Brett Moffitt will return to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) in 2021 as the new driver of the No. 45 Chevrolet Silverado for Niece Motorsports.
Moffitt, a native of Grimes, Ia. will also compete full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Our Motorsports, as previously announced but will declare championship points in Trucks in a bid for a second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship title.
Phil Gould who joined Niece Motorsports in 2019 after a six-year stint in the NASCAR Xfinity Series will continue to lead the No. 45 team as crew chief.
After winning the Truck title in 2018 for HRE’s Shigeaki Hattori, Moffitt moved to the powerhouse GMS Racing organization where he spent the last two seasons collecting five wins, 23 top-five and 33 top-10 finishes.
The 28-year-old was less than two miles from his second Truck Series championship last month at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway, but a caution flag with less than two laps to go sent the race into overtime and Moffitt who stayed out on older tires was unable to hold off several drivers on new tires, including his GMS Racing teammate Sheldon Creed who passed him shortly after the restart.
Moffitt finished 10th and claimed third in the driver championship standings for the second consecutive year.
“I am so thankful to Al Niece (team owner), Cody Efaw (team manager) and everyone at Niece Motorsports for this opportunity,” said Moffitt.
“To be able to compete full time in both the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the Xfinity Series is a challenge I look forward to. Chris Our, Our Motorsports and Chevrolet were a big part of helping this all come together, so a big thank you to them as well.”
With his departure from GMS Racing and a 33-race schedule already announced last month with Our Motorsports for 2021, Moffitt was set to embark and embrace an expanded role with the Chris Our-owned team but when Niece and Efaw approached the 12-time Truck Series winner about joining forces, Moffitt said it was an opportunity he couldn’t turn down.
“I’m a racer,” Moffitt told CATCHFENCE.com. “I want to race as much as possible as I feel it allows me to grow as a driver. That with the support from Chevrolet to be competitive in both series is huge. My goal is to win a lot of races and a championship with Niece Motorsports.”
While some may deem the effort to run 55 races between the two divisions would be difficult, but the NASCAR Next alumnus sees the aggressive schedule as an advantage.
“I don’t see it as a difficulty, I see it as an advantage,” he said. “The more I am on the race track, the more I learn and improve to be the best I can be.”
His philosophy worked on several occasions during the 2020 Xfinity Series where Moffitt was able to take the experience in his GMS truck and capitalize with his Our Motorsports team, including races at Richmond Raceway and Kansas Speedway late in the season.
A victory in the Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway in October propelled Moffitt to the Championship 4 race at Phoenix also paid dividends in the Xfinity Series car where he finished seventh just hours later after starting 27th.
“I hope to keep improving Our Motorsports on where we left off and build it into a race-winning program next year,” Moffitt said.
Moffitt acknowledged that a lighter on-track schedule next season in both Trucks and Xfinity helped contribute to his decision knowing giving his full devotion to both teams is equally important to everyone’s success.
“The lack of practice and qualifying does it make it easier for me to commit 100% of myself to both programs to make sure I’m not shorting either party,” added Moffitt. “Of course, I wouldn’t be doing this without Chris Our’s blessing.
“We talked about it over the last few weeks and we both feel that it is a competitive advantage that outweighs anything else. The support from Chevrolet backs that up.”
After a breakout season in 2019 and a Championship 4 appearance at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway with driver Ross Chastain, Niece Motorsports couldn’t back up the numbers in 2020 with a host of drivers that included Trevor Bayne, Natalie Decker, Conor Daly, Carson Hocevar, Ty Majeski, Travis Pastrana and Ryan Truex.
But with three full-time teams announced for next season with Moffitt and previous announcements from Hocevar and Truex, the Statesville, N.C.-based team believes they are capable of returning to their dominant form with a glittering driver lineup.
“I’m excited about our driver line-up next year,” offered Niece. “Brett is a tremendous talent and will be a huge asset to our team. We know that our drivers have the talent it takes to contend for wins in the Truck Series and l know our crew is working as hard as possible this offseason to build them equipment capable of doing so.”
Preparing for his fourth full season in Trucks, Moffitt has made 82 Truck Series starts with 12 wins, 39 top-five and 52 top-10 finishes and more than 1,100 laps led.
Additionally, he has experience in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series with a combined 159 starts across NASCAR’s top three national divisions.
Sponsorship for Moffitt’s efforts at Niece Motorsports is forthcoming.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
