Kasey Kahne has been selected to pilot the No. 00 Haas Automation Chevrolet in the upcoming NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 15, JR Motorsports general manager Kelley Earnhardt Miller announced today.
A veteran driver with 29 victories across NASCAR’s top-three series, Kahne will make his first NCWTS start since winning at Rockingham Speedway in 2012. The Charlotte event also complements the 10-race schedule the No. 00 Haas Automation team will run with its primary driver, 17-year-old Cole Custer, announced earlier this year.
“Getting Kasey behind the wheel of the No. 00 is going to be a true asset for the team and Cole,” said Earnhardt Miller. “With Cole’s age, he’s not eligible to compete on some of the bigger tracks, so we had to limit the schedule based on that fact. This opportunity to have Kasey in the truck will help the team evaluate our program on an intermediate track. And Kasey’s stats in that series really speak to his talent.”
In five NCWTS starts, Kahne has won four of them (two at Darlington Raceway and one each at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Rockingham Speedway) and never finished worse than second. Along with an average finish of 1.2, he has led 307 of 686 career laps.
“I’m looking forward to running the truck race at Charlotte for JR Motorsports,” said Kahne. “They had a fast truck in the Martinsville race and have a great program going over there. Thanks to Kelley, Dale Jr. and Gene Haas for putting this deal together. I haven’t been in a truck race in a long time, but I always enjoy racing in that series.”
Custer, the youngest race winner in NASCAR national touring series history, made JRM’s NCWTS debut earlier this year at Martinsville Speedway. He will return to the seat of the No. 00 Haas Automation Chevrolet for the May 29 race at Dover International Speedway and in eight other NCWTS events in 2015.
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