Chase Purdy: Driver, No. 4 Bama Buggies Chevrolet
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Overview:
Event: Worldwide Express 250, Race 16 of 23, 250 Laps – 70/70/110; 187.5 Miles
Location: Richmond Raceway (0.75-mile D-shaped oval)
Date/Broadcast: July 29, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
‘Chase’n a Playoff Spot:
Chase Purdy and the No. 4 Bama Buggies team head to Richmond Raceway for Saturday’s Worldwide Express 250. Purdy enters the final race of the regular season 13th in the Truck Series point standings, 54 points below the cutoff line, putting him in a must-win situation to make the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series playoffs. The Mississippi native entered the 2022 season having never earned a top-five result in Truck Series action but has produced two across 15 races in his first season at Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM), including a career-best runner-up finish at Texas Motor Speedway in April. He has already produced a career-high seven top-10 finishes this season, after posting just two each in 2021 and 2022.
Purdy has recorded an average finish of 7.2 and finished inside the top 10 on all four paved ovals that are less than 1.3 miles in length raced in the Truck Series so far this season. His best result on those tracks was a fifth-place finish at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in June.
The 23-year-old driver is in his third full-time season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and first with KBM. He enters Saturday’s race having totaled two top-five and 12 top-10 finishes across his 67 career Truck Series starts. Across two Truck Series starts at Richmond, Purdy has an average finish of 21.0 with a best result of 14th coming in last year’s race. A KBM driver has won the last two Truck Series races at Richmond. John Hunter Nemechek won in 2021 and Chandler Smith was victorious last year.
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.
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 had 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. This will be Villeneuve’s first race calling the shots for a race at Richmond.
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 Saturday 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:
What is your approach heading into Saturday’s race?
“I would say our approach is to do everything we can to put ourselves in position to win. That’s our only option to make the playoffs and that’s what we plan to do.”
Is there a track that you’ve raced at in any series that is similar to Richmond?
“Richmond is similar to 5 Flags Speedway in Pensacola (Florida) in a lot of ways. It’s a worn out short track where you have to manage and save tires and be there at the end of the race. I’ve had a lot of strong runs at 5 Flags — won the Snowflake and almost won the Derby — so I feel like Richmond is a place where I can go out and compete for the win.”
Chase Purdy Career Highlights:
- Across 67 career Truck Series starts, has produced 20 laps led, two top-five and 12 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-56: The No. 4 Bama Buggies team will unload KBM-56 for Saturday’s race at Richmond. This chassis has two career victories across 18 starts, most recently with John Hunter Nemechek at Kansas Speedway last September. Nemechek also won with KBM-56 at Pocono Raceway in June of 2021. Purdy has piloted this Silverado twice this year, with a best result of eighth coming at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Click Here for KBM-56 Performance Profile:
KBM Notes of Interest:
- KBM drivers have produced two wins, six top-five and six top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 7.9 across nine Truck Series starts at Richmond. Chandler Smith won last year’s race at Richmond and John Hunter Nemechek was victorious in 2021. Kurt Busch picked up the team’s lone NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at the Virginia track in April of 2012.
- KBM holds the Craftsman Truck Series records for most career wins (100) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). KBM owner-driver Kyle Busch picked up his organization’s first-ever win at Nashville Superspeedway in April of 2010 and also picked up its 100th Truck Series victory at Pocono Raceway in July of 2023. 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.
