Chase Purdy: Driver, No. 4 Bama Buggies 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
‘Chase’n Wins:
Chase Purdy and the No. 4 Bama Buggies team head to the Milwaukee Mile for Sunday’s Clean Harbors 175. The race will be the first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at the track since 2009. Matt Crafton is the only driver in Sunday’s field that was a part of the 2009 event. While KBM’s Truck Series program, which debuted in 2010, has never competed in a race at the Milwaukee Mile, 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.
Purdy has never competed in any series at the Milwaukee Mile. He qualified eighth and finished fifth at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, which many would say is the most similar track on the schedule, in the Truck Series earlier this year. He also had success in the K&N East Series at another similar track, New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He captured the pole for the 2017 race at New Hampshire, led seven laps and finished second to current NASCAR Cup Series regular Todd Gilliland.
The Mississippi native is in his third full-time season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and first with KBM. He enters Sunday’s race having totaled two top-five and 12 top-10 finishes across his 69 career Truck Series starts. Purdy entered the 2022 season having never earned a top-five result in Truck Series action but has produced two across 17 races in his first season at 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 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 the Milwaukee Mile.
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 Sunday 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:
How are you preparing for the Milwaukee Mile?
“I’ve never been to Milwaukee, so I’ve just been watching a bunch of races on YouTube, getting on my iRacing Sim and obviously the Chevy Simulator — just using all the tools and resources so that I can be as best prepared as I can when I show up.”
As you’ve prepared for this race is there anything that you’ve found to be unique about the Milwaukee Mile?
“Yeah, I think it’s cool that it’s kind of a worn out surface. It looks like there are two grooves that you can race each other on, but I think that passing is going to be really difficult. So, it’ll be important to have speed early and qualify up front.
What does it mean to be a part of NASCAR’s return to the Milwaukee Mile?
“It’s just really unique. I watched the old Xfinity races there as a kid growing up, so I’m looking forward to going back there. I remember actually watching Kyle (Busch) race there years ago. So, it’ll be really fun and I’m excited about it. It’s kind of like North Wilkesboro. I don’t think this return has quite as much hype as that place did, but it definitely should.”
Chase Purdy Career Highlights:
- Across 69 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 Sunday’s race at Milwaukee. This chassis has two career victories across 19 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 three times this year, with a best result of eighth coming at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
KBM Notes of Interest:
- KBM’s Truck Series program has never competed in a race at The Milwaukee Mile. The KBM Super Late Model team recorded three victories at the Milwaukee Mile. 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).
- The No. 4 has 18 career victories at KBM and was the number for both of the organization’s driver championships.
