JOILET, Ill. – With his second top-10 finish in the books in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) most recent race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, sophomore driver Austin Wayne Self heads to Chicagoland Speedway hoping the momentum blows into on-track competition in Friday night’s Chicagoland 225.
In a one-off return with his AM Racing team North of the Border, Self is ready to return to Martin Motorsports’ No. 44 Don’t mess with Texas / AM Technical Solutions Chevrolet looking to be a factor in the final race of the regular season.
“Before I turn my concentration on Chicagoland, my heart is pouring out to those affected by Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma,” said Self.
“It’s very sad to turn on a television and see Mother Nature’s fury take on my home state and a state where I’ve made a lot of memories. We’re racing hard for a good finish this week in honor of all those victims.”
To help with the devastation, Martin Motorsports has donated the bed top of the truck to bring awareness to the STAR Fund, which also needs help in the aftermath of Harvey.
The State of Texas Agriculture Relief Fund was created solely with monetary donations from private individuals and companies, including Farm Credit, Valero and McCoy’s Building Supply. STAR Fund money may be used to assist farmers and ranchers in rebuilding fences, restoring operations and paying for other agricultural disaster relief.
“It’s important to remember while many families lost everything in Harvey, so did a lot of farmers and ranchers,” added Self. “Chicagoland Speedway, thanks to Martins Motorsports is an opportunity to show our support and bring further attentiveness to those agriculture producers in the wrath of Harvey’s destruction.
“Every dollar counts as the floods have devastated many farming and ranching operations and caused massive loss of livestock and feed sources and as proud Texans we’re going to do our part to inform people of the STAR Fund and its purpose.”
As for Chicagoland, Self is hoping to build on his 17th place finish from last fall after starting 26th.
“I learned a lot at Chicago last year,” noted Self. “You can’t race Chicago like you race Kentucky or Kansas or Homestead. Chicago has its owner finesse and style. I feel confident that we can get our No. 44 Don’t mess with Texas Chevrolet rotating good through the corners so we can have the speed to carry on the straightaways.”
In addition to AM Technical Solutions, Don’t Mess with Texas will serve as an associate marketing partner for Self’s 31st career NCWTS race.
Self, 21, is scheduled to remain the primary driver for the No. 44 Chevrolet Silverado for the remainder of the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. Industry veteran Kevin Eagle will continue his role as crew chief.
The Chicagoland 225 (150 laps / 225 miles) is the 16th of 23 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races on the 2017 schedule. Practice begins on Thurs., Sept. 14 from 2:30 p.m. – 3:25 p.m., with a final practice session is set for 5:30 p.m. – 6:25 p.m. Qualifying is set for race day, Fri., Sept. 15 beginning at 4:05 p.m. The 32-truck field will take the green flag shortly after 7:30 p.m. with live coverage on FOX Sports 1 (FS1), the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90). All times are local (Central).
For more information on Don’t mess with Texas and how you can become involved in the program , visit dontmesswithtexas.org.
For more on the STAR Fund and its mission, please click here.
To learn more information on AM Racing please visit amracingteam.com.
For more on Austin Wayne Self and AM Racing, please visit awsracing.com, like his Facebook page (Austin Wayne Self) or follow him on Twitter @AustinWSelf.
About Don’t mess with Texas:
TxDOT’s Don’t mess with Texas litter prevention campaign has been educating Texans about litter prevention since 1986. For more information, visit dontmesswithtexas.org. Don’t mess with Texas is a registered trademark and service mark owned by the Texas Department of Transportation.
About the No. 44 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team:
The No. 44 NASCAR Camping World Truck fielded by Martins Motorsports is a marketing and brand collaboration effort with Faith Motorsports owned by Shane Lamb.