Matt Mills: Driver, No. 51 J.F. Electric Chevrolet
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Overview:
Event: Clean Harbors 175, Race 18 of 23, 175 laps – 55/55/65; 177.625 Miles
Location: Milwaukee Mile (1.015-mile oval)
Date/Broadcast: Aug. 27, 2023, at 4 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
Mills’ Best:
Matt Mills and the No. 51 team head to the Milwaukee Mile for Sunday’s Clean Harbors 175. Mills we be looking to build on the momentum of a career-best fifth-place finish in his KBM debut in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Richmond Raceway in late July. Mills qualified fifth and finished fifth earning his first career top-five finish across 143 national touring series starts.
The 26-year-old driver has made 22 career starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series including seven this season. He produced a career-best starting position of fourth at Michigan International Speedway in 2018 and a career-best fifth-place finish in his KBM debut at Richmond. Most recently, he qualified 17th and finished 23rd driving for Young’s Motorsports in the series’ last stop at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the Virginia native has made 121 career starts with a best result of 10th coming at Daytona International Speedway in 2019. He also made one NASCAR Cup Series start at Kansas Speedway in 2021.
After the first race of the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series owner’s playoffs the No. 51 team sits 10th on the playoff grid, eight points below the cutoff line for advancing to the Round of 8 with two races remaining in the Round of 10. Jack Wood will return to the No. 51 Chevrolet Sept. 8 for the final race of the Round of 10 at Kansas Speedway.
The No. 51 team qualified for the owner’s playoffs after finishing seventh in the regular season owner point standings. Across 17 starts in 2023, the team has recorded two wins, one pole, 170 laps led, seven top-five and 10 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 12.2. Owner-driver Kyle Busch recorded both of the 51 team’s victories winning the second race of the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and most recently collecting his organization’s historic 100th win July 22 at Pocono Raceway.
The No. 51 team has captured the NASCAR Craftsman World Truck Series owner’s championship three times (2013-2014 and 2019) and as an organization KBM has collected a series-record seven owner’s titles.
Veteran crew chief Brian Pattie is calling the shots for the No. 51 team this year in his first season at KBM after spending the last 14 seasons atop the pit box in the NASCAR Cup Series. In the Cup Series, his drivers produced six wins, nine poles, 57 top-five and 131 top-10 finishes across 528 starts. In 2012, he guided Clint Bowyer to three victories and a runner-up finish in the Cup Series championship standings. In 2017, he guided Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to two wins and a berth in the playoffs. The Florida native has also recorded 11 wins in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and now has two wins as a crew chief in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Sunday will be Pattie’s first time calling a Truck Series race at the Milwaukee Mile. Across two Xfinity Series starts at Milwaukee, his driver’s produced an average finish of 19.0 with a best result of 11th coming with Reed Sorenson in 2005.
J.F. Electric, an electrical contractor that’s in the business of creating connections, will be the primary sponsor adorning Mill’s Silverado Sunday. Mills will also carry associate sponsorship from Utilitra, a women-owned utility and technology solutions provider with a diverse team of specialized professionals, and Thompson Electric, a full-service electrical contracting company.
Matt Mills, Driver Q&A:
Do your expectations for this race change after a top-five finish in your KBM debut at Richmond?
“It certainly gives us some momentum. I really just need to go out there and have another solid weekend. If we can qualify in the single digits again and finish in the single digits, I think that would be a good weekend. It’s been more of a learning curve than I expected. Coming over here, it hasn’t just been show up and go faster, there’s been a lot that I’ve had to learn and things that I’ve had to work on. We will go into Milwaukee with some momentum and try and have another solid day in the J.F. Electric Silverado.”
Having never been to Milwaukee before, how are you preparing for this race?
“I’ve been asking lots of questions from lots of different drivers, spotters, and watching a lot of YouTube videos. Basically, that’s how I approached IRP last weekend since there wasn’t a lot to go off of. It worked out well for us over at Young’s Motorsports. I feel like I have more resources over here at KBM, so hopefully we can go out there and start out with some good speed and fine tune from there.”
As you’ve done your research, is there a track that you’ve been to that you feel will be similar to Milwaukee?
“Yeah, maybe 3 and 4 at Gateway. Honestly, growing up in the north, a lot of our racetracks are flat so hopefully that will play into my wheelhouse. Milwaukee is a little bigger, but I still have a really good feeling about it.”
Matt Mills Career Highlights:
- Made his NASCAR Cup Series debut at Kansas Speedway in 2021.
- Has recorded one top-10 finish across 121 career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts, which came at Daytona International Speedway in July of 2019.
- Has produced an average finish of 24.7 across 23 career starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Produced a career-best starting position of fourth at Michigan International Speedway in 2018 and a career-best fifth-place finish at Richmond in his KBM debut this season.
- Kyle Busch’s No. 51 Chevrolet Silverado RST:
KBM-69: The No. 51 J.F. Electric team will unload KBM-69 for Sunday’s race at Milwaukee. It is the same Silverado that Mills qualified fifth and finished fifth win in his KBM debut at Richmond in late July. Across nine starts, KBM-69 has recorded a best result of second twice, both at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with Busch (2021 and 2022).
KBM Notes of Interest:
- KBM’s Truck Series program has never competed in a race at the Milwaukee Mile, but the KBM Super Late Model team recorded three victories at the Wisconsin track. Kyle Busch won the Wisconsin All-Star 100 there in 2008 and also won the Howie Lettow Memorial in 2013. Erik Jones won the Howie Lettow Memorial in 2014.
- 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).
- With 42 victories, the No. 51 is the winningest number in KBM’s Truck Series fleet.
