, North Carolina-based Rette Jones Racing (RJR) will attempt to make Saturday’s Careers for Veterans 200 with driver Chad Finley.
The team recently purchased a Ford truck from Brad Keselowski Racing (BKR) and will carry the No. 30 number in the 13th race of the season. Finley, a native of DeWitt, Michigan plans to make his NASCAR National Series debut in an entry owned by racers Terry Jones and Mark Rette.
Finley, a 23-year-old standout late model driver returns to his hometown track for the first time since 2011, where an XFINITY Series accident in practice at Michigan forced the Team Rensi Motorsports team to withdraw their entry.
Four years later, Finley along with his father, former racer Jeff Finley have put the sponsorship together and with the help of RJR, he’s looking at making the most of a second chance.
“I’m looking forward to this opportunity to be back in NASCAR and make my debut,” said Finley. “We’ve worked hard on this truck over the last couple of weeks, hoping to make good things happen. There’s a lot of pressure this week, but pressure is something I’m used to.”
Rette, the 2009 ARCA championship crew chief is no stranger to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. A former crew chief at Red Horse Racing, Turner Motorsports and Win-Tron Racing, Rette will call the shots for Finley Saturday afternoon in the first of a limited NCWTS schedule for RJR this season.
The newly established team’s expansion to trucks comes on the heels of success in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East this season with teenager Grant Quinlan who battled Rico Abreu for the win at Columbus Motor Speedway in July, before finishing second in his debut.
“Chad is a talented driver and I think he’ll get the job done this weekend at Michigan,” Rette said. “He’s a smooth driver behind the wheel. He works on any race car or truck he drives, so he understands all the fundamentals of racing. Michigan is a big deal for him with it being his NASCAR debut and at his hometown track, but I think he’ll be more than fine.
“
NASCAR is where we want to be,” added Rette. “Terry (Jones) and I have put together a strong platform in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and we’re looking forward to broadening our horizons to trucks with the intent to make more starts later this season.”
Both Finley and Rette agree that BKR has been incredibly supportive of the team’s transition into the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
That’s not too surprising, though.
Finley once drove for Keselowski in the ARCA Racing Series, where in 10 starts, he posted a best finish of third, three times, most recently in his last ARCA race at Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway in 2010.
A good day for Finley on Saturday will be a top-10 finish. While he knows that goal is attainable, it won’t come without hard work.
“I trust Mark (Rette),” added Finley. “He lives and breathes racing and he wants to see me succeed just as much as anyone else. He’s done a lot of great things this season for RJR and I think we would all be disappointed if we didn’t leave there with anything less than a top-10.”
Auto Value Parts Stores and Certified Service Centers and Airlift Company will adorn the team’s only truck for the 100-lap shootout. The team will also have a technical alliance with Roush Yates engines.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01
