Chase Purdy: Driver, No. 4 Bama Buggies Chevrolet
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Overview:
Event: TSport 200, Race 17 of 23, 200 laps – 60/60/80; 137.2 Miles
Location: Lucas Oil Indianapolis (Ind.) Raceway Park (IRP) (0.686-mile oval)
Date/Broadcast: Aug. 11, 2023, at 9 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
‘Chase’n Wins:
Chase Purdy and the No. 4 Bama Buggies team head to Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP) for Friday night’s TSport 200. The Mississippi native entered the 2022 season having never earned a top-five result in Truck Series action but has produced two across 16 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. He currently ranks 13th in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver point standings.
Purdy finished 27th in last year’s Truck Series race at IRP. He led 24 laps and finished fourth in the 2018 ARCA Menards Series race at the 0.686-mile oval.
The 23-year-old driver is in his third full-time season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and first with KBM. He enters Friday’s race having totaled two top- five and 12 top-10 finishes across his 68 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.
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 IRP.
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:
With not being in the playoffs, how do you approach the rest of the season?
“Honestly, more than ever we are hungrier, and our only goal is to go out and win races. At Richmond, I felt like we were on the wrong end of a judgement call and if we weren’t then we probably had the fastest truck there and had a good shot at the win. We need to move on from it and take it and let it fuel us for the rest of the season. We need to finish strong. We’re going to chase wins — we have nothing to lose now.”
IRP has a unique configuration. How do you attack that track?
“I’ve raced there two times before and had a shot at winning there a few years ago. It’s a track that I’m familiar with and have been able to be fast at. You need to have a truck that will keep turning and have good drive up off the corners. It’s just like every other worn-out short track, you have to take care of your stuff and be there at the end. Short tracks are my specialty, and we have a lot of them coming up on the schedule, so I’m really, really excited and hungrier than ever to try and get this Bama Buggies Silverado in victory lane.”
Chase Purdy Career Highlights:
- Across 68 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-58: The No. 4 Bama Buggies team will unload KBM-58 for Friday night’s race at IRP. John Hunter Nemechek raced this truck three times in 2022, with a best result of second coming at Richmond Raceway. In 2021, Nemechek piloted KBM-58 to three wins: Charlotte Motor Speedway, Richmond Raceway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. KBM-58 has recorded four career wins, three with Nemechek in 2021 and one with owner-driver Kyle Busch at Charlotte in 2019. This Silverado raced most recently with Purdy at North Wilkesboro in May, where he brought home an eighth-place finish.
KBM Notes of Interest:
- KBM drivers have recorded one pole, two top-five and three top-10 finishes across five Truck Series starts at IRP resulting in an average finish of 11.4. Owner-driver Kyle Busch’s runner-up finish in 2010 was the organization’s best result.
- 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.
