Saturday, August 7
Track: Watkins Glen, 2.45-mile road course
Race: 15 of 22
Event: United Rentals 176 (72 laps, 176 miles)
Schedule
Race: 12:30 p.m. ET (FS1)
Hailie Deegan, No. 1 Toter Ford F-150
- Deegan is making her 16th career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) start in her first event at Watkins Glen International (WGI).
- Deegan returns behind the wheel of the No. 1 Toter Ford F-150 after the NCWTS took a three-week break. During the hiatus, Deegan celebrated her 20th birthday and traveled to Jamaica for vacation.
- The California native will drive her first ever lap at Watkins Glen when the green flag drops on Saturday afternoon at the 2.45-mile road course.
- The NCWTS has completed two road course races so far this season – Daytona (Fla.) Road Course and Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Deegan scored a best finish of 14th between the two events.
- In the most recent NCWTS race three weeks ago at Knoxville Raceway in Iowa, Deegan started fourth and finished 21st after contact during several late race cautions.
- Crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. a native of Lockport, New York, has called the shots for two Xfinity Series events at WGI. Hillman guided Brian Scott in 2015 and Brandon Jones in 2016, and garnered a best finish of sixth with Scott. The New York native has called one Cup Series race at the road course in 2014. Saturday’s event with Deegan will be Hillman’s first time calling a NCWTS race at the New York track.
Tanner Gray, No. 15 Ford Performance F-150
- Gray makes his 15th start of the 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) season at Watkins Glen International.
- The Ford Performance driver has never raced at the 2.45-mile road course. He has three career road course starts in the NCWTS with a best finish of 15th at the Daytona (Fla.) Road Course.
- The last time out in the No. 15 at Knoxville Raceway in Iowa, Gray was running inside the top-10 when he was caught up in a big wreck on lap 153 that ended his evening early.
- Crew chief Marcus Richmond has been atop of the pit box for six road course events in his career with two top-five and three top-10 finishes. All six races were at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Taylor Gray, No. 17 Ford Performance F-150
- Taylor Gray will make his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut at Watkins Glen International (WGI) after his scheduled debut at Richmond (Va.) Raceway in April was delayed. This will be the first of five Truck races for the younger Gray. He is scheduled to compete at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison Ill., Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway.
- The 16-year-old driver has raced the last four weeks with the ARCA Menards Series with four consecutive top-five finishes. He will take that momentum into a double duty weekend at WGI, where he will compete on Friday night with ARCA in the No. 17 Ripper Coffee Fusion before hopping in the No. 17 Ford Performance truck on Saturday afternoon.
- Gray comes into this weekend with three career road course events under his belt, all coming in 2020 with the ARCA and ARCA West series’. He finished fourth and 11th in West action at the Utah Motorsports Campus in Tooele and fourth at the Daytona (Fla.) Road Course.
- Crew chief Chad Johnston has called 20 career road course races in his career with one win, three top-fives and eight top-10s. The win came at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway with Martin Truex, Jr. in 2013.
