Ryan Truex, the younger brother of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Martin Truex Jr., will compete in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) season-opener at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, CATCHFENCE.com has confirmed.
Truex, 23, will drive the No. 81 Toyota Tundra fielded by former IndyCar driver Shigeaki (Shige) Hattori in Friday night’s NextEra Energy Resources 250. Truex will make his first truck start since 2014 driving under the Hattori Racing Enterprises banner. Industry veteran John Monsam will serve as crew chief.
Hattori confirmed the signing of Truex to CATCHFENCE.com Sunday night at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway, where he watched fellow truck series driver Austin Theriault pilot his No. 1 Toyota Camry in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East opener.
Truex has made just four NCWTS starts in his career, with a best finish of fourth coming in his most recent race at Daytona in the 2014 season-opener driving for Steve Turner.
HRE doesn’t have a long-standing record in trucks. The team made its debut at Michigan International Speedway in 2013 with Brett Moffit. In 2015, the team competed at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway with Ross Kenseth, finishing 17th.
Truex is a two-time NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champion from 2009-2010. During that time, he won five races, posted fifteen top-fives and earned 17 top-10s driving for Michael Waltrip Racing.
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