Chase Purdy: Driver, No. 4 Bama Buggies Chevrolet
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Overview:
Event: Buckle Up South Carolina, Race 9 of 23, 147 Laps – 45/45/57; 200.8 Miles
Location: Darlington Raceway (1.33-mile, egg-shaped oval)
Date/Broadcast: May 12, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
‘Chase’n Checkers:
Chase Purdy and the No. 4 Bama Buggies team head to Darlington Raceway for this week’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. Purdy will be looking to rebound from a disappointing race at Kansas Speedway in his last start. Purdy qualified third, finished the opening stanza in fifth and crossed the stripe for Stage Two in the eighth position. Unfortunately, in the Final Stage he got caught up in a five-truck accident that ended his night and relegated the No. 4 team to a 33rd-place finish and their first DNF of the season.
Despite being only eight races into the 2023 season, Purdy enters Friday night’s race having already produced a career-high four top-10 finishes and having achieved a career-best runner-up finish earlier this year at Texas Motor Speedway. Purdy currently ranks 11th in the Craftsman Truck Series point standings, 136 tallies behind points leaders Zane Smith and Ty Majeski. With eight races remaining before the playoffs begin, the 23-year-old driver sits 12th on the playoff grid, 18 points below the cutoff line.
Across three prior Truck Series starts at Darlington, Purdy has recorded an average finish of 28.7. His best result was a 15th-place finish in September of 2021. In last year’s race, he finished 35th for Hattori Racing Enterprises, while John Hunter Nemechek won the pole and led a race-high 69 laps en route to victory for the No. 4 team.
The Mississippi native is in his third full-time season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and first with KBM. He enters Saturday’s race having totaled one top-five, nine top-10 finishes, and 18 laps led across his 60 career Truck Series starts. Purdy finished 16th in the Truck Series final standings in 2022 after competing in 22 of the 23 events. He posted two top-10 finishes and nine laps led, with a season-best finish of seventh coming at Talladega Superspeedway in October.
Purdy will be trying to etch his mark in the KBM historical archives this weekend at Darlington as he looks to collect the organization’s 100th NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory. KBM-owner driver Kyle Busch collected KBM’s record-extending 99th-career victory with his dominant victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway earlier this year leaving his organization one shy of the century mark. Overall, 18 different drivers have won at least one race behind the wheel of a KBM truck, led by Busch’s 47. Four drivers rank second on the list with seven victories: Byron, Christopher Bell, Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek. KBM has collected two of those victories at Darlington, most recently with John Hunter Nemechek last year. Kasey Kahne picked up the organization’s first win at “The Lady in Black” in 2011.
Jimmy Villeneuve is atop the pit box for Purdy and the No. 4 Chevrolet team this season. Prior to being promoted to crew chief for the 2023 season, Villeneuve served as a Truck Chief at KBM since the 2017 season and in that role was a part of 18 wins, a driver’s championship with Christopher Bell in 2017 and the 2019 owner’s championship with the No. 51 team. Prior to joining KBM the New Hampshire native served as a truck chief at Athenian Motorsports in 2015 when the team won with John Wes Townley at Las Vegas. He was promoted to crew chief five races into the 2016 season. Saturday’s race will be Villeneuve’s first atop the pit box at Darlington.
Bama Buggies, your one-stop shop for all the biggest names in powersports and utility vehicles, will be the primary sponsor on Purdy’s No. 4 Chevrolet Friday night and for the majority of the events on the 2023 schedule. They are Central Alabama’s powersports experts, serving as an authorized dealer of Polaris, Slingshot, and Seadoo.
Chase Purdy, Driver Q&A:
You had a tough race at Kansas. Are you glad that there is another race on the schedule right away?
“I’m glad that we are strapping right back into our trucks not even a week later. That’s a really good thing mentally as a driver — having an opportunity to get a good finish and quickly get your confidence back.”
Darlington is a unique race track. How do you attack the race Friday night?
“Obviously it requires a lot of focus and it’s a driver’s race track. It’s important to have a truck that is stable enough and has enough security to run up against the wall and be aggressive. I think the driver who can run on top and run against the wall the best is going to be the driver to beat. You have to keep the nose on it and stay clean — don’t make mistakes like we did last weekend. It’s back to the drawing board this weekend and it’s an opportunity to have a good point’s day and put ourselves back in contention — if we do everything right maybe even come out with a win.”
At what point do you start looking at where you stand on the playoff grid?
“I’ve already started looking at it and it’s already been on my mind. I know we are 11th in driver’s points and we’re sitting 12th in playoff points — I think we’re 18 points out or something like that. Realistically we are only one good day away from being in, but obviously we’d like to win and guarantee ourselves a spot.”
Chase Purdy Career Highlights:
- Across 60 career Truck Series starts, has produced 18 laps led, one top-five and nine top-10 finishes. Posted a career-best runner-up finish at Texas Motor Speedway in April of 2023.
- Finished 16th in Truck Series championship standings in 2022.
- Finished fourth in the 2018 ARCA Menard’s Series championship standings after recording 84 laps led, 10 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes.
- Earned the 2017 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East rookie of the year honors and finished fourth in the championship standings after posting four poles, 200 laps led, five top-five and eight top-10 finishes across 14 starts.
- Won the prestigious Snowflake 100 Pro Late Model race at 5 Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla., in Dec. of 2018.
Chase Purdy’s No. 4 Chevrolet Silverado RST:
KBM-73: The No. 4 Bama Buggies team will unload KBM-73 for Friday night’s race at Darlington. Purdy earned a runner-up finish with this same Silverado at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this year. John Hunter Nemechek piloted this chassis twice last year, with his best result being a third-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
KBM-73 Performance Profile:
KBM Notes of Interest:
- KBM drivers have collected two wins, 274 laps led, four top-five and seven top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 14.2 across 14 starts at Darlington Raceway. John Hunter Nemechek led a race-high 69 laps en route to victory in last year’s race at the egg-shaped oval. Kasey Kahne picked up the organization’s first win at “The Lady in Black” in 2011.
- KBM holds the Craftsman Truck Series records for most career wins (99) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). With his victory at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway last year, Corey Heim became the 18th different driver to win a Truck Series event for KBM. In addition to collecting a series-record seven Owner’s Championships, the organization has produced two championship-winning drivers: Erik Jones (2015) and Christopher Bell (2017).
- The No. 4 has 18 career victories at KBM and was the number for both of the organization’s driver championships.
