Hill Motorsports to Make Truck Debut at Martinsville

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent

A new team owned by journeyman driver Timmy Hill will make its’ NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series debut at Martinsville Speedway. Hill will split driving time with his brother, Tyler Hill.

Hill Motorsports will run a limited schedule, 10 races, after Timmy Hill purchased two Chevrolet Silverados from the seemingly-defunct MDM Motorsports. Tyler Hill’s first start for the team will come at Dover International Speedway. Team owners Carl Long, who both of the Hill brothers have driven for, and Rick Ware, who Timmy Hill has driven for, are supportive of the effort.

The short-lived MDM Motorsports competed in 26 Truck races. In those 26 races, the team earned one victory with Bubba Wallace at Michigan International Speedway. The teams’ Chevrolet Silverados, two of which are now owned by Hill Motorsports, earned four top-five and 10 top-10 finishes. MDM competed in four truck races in 2018.

“I’m excited and nervous at the same time,” said Timmy Hill. “We’re looking forward to going to Martinsville and have a successful showing. This is a big undertaking for us, but we’ve acquired some good equipment and I hope we’re able to make the most of the opportunity.”

“We bought two trucks from MDM Motorsports and we’ve been putting those together through the winter and those have been coming together pretty well like we’ve hoped. I’ll be sharing the ride with my brother Tyler. We’re roughly looking at 10 races, we’re still trying to finalize the schedule, but we’re going to dive in and try to make it successful.”

The Hill Motorsports Chevrolets will carry the No. 56, which holds special meaning for the Hill family. Hill’s father used the number for his own team a little over two decades ago.

“The No. 56 has a lot of meaning to me and to our family,” Hill mentioned. “It’s important to us because it’s the number my dad used when he ran his own team in the 1990s. Our team is based in Thomasville, North Carolina and I’ve been fortunate enough to have the support of my dad, but also from owners that I’ve driven for Carl Long and Rick Ware who have been more than accommodating to help us with this journey.”

Hill adds his name to a long list of owner-drivers in NASCAR history, joining fellow Truck Series competitors Jordan Anderson, Norm Benning, Jennifer Jo Cobb, and Mike Harmon, among others. The most recent driver-owner to reach victory lane at NASCAR’s National level was Jeremy Clements at Road America in the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series.

“I’ll be the driver and owner, which is pretty neat,” added Hill. “You don’t really see that much in NASCAR anymore. I’m excited to bring that aspect back. I know Jordan (Anderson) does and he has made great strides in building his program from the ground up.

“In the bigger picture is to try and put something competitive and that can run in the top-10 and ultimately at some point in time compete for wins. That’s something in my driving career that I’ve always been striving for. I have an opportunity now in the Truck Series with the Ilmor motor and that gives us an opportunity to jump on it and have a shot at running better.”

In 272 combined starts across all three of NASCAR’s National Series, Timmy Hill has four top-10 finishes, three in the Xfinity Series and one in the Truck Series. His top-10 in the Truck Series, sixth, came at Talladega in 2013 for Ware.

Tyler Hill made his NASCAR debut last year at ISM Raceway. His best finish, 20^th, came at the same track this season. Tyler Hill also has four ARCA Menards Series starts with a top-10 finish in last year’s season finale with Andy Hillenburg’s Fast Track Racing.