CONCORD, N.C. – Days after splitting from his former NASCAR Xfinity Series ride at JGL Racing, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series winner Kaz Grala has a ride for the next four consecutive Xfinity races starting at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway on May 26.
Grala will join Fury Race Cars in the No. 61 Ford Mustang for Charlotte, Pocono Raceway, Michigan International Speedway and Iowa Speedway respectively. Grala will reconnect with crew chief Shane Wilson who left the JGL Racing team before the Talladega Xfinity Series race.
“We are all really proud of what we’ve been able to put together in such a short amount of time,” said Fury Race Cars co-owner Tony Eury Jr in a press release.
“Of course, we would do whatever we can to help Kaz. He is literally part of the family here at Fury. And with all the help we’ve received from the racing community, how could we not do it? While competing at this level will be new for our company, Jeff Fultz and I have plenty of experience in the Xfinity garage. And in the last year, we’ve added Mike Fritts and Rick Viers to the Fury family, so our national series experience is actually pretty recent.”
Grala has a personal connection to the Mooresville, N.C.-based team. Grala’s father Darius is part-owner of Fury Race Cars which supplies Late Models and other vehicles to drivers across the country.
Grala explained that some of the same crew that he worked with at JGL Racing has followed him to his new opportunity at Fury.
“I’m beyond grateful for the opportunity to continue competing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series,” said Grala. “I had a great relationship with Shane [crew chief], Yerges [engineer] and the rest of our crew, and I believe that we only scratched the surface of that potential in the limited time we had together.
“I am amazed with all the outreach I’ve received and the help that everyone has been willing to lend, and that is really what has made this all possible. I began the 2018 season with the intent of running full time, and we hope to find the sponsorship to still make that a reality. That would be a dream come true.”
Earlier in the week, Grala took to Twitter stating that JGL Racing would not fulfill their commitment to field him in a full-time Xfinity Series schedule. JGL Racing has not officially commented on Grala’s accusation but the team will field at least one Xfinity entry for NASCAR Next alumnus Dylan Lupton in the No. 28 Ford.
In 10 Xfinity races, the 19-year-old earned a career-best fourth place finish at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in February. Since then, he has managed only four additional top-20 finishes and sits 19th in the championship standings.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
