MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Less than a week after tying the knot to longtime girlfriend Courtney Hannah, hardcore racer Chad Finley and his Reaume Bros. Racing team head to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway for Saturday afternoon’s Texas Roadhouse 200.
Finley’s debut at the famed half-mile paperclip will be his third start of the season and fifth overall.
And while Finley has shown plenty of speed in their two attempts at Gateway (Ill.) Motorsports Park and Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway respectively, the Bruce Cook-led team wants to bounce back from a mechanical failure at Bristol that stalled them from showcasing back-to-back top-10 finishes.
“Martinsville is our honeymoon,” Finley joked. “No, seriously. Just glad to have my best friend at my side as we continue to go in circles as much as we can. We’ll go away after the season is over, but honestly, I’m amped about getting to Martinsville this weekend. I’ve never been there, but I can’t wait.”
Even though Finley has never been to Martinsville in a truck before, he believes he’ll get up to speed quickly.
“
It’s a race track that you have to study,” added Finley. “You hear time after time again how demanding Martinsville is as a track. Even though I’ve never been to Martinsville, my crew chief Bruce has and I’m going to lean on his experience to help guide my No. 33 Air Lift Company | Auto Value Certified Service Centers | Strutmasters.com Chevrolet Silverado this weekend.
“I also want to thank Josh Reaume and everyone at Reaume Brothers Racing for giving us a chance to go racing and chase a trophy.”
For the third race this season, joining the North Carolina-based team for the traditional fall event as a major associate partner is Strutmasters.com.
Since 1999, Strutmasters.com has served as an industry leader in suspension parts and air to non-air suspension conversion kits.
The Roxboro, N.C. company joined Finley in his Truck Series return at Gateway.
“Chip Lofton’s support at Strutmasters.com of our race team has been overwhelming,” said Finley. “We certainly need to make up our Bristol performance to him at Martinsville this weekend. And I think we have a great opportunity to do that.
“We’re a small team trying to make big things happen and all of the great support from our partners like him keeps our team glued together.”
With a tough field expected for the opening semi-final round of the Truck Series Playoffs, Finley plans to be respectful of the championship picture but also knows that Martinsville is a huge opportunity for not only himself but his race team in his final race of the season.
“Martinsville is going to be a stacked field, always is,” added Finley. “Everyone is fighting for position at the front. Whether it be for points and an opportunity to race at Homestead or just to put themselves in the spotlight.
“I’m going to race my competitors as clean as I can, but I’m also going to fight hard. Martinsville has been prone to first-time winners in the past and I think we have a team that’s capable of adding to that stat. It’s not going to be easy, but nothing in racing should be. We’re just going to go and give it our all and see what happens.”
Josh Reaume, owner of Reaume Bros. Racing and a Truck Series competitor says his organization is thrilled to have Finley drive their No. 33 Chevrolet this weekend and build on the momentum from the team’s solid performance at Talladega.
“We’re excited to work with a veteran short track racer like Chad this weekend,” he said. “His accomplishments on short tracks speak for themselves and I believe his experience will not only strengthen our team but allow the opportunity to have a good run too.”
Air Lift Company, Auto Value Certified Service Centers and Strutmasters.com will serve as the primary marketing partners for Saturday afternoon’s race.
Finley has additional support from Northsidetowing.net and XLT Engineering as well.
In addition to his four prior Truck starts, Finley, 26, has 20 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards starts to his credit.
In his years of ARCA competition between 2009 and 2018 Finley has mounted one-win (Nashville 2017), eight top-five and 11 top-10 finishes, including a pole (track record) at Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway in 2009.
Finley is the son of former ARCA winner and NASCAR driver Jeff Finley.
The Texas Roadhouse 200 (200 laps | 105.2 miles) is the 20th of 23 races on the 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck schedule. Practice begins on Fri., Oct. 26 from 12:05 p.m. – 12:55 p.m., while final practice is set for 2:05 p.m. – 2:55 p.m. Qualifying is set for race day, Sat., Oct. 27 beginning at 10:05 a.m. The 32-truck field will take the green flag shortly after 1:00 p.m. with live coverage on FS1, the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90). All times are local (Eastern).
For additional information on Chad Finley and his race team please visit ChadFinleyRacing.com.
Follow Chad Finley on Twitter @Chad_Finley.
About Reaume Bros. Racing:
Reaume Brothers Racing began in 1997 when John Reaume got his son’s, Jonathan and Joshua into competitive kart racing. From these humble beginnings, the brothers have chased the racing dream, competing in events all around the world, studying mechanical engineering at University and building a successful racing business specializing in karting and oval track racing.
In 2018, RBR is expanding with a full-time effort in the Camping World Truck Series. With a culture focused on innovation, RBR will utilize cutting edge technologies to improve on and off-track performance.
Driven with passion and fueled with engineering, RBR is looking to make its mark in NASCAR.
