NIECE MOTORSPORTS
NCTS RACE ADVANCE: MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
Event: Boys and Girls Club of the Blue Ridge 200 (200 laps / 105.2 miles)
Round: 5 of 25 (Regular Season)
Track: Martinsville Speedway
Location: Ridgeway, Virginia
Date & Time: Friday, March 28 | 7:30 PM ET
Tune-In: FOX Sports 1 | NASCAR Racing Network (NRN) | SiriusXM Ch. 90
Team Stats & Notes
- Niece Motorsports Martinsville Stats: Niece drivers have accumulated 31 total NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) starts at Martinsville Speedway since 2017. The team has amassed a total of two top-fives and four top-10 finishes including a second-place result in 2019 with Ross Chastain. Last spring, Kaden Honeycutt led the organization with a ninth-place effort.
- Strong Outing in Miami: Last week’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway marked the second race of the season to feature two Niece Motorsports entries finish inside the top-10. The team led the field for a considerable portion of the race with Chastain behind the wheel of its No. 44 entry before finishing sixth.
No. 42 J.F. Electric / Utilitra Chevrolet Silverado RST
Driver: Matt Mills | Crew Chief: Mike Shiplett
- Mills’ Martinsville Stats: Matt Mills has made two NCTS starts at Martinsville Speedway, both of which came last year. His personal-best finish was 19th in the fall race. Mills has also competed in six NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) races at ‘The Paperclip’, finishing as high as 18th in April, 2022.
- Shiplett’s Martinsville Stats: Both of Mike Shiplett’s NCTS starts at Martinsville were made last year; working the first race with Bret Holmes and the second with Mills. Shiplett has called 12 NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) races at the short track, finishing as high as 12th with AJ Allmendinger in 2010. He also called one NXS race at this track in 2023.
- On the Truck: Mills’ No. 42 Chevrolet Silverado RST will race with support from longtime partners J.F. Electric and Utilitra, who will serve as his anchor partners for the entire 25-race season.
- Recapping Homestead-Miami: Matt Mills and the No. 42 team finished inside the top-15 after a hard-fought race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Mills started the evening off in 17th, and had a relatively smooth set of first two stages. After making adjustments on the final pit stop of the night, Mills gained track position in the final run to the checkered flag, walking away in 14th-place.
- Points Rundown: Mills’ 14th-place finish at Homestead-Miami netted him four positions in the points standings. Currently scored in 15th overall, Mills trails Matt Crafton in 14th by 11 points with a gap of three points over Jack Wood in 16th. He is currently 25 points below the Playoffs cutline heading into Martinsville.
- Quoting Mills: Do you anticipate there being an uptick in pace on the short track package this year?
“I feel like we’ve done a lot of work over the offseason to help our short track program because that was a struggle point for us last year. Short tracks personally have been a bit of a love-hate relationship for me, especially Martinsville. It’s all about track position, and it’s a different style of race craft now. Really, if we can get out of there with a top-10, that would be a really solid day for us and the J.F. Electric / Utilitra team.”
About J.F. Electric: J.F. Electric is an electrical contractor that provides engineering expertise, backed by construction and installation know-how in a diverse range of service offerings, from utilities and commercial projects, to industrial and telecommunications customers. When having a long family history in an industry, a company not only builds on its knowledge and experience, it takes pride in cultivating a solid understanding of client needs, all the while nurturing strong relationships with its employees. Evolving through five generations of the Fowler family, J.F. Electric has matured into a well-managed and thoughtfully diversified electrical contractor which is poised to continue its growth and expansion into the future.
About Utilitra: Utilitra is a woman-owned firm specializing in utility and technology solutions with a diverse team of specialized professionals. Utilitra is committed to solving their client’s unique challenges, whether one expert or a team of experts is needed. By adapting to the needs of their respective industries, Utilitra has built a range of services for their utility and technology partners.
No. 44 Moore’s Venture Foods Chevrolet Silverado RST
Driver: Matt Gould | Crew Chief: Wally Rogers
- Gould Returns: NASCAR Advanced Auto Parts Weekly Series racer, Matt Gould, will pilot the No. 44 Chevrolet in his third-career NCTS start for Niece Motorsports on Friday night. The 19-year-old son of crew chief, Phil Gould, made his series debut at the Milwaukee Mile Speedway last season and later competed in the fall Martinsville event as well. He is the third driver to share the No. 44 entry this year following Ross Chastain and Bayley Currey.
- Gould’s Martinsville Stats: Gould made his first start at Martinsville last October, an event where he started 22nd and finished 27th after experiencing mid-race mechanical issues.
- Rogers’ Martinsville Stats: Wally Rogers has played a role in 12 NCTS races at Martinsville Speedway dating back to 2004. Rogers’ drivers have accounted for four top-10 finishes here, including a third-place effort in April, 2005 with Ron Hornaday. He has also made nine NCS starts paired with one NXS start as a crew chief at this track.
- On the Truck: Gould’s No. 44 Chevrolet Silverado RST will race with support from Moore’s Venture Foods.
