Sheldon Creed, No. 2 LiftKits4Less Chevrolet Silverado
Talladega Superspeedway Stats
- NCWTS Starts: 2, Poles: 1 (2020), Top 10s: 1, Best finish: 9th (2019)
- ARCA Starts: 2, Top 5s: 1, Top 10s: 1, Best start: 3rd, Best finish: 4th (2018)
2021 NCWTS Season Stats
- Starts: 19, Wins: 3 (Darlington I, II, & Gateway), Top 5s: 8, Top 10s: 9, Poles: 2 (Darlington II, Bristol II), Stage wins: 6, Laps led: 596
- Sponsor spotlight: LiftKits4Less returns this week to feature on Sheldon Creed’s No. 2 Silverado. However, Creed won’t be racing in the familiar orange and blue colors, as the team will switch to pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Riding along with Sheldon will be ribbons with names of breast cancer survivors who are related to GMS Racing employees and crew members.
- Chassis history/info: Creed and the No. 2 team will utilize chassis no. 53 at Talladega Superspeedway. This chassis is an absolute bullet, with a track record of three poles and two wins on superspeedway tracks. Kaz Grala took this Silverado to victory lane at Daytona in 2017, and Timothy Peters emerged victorious with it at Talladega in 2018. Most recently, Creed took it to Daytona in February, where it finished 6th, and he also used it to compete at Talladega last season, where it finished 12th.
- Back2Back: Sheldon Creed and the No. 2 GMS Racing team have some ground to make up after a catastrophic crash last time out in Las Vegas. Entering Talladega, the reigning NCWTS champion is in need of five points to break back into the Playoffs picture. With two races left to run until the next cutoff race, this feat is more than doable, but the crew isn’t taking anything for granted just yet.
- Quote: “I think we have a good opportunity to overcome last weekend’s mistakes at Talladega. Statistically, I’m not that great of a superspeedway racer, but I always enjoy racing on these types of tracks. I think that in order to be competitive on Saturday we need to race aggressive from the start, but we can’t afford to get ourselves in trouble. If we can walk away with some solid stage points and a good finish, I’ll be a pretty happy guy as we look forward to inching our way closer to Phoenix.”
Zane Smith, No. 21 Hamsters USA Chevrolet Silverado
Talladega Superspeedway Stats
- NCWTS Starts: 1, Best start: 3rd, Best finish: 33rd (2020)
- ARCA Starts: 1, Wins: 1 (2018), Top 5s: 1, Top 10s: 1, Best start: 8th
2021 NCWTS Season Stats
- Starts: 19, Top 5s: 1, Top 10s: 12, Stage wins: 3, Best start: 2nd, Best finish: 4th (Nashville), Laps led: 66
- Sponsor spotlight: Hamsters USA joins Zane Smith and the No. 21 GMS Racing Chevrolet this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. Hamsters USA is an international motorcycle club charity group that has raised over $3.5 million to help kids receive occupational, physical, speech and behavior therapy they need to thrive. Riding along with Zane will be ribbons with names of breast cancer survivors who are related to GMS Racing employees and crew members in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
- Chassis history/info: Smith and the No. 21 team will utilize chassis no. 134 in Sweet Home Alabama this weekend. Zane has been the only driver to compete with this chassis, and he has used it in all three of his previous superspeedway races dating back to Daytona in 2020. This Silverado is tough, as it was nearly destroyed in a heavy crash last year at Talladega, but the crew has rebuilt it for battle once again.
- 21in21: Zane Smith, similarly to teammate Sheldon Creed, needs to make up as many points as possible over the next two races in order to compete for a championship at Phoenix. A blown tire resulting from contact last weekend in Las Vegas devastated Smith’s points total, but the 22-year-old is only nineteen points below the cutline. A breakthrough win at ‘Dega could turn his season completely around, and don’t be surprised if it happens, as Smith has visited victory lane here with the ARCA Menards Series.
- Quote: “I’m really looking forward to getting down to Talladega this weekend. I’ve won there before, but there are so many unknowns going into the race, so it will definitely be a tough one. I’m happy to have Hamsters USA riding with us, and it’s great to see that there will be a lot of money donated to charity for this race. Hopefully, we are going to stay out of the big one by staying up front all race and end up above that cutline. We’re going to work with our teammates to score stage points and be around at the end.”
