Garcia To Drive For MHR In Select Events
• 17-Year-Old To Run In 5 Camping World Truck Series Races
ROSEVILLE, Calif. (March 16, 2022) – McAnally-Hilgemann Racing has announced plans to field a third entry at select NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events this year, with 17-year-old Jake Garcia behind the wheel.
Garcia – a talented young driver from Monroe, Georgia, who races Super Late Models and Pro Late Models – is set to make his Camping World Truck Series debut in an MHR Chevrolet Silverado RST at Martinsville Speedway on April 7, in the first of five races he is slated to run this season.
“We’ve seen Jake in competition and were very impressed,” said team co-owner Bill McAnally. “We want to work with him and be a part of his future in racing.”
Garcia’s talent behind the wheel caught the attention of McAnally, as well as Mike Beam, president of GMS Racing. Discussions between the two focused on providing Garcia a ride in the Camping World Truck Series. Their interest in working together stems from an alliance between their two teams – with MHR operating out of a 57,000-square-foot facility on the GMS campus and utilizing GMS chassis and technology.
“I’ve talked with Mike and we agree that this is a great opportunity to advance a talented young driver to the next level in NASCAR,” McAnally said. “We see a great potential with Jake.”
Beam talked about the alliance, while looking ahead to this year and having Garcia join the team.
“In the first two races of the year, we have seen some tremendous speed come out of the McAnally-Hilgemann Racing trucks ever since they became a part of an alliance with our team at GMS Racing,” Beam said. “We look forward to working with their newest driver, Jake Garcia, and seeing the progression of our alliance throughout the season.”
In addition to the Martinsville race, Garcia is scheduled to compete at World Wide Technology Raceway on June 4, Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on July 29, Richmond Raceway on Aug. 13 and Bristol Motor Speedway on Sept. 15. Garcia will team with two 20-year-olds at MHR. Series veteran Derek Kraus drives the No. 19 MHR Chevrolet Silverado RST and Colby Howard, who is in his first full season of competition in the series, drives the No. 91 Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet Silverado RST.
Garcia will be driving the No. 35 MHR Chevrolet Silverado RST, which carries the same number as his Pro Late Model.
“I’m excited to work with MHR and Chevrolet in this next step in my racing career,” Garcia said. “I’m looking forward to learning a lot from this opportunity and I look for us to have some good finishes in these races with MHR.”
Garcia has captured attention, competing in Super Late Models and Pro Late Models – racing in the Southeast region of the country. Among his many accomplishments, last year he became the youngest driver to win the Southern Super Series championship. He was also the track champion in the Super Late Model division at Five Flags Speedway in 2021.
He won the Rookie of the Year title in the Southern Super Series Super Late Models in 2020, while finishing second in points. He was the 2019 track champion in Pro Late Models at Five Flags Speedway and finished second in the prestigious Snowball Derby that year. In addition, he has scored wins in a number of high-profile Super Late Model and Pro Late Model races.
He has one start in the ARCA Menards Series West, with a sixth-place finish in the season finale last year at Phoenix Raceway.
Garcia is an honor student in his junior year of high school.
MHR has lined up a talented crew to work with Garcia. The team, under the direction of MHR team manager Mark Hillman, will be headed up by crew chief Chad Norris, with Mike Brill serving as the truck chief.
“Fielding a third Silverado is a big step,” McAnally said. “It would not be possible without the support of GMS and their great staff. We value their support and will work hard to maximize our resources and make it a winning effort.”
Their alliance was formed prior to the start of the year, as MHR announced major changes to advance its Camping World Truck Series program. MHR also expanded to a two-truck operation beginning this year and aligned with Chevrolet to field Chevy Silverado RSTs.
McAnally-Hilgemann Racing was formed at the beginning of 2020, when McAnally partnered with Bill and Mona Hilgemann to field an entry in the Camping World Truck Series on a full-time basis, with Kraus as the driver. Prior to that, Kraus had raced for BMR three seasons in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West – winning the series championship in 2019.