- Recapping Homestead-Miami: Ross Chastain and the No. 44 team put on a thrilling show at Homestead-Miami by contending for the race win all night long. Chastain, in his return to the Truck Series, qualified the highest out of the team in seventh. With a pair of top-10 finishes in both stages, the team held track position up at the front of the field. Chastain took the point on several occasions, leading for a total of 33 laps. The team was searching for more long run pace, but left the track content with a sixth-place finish.
- Owner Points Rundown: Niece Motorsports’ No. 44 team continues to serve as the leading entry of the organization following a brilliant race at Homestead-Miami. The No. 44 currently sits eleventh in the owner points standings, 12 markers behind Front Row Motorsports’ No. 34 team which holds the final spot in the provisional Playoffs cutline.
- Quoting Gould: Since you have a race’s worth of experience at Martinsville now, what are some of the things that you’ll pay attention to this week?
“One of the biggest things that I will try to do this week will be to keep heat out of the brakes. I remember in last year’s race, I cooked the brakes a little bit in stage one and that hurt us through the run. The other keys I’ll try to follow are staying disciplined on the bottom and knowing where I have to position on restarts. I’m very excited to come back and work with Wally and the guys on our No. 44 team. I can’t thank everyone at Niece Motorsports, Chevrolet, Moore’s Venture Foods, and Precision Vehicle Logistics enough for supporting me.”
About Moore’s Venture Foods: Moore’s Venture Foods is a family-owned grocery store chain located in Oklahoma. The chain has brick-and-mortar stores in Alva, Fairfax, Shattuck, and Tonkawa, Oklahoma, and has been operated by the Moore family for three generations. To learn more, please visit www.MooresVentureFoods.com.
No. 45 AutoVentive / Precision Vehicle Logistics Chevrolet Silverado RST
Driver: Kaden Honeycutt | Crew Chief: Phil Gould
- Honeycutt’s Martinsville Stats: Kaden Honeycutt has made four NCTS starts at Martinsville Speedway. Honeycutt made his series debut here in 2022, and in last spring’s race at ‘The Paperclip’, he finished ninth with the No. 45 team. In addition to his NCTS debut, Honeycutt also made his NXS debut here as well in 2023.
- Gould’s Martinsville Stats: Phil Gould has called eight NCTS races at Martinsville since 2019, earning two top-fives and three top-10 results. Gould’s best finish at the 0.526-mile short track came in November, 2019, when the No. 45 team finished runner-up.
- On the Truck: Honeycutt’s No. 45 Chevrolet Silverado RST will race with support from AutoVentive and Precision Vehicle Logistics, who will serve as his anchor partners for the majority of the season.
- Recapping Homestead-Miami: For the second week in a row, Kaden Honeycutt and the No. 45 team rallied back from mid-race penalties to bring home a solid finish. Honeycutt started in 13th-place, but climbed up inside the top-10 to score points in both stages. On the final pit stop of the night, the No. 45 team was forced to start in the rear, but were able to overcome a lack of track position to parlay into an impressive top-10 result.
- Short Track Reps: Last Sunday, Honeycutt entered the ASA STARS National Tour race at Five Flags Speedway after the truck race at Homestead-Miami. In his first Super Late Model race of the year, Honeycutt walked away with a top-10 finish (seventh) despite having mechanical woes hinder his on-track speed.
- Points Rundown: Honeycutt continued his ascension in the points standings last weekend in Homestead, having gained four positions. Entering the fifth event of the season, Honeycutt is currently above the Playoffs cutline in 10th. He has a two-point buffer on Ben Rhodes in 11th, and is two points behind Jake Garcia in ninth.
- Quoting Honeycutt: How important is this weekend going to be knowing that the series returns here later on in the Playoffs?
“This race is really going to be a testament to how we can be in the Playoffs and how we can set ourselves up in good position. Even if we’re not a winning truck this week, we know we can come back in the fall and know what we need to work on. We’ll need to adjust to the racetrack to be better, and going off of last year, I think we’re in a really good spot to go and have a good night in the spring. We’re hoping to go out and get a clock and get some more points to keep up our momentum on the AutoVentive / Precision team.”
About AutoVentive: AutoVentive is an industry-leading Software as a Service (SaaS) applications developer providing customized solutions to the automotive logistics industry. The company is part of Liberty Hill Equity Partners, LLC, a Cincinnati-based private equity firm.
About Precision Vehicle Logistics: Precision Vehicle Logistics is a customer-focused group of professionals committed to service excellence in finished vehicle logistics. Precision offers a unique combination of talented experience, industry-leading software and systems, and a network of partners and resources to deliver customized solutions to the world’s leading automakers.
About Niece Motorsports: Niece Motorsports is a professional auto racing team founded by United States Marine Corps Veteran Al Niece. In 2025, the team celebrates its 10th consecutive season competing in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) where it fields the Nos. 41, 42, 44 and 45. Since its founding in 2016, Niece Motorsports has garnered nine wins, 50+ top-fives, 100+ top-10s, 190+ top-15 finishes and made five playoff appearances. At its 80,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Salisbury, NC, Niece Motorsports is a trusted build shop for the Chevrolet Silverados of multiple NCTS teams as well as a customizable fabrication shop for any manufacturing needs.
Follow the Team: To keep up to date with the latest team news, visit niecemotorsports.com or connect on Facebook and Instagram (@NieceMotorsports) as well as X (@NieceMotorsport).
