JOLIET, Ill. – Matt Tifft will make his NASCAR XFINITY Series debut next weekend at Kentucky Speedway, CATCHFENCE.com has confirmed.
Tifft, the part-time driver in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) primarily for Kyle Busch Motorsports will drive the No. 20 Toyota Camry in the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 on Sept. 26.
“Obviously, really excited about it,” said Tifft Saturday morning at Chicagoland Speedway. “It’s a huge opportunity. The 20 guys and Mike Wheeler crew chief are just awesome guys. I’m really excited about it and the chance to represent Joe Gibbs Racing.”
Currently, it’s the only XFINITY Series race scheduled for the Hinckley, Ohio native, but Tifft is optimistic that a good race could open the door for more chances in the future.
“I think we can run solidly in the top-10 all night,” added Tifft. “Kinda do what Ross Kenseth did in a way just try to run up in a good solid spot, try to open some eyes, just try to run competitively and run all the laps.”
Kenseth, the son of Joe Gibbs Racing Cup driver Matt Kenseth made his XFINITY debut earlier this summer at Chicagoland Speedway, where he qualified on the outside pole and finished sixth in the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota.
While Kenseth’s efforts will be hard to duplicate in the final standalone race of the season, Tifft, often known as a cautiously-aggressive go-getting driver is up to the challenge.
An added benefit for the 19-year-old Tifft next weekend will be his familiarity with Kentucky’s 1.5-mile oval.
Last September, the UNCC Charlotte student studying business management finished second in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards race. It was Tifft’s best finish in 10 races driving for retired NASCAR driver Ken Schrader.
Tifft believes his prior experience in Sparta should make his transition to the XFINITY Series cars smoother.
“I think so,” he said. “Any kind of track familiarity is going to the best tool to speed up me getting accumulated to the XFINITY Series car.”
This season, Tifft has competed in nine truck races, six for KBM, the others for ARCA powerhouse Venturini Motorsports. In all, Tifft has netted a best finish of eighth, twice at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway and Pocono (Pa.) Raceway respectively.
Tifft finished ninth in the postponed America Ethanol e15 225 at Chicagoland Speedway Saturday morning. It was his third top-10 of the year. His next race for KMB is in two weeks at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway followed by Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway and Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway.
He’ll sit on top of the XFINITY Series pit box Saturday night with Wheeler shadowing the No. 20 team.
Sponsorship has been obtained for the event with the announcement expected early next week.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