Chase Purdy, No. 23 Bama Buggies Chevrolet Silverado
Talladega Superspeedway Stats
- NCWTS Starts: 1, Best start: 18th, Best finish: 32nd (2020)
- ARCA Starts: 1, Best start: 2nd, Best finish: 25th (2018)
2021 NCWTS Season Stats
- Starts: 18, Top 10s: 1, Best start: 4th, Best finish: 6th (Gateway), Laps led: 4
- Sponsor spotlight: Bama Buggies returns this week to feature on Chase Purdy’s No. 23 Silverado. Riding along with Chase will be ribbons with names of breast cancer survivors who are related to GMS Racing employees and crew members in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
- Chassis history/info: Purdy and the No. 23 team will utilize chassis no. 129 at the fastest track on the schedule. This Chevy has been in the GMS Racing rotation since 2017 and has three Top 10 finishes on the stat sheet, including a win at Daytona in 2018 with Johnny Sauter behind the wheel. It was ran earlier this season at Daytona, where Purdy finished 29th after electrical gremlins forced an early exit. - Sweet Home Mississippi: Talladega Superspeedway is Chase Purdy’s home track, as the rookie grew up in nearby Meridian, MS. The Ole’ Miss student spent a lot of his life in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and considers Talladega to be his favorite track by far on the schedule. If Purdy is able to pull off a win at the 2.66-mile superspeedway, you better believe there is going to be one huge party in “T-Town”. - Quote: “Home race for me this weekend! The name of the game here is survival. We are going to do our best to be there at the end and keep our nose clean through all the chaos. These races are unpredictable and you never know what can happen, so I’m excited for the challenge.”
Jack Wood, No. 24 Azalea Gynecology Chevrolet Silverado
Talladega Superspeedway Stats
- ARCA Starts: 1, Best start: 12th, Best finish: 11th (2021)
2021 NCWTS Season Stats
- Starts: 9, Top 10s: 1, Best start: 2nd, Best finish: 10th (Gateway), Laps led: 1
- Sponsor spotlight: Azalea Gynecology joins Jack Wood at Talladega Superspeedway for a one race deal on the No. 24 Silverado. Based in Wilmington, NC, Azalea Gynecology is raising awareness for breast cancer research with a special pink paint scheme. Riding along with Jack will be ribbons with names of breast cancer survivors who are related to GMS Racing employees and crew members.
- Chassis history/info: Wood and his No. 24 team will utilize chassis no. 127 at Talladega, a chassis that has finished in the Top 5 three times. This Chevrolet has two second place finishes on its resume, once with Spencer Gallagher at Talladega in 2016, and once with Justin Haley at Daytona in 2018. Most recently, Raphael Lessard raced with it at Daytona to open up the 2021 season.
- Plate Track Rookie: Saturday’s Chevrolet Silverado 250 will be Jack Wood’s first race at a superspeedway with a truck, but the rookie has two ARCA races under his belt from earlier this season, in which he finished ninth at Daytona and eleventh at Talladega with the GMS Racing No. 21 ARCA Chevrolet.
- Quote: “This will be my first race on a super speedway with the truck series, but I am excited to have four other teammates on the track with me to lean on and gain good experience. It’s great to have Azalea Gynecology onboard my No. 24 Silverado this week! Hopefully I’ll be able to run all of the laps and push one of my GMS Racing teammates to a victory.”
Tyler Ankrum, No. 26 LiUNA! Chevrolet Silverado
Talladega Superspeedway Stats
- NCWTS Starts: 2, Top 10s: 1, Best start: 2nd, Best finish: 7th (2019)
2021 NCWTS Season Stats
- Starts: 19, Top 5s: 3, Top 10s: 5, Poles: 1 (COTA), Best finish: 3rd (twice), Laps led: 12
- Sponsor spotlight: LiUNA! returns this week to feature on Tyler Ankrum’s No. 26 Silverado. Riding along with Chase will be ribbons with names of breast cancer survivors who are related to GMS Racing employees and crew members in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
- Chassis history: Ankrum and his No. 26 crew will utilize winning chassis no. 104 on the high banks at Talladega, a truck that only has four races on its resume. This chassis has three Top 10 finishes, including a win at Daytona International Speedway in 2016 with Johnny Sauter. It most recently competed at Talladega in 2019, where Stewart Friesen earned a fifth place finish.
- Shake & Bake: On the final restart in last year’s race at Talladega, Tyler Ankrum had a potential win slip away when the drivers in his line did not work together behind him. Determined to come back stronger this time around, Ankrum is ready to race for a victory to end his season on a high note. Fans may remember Tyler’s throwback paint scheme this year was a Ricky Bobby-inspired tribute, and that’s no coincidence – he wants to go fast!
- Quote: “I’m excited to headed to ‘Dega, I always love going there but I typically don’t ever wanna go back until this weekend rolls back around. We have always brought fast trucks to compete there, but we just never have the luck to finish it out. I’m looking to finish this year and have a good run!”
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 Jack Wood. The team also competes in the ARCA Menards Series with Daniel Dye. 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/.
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