Sheldon Creed, No. 2 International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Chevrolet Silverado
Daytona International Speedway Camping World Trucks Stats
– Starts: 2, Best start: 6, Best finish: 9, Laps led: 23
2020 Season Recap
– Starts: 23, Wins: 5, Best start: 1, Best finish; 1, Top 5s: 9, Top 10s: 13, Laps led: 587, Stage wins: 11
Notes:
– Sheldon Creed returns for his third full-time season with GMS Racing. The 2020 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion earned five wins, nine top-five and 13 top-10 finishes and led 587 laps en route to his first title.
– The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers joins Creed as primary sponsor for Friday night’s NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway.
– Creed and the No. 2 team will compete with chassis No. 053 this week in Daytona. Creed has competed with this chassis four times in his time with GMS and has two top-10 finishes and 53 laps led in those starts. This chassis has been to victory lane twice, including a win from the pole at Daytona in 2017.
– In addition to his two Camping World Trucks starts, Creed has one ARCA Menards series start at the track in 2018 where he led 35 laps en route to a third-place finish.
– Jeff Stankiewicz returns to crew chief for the No. 2 team this season.The 2020 championship winning crew chief reunited with Creed mid-season in 2019 after winning the 2018 ARCA Menards Series championship together. Stankiewicz has seven Camping World Trucks wins as a crew chief including five in 2020 en route to the series championship.
Quote:
“I’m ready for Daytona. I feel like we’ve always had fast trucks and we’re always up front, but then disaster strikes in the last few laps for me. We’re just going to try to stay out of trouble all night and give ourselves a shot at the end for a win.”
Zane Smith, No. 21 Michael Roberts Construction Chevrolet Silverado
Daytona International Speedway Camping World Trucks Stats
– Starts: 1, Best start: 6, Best finish: 11
2020 Season Recap
– Starts: 23, Wins: 2, Best start: 1, Best finish: 1, Top 5s: 7, Top 10s: 13, Laps led: 376, Stage wins: 6
Notes:
– Zane Smith returns for his sophomore season with GMS Racing in the No. 21 Silverado. Smith earned Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors and was voted Most Popular Driver in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2020. Smith had an impressive rookie season with two wins, seven top-five and 13 top-10 finishes with 376 laps led en route to a runner-up finish in the championship standings.
– Returning parter Michael Roberts Construction will be featured on Smith’s Silverado in Friday night’s NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway.
– Smith and the No. 21 team will compete with chassis No. 134 this weekend in Daytona. Smith competed twice with this chassis in 2020 with a best finish of 11th at Daytona in February.
– In addition to his Camping World Trucks start at the track, Smith has one ARCA Menards Series start at Daytona International Speedway in 2018 where he qualified second and led 24 laps.
– Kevin “Bono” Manion returns for a second season with Smith and the No. 21 team. The pair racked up two wins and 13 top-10 finds in 2020 en route to a second-place finish in the championship standings. Manion has six Camping World Trucks wins, 17 NASCAR Xfinity Series wins and five NASCAR Cup Series wins in 19 years as a crew chief in the sport.
Quote:
“It feels good to be back with the same team we had last year. I feel like I’ve never worked so hard in the off season preparing myself for a year. I’ve been doing a lot of iRacing stuff with the Chevy group and my spotter to knock the rust off and prepare. Hopefully we can improve on last year and stay out of trouble to give ourselves a shot at the win.”
Chase Purdy, No. 23 Bama Buggies Chevrolet Silverado
Daytona International Speedway Camping World Trucks Stats
– No prior Camping World Trucks starts at Daytona International Speedway.
2020 Season Recap
– Starts: 7 Best start: 1, Best finish: 10
Notes:
– Chase Purdy is set to compete in his first full-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season with GMS Racing in the No. 23 Chevrolet Silverado. Purdy ran a partial season for GMS in the No. 24 in 2020 and earned one top-10 and three top-15 finishes in seven starts.
– Tuscaloosa, Ala.-based company Bama Buggies will sponsor Purdy at the NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway.
– Purdy and the No. 23 team will compete with chassis No. 129 this weekend in Daytona. This chassis has three top-10 finishes in seven starts including a win at Daytona in 2018.
– Purdy has one ARCA Menards Series start at Daytona in 2018 where he qualified third.
