Chase Purdy: Driver, No. 4 Bama Buggies Chevrolet
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Overview:
Event: Long John Silver’s 200, Race 7 of 23, 200 Laps – 50/50/100; 105.2 Miles
Location: Martinsville Speedway (0.526-mile oval)
Date/Broadcast: April 14, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
‘Chase’n Checkers:
Despite being only six races into the 2023 season, Chase Purdy enters Friday’s race at Martinsville Speedway having already produced a career-high three top-10 finishes and having achieved a career-best runner-up finish earlier this month at Texas Motor Speedway. Purdy currently ranks 11th in the Craftsman Truck Series point standings, 112 tallies behind points leader Ty Majeski. With 10 races remaining before the playoffs begin, the 23-year-old driver sits 12th on the playoff grid, three points below the cutoff line. Across three prior Truck Series starts at Martinsville, Purdy has recorded an average finish of 30.0. His best result was a 21st-place finish in 2018.
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, eight top-10 finishes, and 18 laps led across his 58 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 (Ala.) Superspeedway in October.
Purdy will be trying to etch his mark in the KBM historical archives this weekend at Martinsville 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. William Byron collected KBM’s record-breaking 51st Truck Series victory in July of 2016. 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.
Eight of KBM’s wins have come at Martinsville, including four from drivers who collected their first career Truck Series victory at ‘The Paperclip,’: Denny Hamlin (2011), Bubba Wallace (2013), Noah Gragson (2017) and Todd Gilliland (2019).
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 second atop the pit box at Martinsville. He finished 21st with Townley at the Virginia track in 2016.
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 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:
After a tough week at the Bristol Dirt Race will it be good to get right back on track again Friday?
“I think you have to have short-term memory when you have a weekend like we had at Bristol. Especially when you were fast and had a shot at a really good finish and it was all taken away. We’ll debrief the Bristol race and move onto Martinsville.”
Do you enjoy short track racing?
“I’m really excited to get back to the roots of my racing, what me and a lot of other guys started in — short track racing. Martinsville is a fun place. There is always a lot of drama there and it is always action packed. I think it should be a good track for our No. 4 Bama Buggies team and I think it’ll put on a great show for the fans. I look forward to competing with the boss (Kyle Busch) and trying to get that 100th win before he does.”
What does it take to have a fast truck at Martinsville?
“You don’t want to be too free on entry and then you have to be able to turn the center and have drive up off. You have to make sure it really turns at the two-thirds mark and get off the corner with a lot of rear drive. If you can do that, then I think you’ll be good. And then of course you have to keep your nose clean because it’s a long race. You need to make sure you don’t tear stuff up early so that you are there at the end.”
Chase Purdy Career Highlights:
- Across 58 career Truck Series starts, has produced 18 laps led, one top-five and seven 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’s race at Martinsville. John Hunter Nemechek raced this truck three times in 2022, including a fourth-place finish in last year’s Martinsville race. 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.
KBM-58 Performance Profile:
KBM Notes of Interest:
- KBM drivers have collected eight wins, five poles, 990 laps led, 26 top-five and 41 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 9.1 across 63 starts at Martinsville. Todd Gilliland picked up the organization’s most recent victory at the 0.526-mile oval in October of 2019. Kyle Busch (2016 & 2019), Darrell Wallace Jr. (2013 & 2014), and Denny Hamlin (2011 & 2012) have all collected two victories at the Virginia track while Noah Gragson (2017) has one win.
- 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.
