Niece Motorsports driver Natalie Decker has not been medically cleared by NASCAR to compete in Saturday afternoon’s Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, naming Kaz Grala as her replacement in the No. 44 Chevrolet Silverado.
The team made the announcement Thursday afternoon.
Talladega marks the second consecutive NGROTS race that Decker will be sidelined after not being medically cleared to compete. Moments before last Friday night’s World of Westgate 200 at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway, NASCAR announced that the Eagle River, Wisc. driver would not compete in the event as she was not medically cleared to race.
Because her truck has gone through pre-race technical inspection and gridded, she was credited last in 36th.
Following the race, Decker tweeted Saturday from that airport that she was flying home “where there will be more tests run so they can further evaluate and diagnose.”
No further updates on her condition have been announced and she has remained relatively quiet on social media.
Decker, 23, also missed the Pocono (Pa.) Raceway Truck Series race in June after being hospitalized because of complications related to her gallbladder being removed last December.
“We are thankful that Kaz is able to fill in for Natalie this weekend and appreciate him working with our team,” Niece Motorsports general manager Cody Efaw said in a statement. “We wish Natalie the best as she works to be as healthy as possible to return to racing.”
Grala will make his first Truck Series start since the 2017 season. Overall, he has 32 career starts, including a breathtaking win in the 2017 season-opening NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
Grala survived a chaotic last lap that saw 10 or more trucks collected in a last-lap melee on the backstretch.
“My thoughts will be with Natalie this weekend as I wish her a quick recovery,” Grala said. “I know she loves the restrictor-plate races, so I feel bad that she’ll have to miss this one, but I hope I can give her something to cheer for on Saturday.
“It’s been a few years since I’ve been in a Truck, but the superspeedway races have been very good to me in the past, so I’m really hoping to be able to go grab a win for Niece Motorsports at Talladega.
“I appreciate Carl Ruedebusch and REMarkable Pillow for trusting me to step in for Natalie this weekend.”
Grala, 21, has competed in four NASCAR Xfinity Series races this year for Richard Childress Racing with one top-five and three top-10 finishes.
He also subbed for Austin Dillon in August at the Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway Road Course after Dillon tested positive for the coronavirus. He led three laps and placed seventh in the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE.
On Aug. 26, Decker added four additional NGROTS races to her Niece Motorsports schedule including the upcoming SpeedyCash.com 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on Oct. 25., 2020. She’ll need to be cleared to compete.
In 30 Truck Series races, Decker has a career-best finish of fifth in February at Daytona.
With her first career top-five (and top-10) finish at Daytona, Decker surpassed Jennifer Jo Cobb as the highest finishing female in a NASCAR Gander RV & Truck Series race. Cobb finished sixth at Daytona in 2011.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