– Jeff Hensley rejoins GMS as crew chief for Purdy and the No. 23 team. Hensley has 18 Camping World Truck wins in 395 races atop the pit box through 17 seasons in the series. Hensley was previously at GMS in 2016 and served as crew chief for Spencer Gallagher.
Quote:
“I’m excited to get the season kicked off in Daytona. It’s been a long off season and I’ve done a lot of preparing for this race. We just need to keep the nose clean, avoid the big one and make no mistakes and try to be there at the end to go after a win.”
Raphael Lessard, No. 24 CANAC Chevrolet Silverado
Daytona International Speedway Camping World Trucks Stats
– Starts: 1, Best start: 8, Best finish: 20
2020 Season Recap
– Starts: 23, Wins: 1, Best start: 5, Best finish: 1, Top 5s: 4, Top 10s: 7, Laps led: 20
Notes:
– Raphael Lessard will pilot the No. 24 Silverado for his sophomore season and his first season with GMS Racing. Lessard earned his first career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory at Talladega Superspeedway and earned four top-five and seven top-10 finishes in 2020.
– CANAC, an independent hardware and construction materials chain from the Quebec City region, will sponsor Lessard for Friday night’s NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway.
– Lessard and the No. 24 team will compete with chassis No. 127 on Friday. This chassis has raced six times for the organization and has four top-10 finishes.
– Chad Walter shifts to the No. 24 Silverado to crew chief for Lessard in 2021. Walter has five wins in 208 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at crew chief and led Tyler Ankrum’s team to a playoff berth in 2020 in his first season as a Camping World Trucks crew chief.
Quote:
“I’m excited to get to work with a new team with GMS and Chevrolet. I’m ready to go. There’s going to be an adaptation with my new crew chief and my new spotter. We’re just going to have to get used to working with each other and see what we all like. I feel like they want to win and I do too. There’s a little bit of confidence from my win at Talladega, but I still have a lot to learn. Daytona will be my third start on a superspeedway.”
Tyler Ankrum, No. 26 LiUNA! Chevrolet Silverado
Daytona International Speedway Camping World Trucks Stats
– Starts: 1, Best start: 7
2020 Season Recap
– Starts: 23, Best start: 2, Best finish: 2, Top 5s: 3, Top 10s: 10, Laps led: 54, Stage wins: 1
Notes:
– Tyler Ankrum returns for his second full-time season with GMS Racing in the No. 26 Silverado. In 2020, Ankrum qualified for the playoffs for the second consecutive season and finished the season with three top-five and 10 top-10 finishes and led 54 laps.
– LiUNA returns as primary sponsor for Ankrum’s No. 26 Chevrolet for Friday night’s NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway.
– Ankrum and the No. 26 team will utilize chassis No. 133 at Daytona. Ankrum competed with this chassis at both superspeedway races in 2020 with a best finish of 16th at Talladega in October.
– Charles Denike move to captain the No. 26 crew for Tyler Ankrum in the 2021 season. 2020 marked Denike’s first full-time season as crew chief and produced two memorable wins, with Chase Elliott at Charlotte in May 2020 as well as Sam Mayer’s commanding win of Bristol in September.
Quote:
“I’m excited to get the season started. I feel confident heading into a second full-time season with the same team, but also for the opportunity to work with a new crew chief. Last year was a learning year for me and I feel like I’m where I need to be to go out and win races and compete. Last year at Daytona we did a pretty good job of staying out of trouble for most of the race, but got caught up in something towards the end. Hopefully this year we can improve on that and have a shot at the win.”
ABOUT GMS RACING
GMS Racing competes full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with drivers Sheldon Creed, Zane Smith, Tyler Ankrum, Chase Purdy and Raphael Lessard. The team also competes in the ARCA Racing Series with Jack Wood. Since the team began in 2014, GMS Racing won the 2016 and 2020 Camping World Trucks Championship, the 2015 ARCA Racing Series championship as well as the 2019 & 2020 ARCA East championship and 2020 Sioux Chief Showdown Championship. GMS has grown to occupy several buildings located in Statesville, N.C. The campus also includes operations for GMS Fabrication. More information can be found at https://gmsracing.net/.
SOCIAL MEDIA
To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content, follow GMS Racing on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
