Ross Chastain and Niece Motorsports collectively has asserted themselves from contenders to winners to championship contenders within a matter of months.
Sure, people knew the talent would burst from within the Niece Motorsports stables when the Alva, Fla. native paired with the team last season in a limited effort.
While running three trucks, two full-time and a limited schedule with Ross was difficult for the Statesville, N.C.-based team in 2018, the Al Niece owned team was just setting their foundation for what has blossomed into a magical year in 2019.
Slated for an Xfinity Series Playoff run at the beginning of the year with JD Motorsports with Gary Keller, the decision was made to pull Chastain’s likable run to the Playoffs in Xfinity to a full-fledged assault towards the championship in Truck Series nine races into the season.
No problem.
The team already showcased their ability to win with a defining moment at Kansas Speedway in May – edging the likes of Ben Rhodes, Todd Gilliland and Austin Hill for Chastain’s first career Gander Truck Series win.
With a plan to get inside the top-20 in points by the end of the regular season at Michigan International Speedway next month, the task seemed simple – but the team quickly found a fork in the road.
Briefly.
In dominating fashion, Chastain controlled the field at Iowa Speedway on Father Day’s weekend and won then his second race in a span of four races. However, the team failed post-race inspection and lost a whopping 60 points and saw a first-place finish send them dead last in the running order.
How did the team respond?
With the craftiness of crew chief Phil Gould, Chastain with a one-race sponsorship from CarShield.com stepped up to the plate when it counted most and led the final 21 laps at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway to be back in Victory Lane officially and with the needed race win qualifier to be apart of the post-season Playoffs.
On Saturday at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, there was nothing tricky about the “Tricky Triangle” for Chastain or Gould as the No. 45 Niece Motorsports team annihilated the field leading 54 of 60 laps for their third official win of 2019.
Limited resources and funding certainly haven’t kept the team from at times circling around the competition – but the lack of sponsorship has been worrisome until now.
Niece told CATCHFENCE.com that a sponsor that had committed for the season abruptly left the team following Iowa. While neither sides chose to disclose details, Niece, a veteran, was determined to propel the team to the hopeful Championship 4 round at Homestead in November – out of his own pocket if need be.
Niece Motorsports general manager Cody Efaw, however, announced Saturday that sponsorship has been obtained for the post-season championship stretch.
“It’s always dire, right? You never have enough (funding),” Efaw said. “The other night Al (Niece) was in town and we sat and talked and that was a discussion that came up and we’re going to Homestead – there’s no way around that. Both trucks are going to Homestead. 44 and 45 running all year and we’re going to continue this dominance that we have and stay humble with it.
“Are things tight? Yeah, things are tight, there’s no doubt in that. I think Al Niece likes it that way. He likes to do more with less. A lot of people use that sentence “do more with less” but we actually are doing more with less and achieving the things that we want.
“We have a partner coming on for the Playoffs, we’re excited about that’s going to see us through the rest of the year. Obviously, that’s going to come out. Our goal was just to get into the Playoffs once he declared. We’ve done that. I feel like we’re locked at this point with the win. You’ll see a sponsor on it.”
With an influx of cash soon to be available for Niece’s disposal, the panic button could soon be trigged within the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series garage.
Could Niece Motorsports – a team that was formed three years ago be set for one of the pivotal stories of 2019 and drown the essential powerhouses?
With the combination of Gould and Chastain, the team has beaten some of the best of the best in the Trucks. From the likes of Crafton and Sauter to the foundations of GMS Racing, Kyle Busch Motorsports, ThorSport Racing and Hattori Racing Enterprises, could the team once dubbed the “little engine that could” really become the David beats Goliath in three and a half months in South Florida?
The NASCAR community will watch and wait with excitement, optimism and probably amazement.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
