Garcia Graduating Into a Weekly Contender Leading Into Charlotte
Graduating to a Contender … Round 10 of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) at Charlotte Motor Speedway (CMS) on Friday night marks the first event for Jake Garcia as a high school graduate. Garcia graduated from Athens Academy in Athens, Georgia on Sunday, a day after competing at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Now that high school is in his rearview mirror, the driver of the No. 35 Quanta Services Chevrolet Silverado RST looks to graduate to the NCTS playoffs and become a major contender as the season nears the halfway mark.
Track Debuts … Garcia sits second in the Rookie of the Year standings thanks to his overall performance and acclimation to new racetracks. All nine of his NCTS starts this season have occurred at tracks where he’s never previously competed. He posted an impressive 10th-place finish in his first career start on a 1.5-mile track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March and followed that up with a fifth-place effort at Texas Motor Speedway. He’ll look to elevate those numbers with a strong performance in his debut at CMS on Friday night as he is currently 45 markers beyond the playoff bubble.
Season to Date … Garcia is within sight of a playoff spot thanks to his four top-10 finishes, and a recent stretch of finishing 13th or better in four consecutive races. He ranks 14th in the NCTS drivers’ championship standings and second in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year points, 29 points out of the lead.
Crew Chief / Chassis Selection … Crew chief Mark Hillman and the No. 35 squad return to the track with chassis No. 350 at CMS. This Chevrolet Silverado RST most recently finished eighth at Kansas Speedway earlier this month in its maiden voyage.
Tune In … All on-track activity will be live on FOX Sports 1 beginning with practice and qualifying at 1:30 p.m. ET Friday afternoon. Race coverage on FS1 at 8:00 p.m. ET with NASCAR Raceday, followed by the green flag at 8:30 p.m. ET. Stay connected with the No. 35 Quanta Services team by following @BMR_NASCAR on Twitter, @bmrnascar on Instagram, and Bill McAnally Racing on Facebook.
Jake Garcia Quote:
On his first appearance at Charlotte:
“We’ve had some strong runs at the mile-and-a-half’s this year, so I’m optimistic about racing at Charlotte. This is the same Quanta Services Chevrolet we raced at Kansas a few weeks ago, and had quite a bit of speed, so I’m excited to see how we race. We definitely need to get some points back and get back to running in the top-10, because that’s where this race team belongs. Everyone at MHR is putting a lot of effort into our trucks. They’ve been fast, and we really want to get into a playoff spot and stay there in the next few weeks.”