By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor
As the 2017 NASCAR season quickly approaches and our daydreams of watching cars and trucks fly around Daytona International Speedway becomes closer to being a reality, the field in the Camping World Truck Series is starting to really take shape. Sunday, Brad Keselowski Racing announced their 2017 full-time driver roster.
In a team press release it was revealed that Austin Cindric and Chase Briscoe will take over full-time driving duties of the No. 19 and No. 29 Ford F-150s for the team.
Cindric has driven six races with BKR over the past two seasons, and at 18 years old the team gives him a shot to run for a championship in the No. 19 Draw-Tite Ford.
“This is a massive opportunity from Brad and everyone at BKR who trusts me and believes in my abilities as a driver to move on to the next level for a full season,” said Cindric in a team release. “2017 gets more and more exciting for me with every day that goes by. I’ve only done a handful of one-off races in my brief stock car career, so I’m really looking forward to having the same guys by my side week in and week out. I’ve spent a lot of time at the shop the last few weeks and I know everyone is really excited to get back racing.”
Cindric will have veteran crew chief Doug Randolph turning the wrenches on his race truck.
Briscoe is one of the brightest young talents in the sport. Recently, Briscoe was named the first driver in the Ford Performance development program. Now the 22-year old, like Cindric, will have the opportunity to show his championship mettle in the team’s No. 29 Cooper Standard Ford.
“It’s is an absolutely huge opportunity and such an honor to drive for Brad,” said Briscoe. “The competition level in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is so high, but I’m going to be in the best equipment out there. It’s really cool to once again be working with the Keselowski family. When I moved to North Carolina three years ago, I was helping Brian and Bob in their shop, so things have come full circle. I’m truly blessed with this opportunity, and I hope to make the most of it. At the end of the day, it’s all about winning races and championships, and that’s what I plan to do.”
Briscoe won the ARCA Racing Series championship this past season in dominating fashion as he won six races and finished inside the top-10 in 18 of the 20 races. Crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. will attempt to guide the young driver to similar success in NASCAR.
