Garcia Looks to Pounce on His First Pocono Opportunity
Two More Chances … Jake Garcia is making his 13th track debut of his rookie season with his first trip to Pocono Raceway this weekend. The driver of the No. 35 Adaptive One Chevrolet Silverado RST has two opportunities remaining to join the playoff field as the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) regular season winds down. Garcia has been a standout rookie this season and could be a sleeper to break out for his first-career victory at “The Tricky Triangle”. The 18-year-old Rookie of the Year contender looks to become the fourth driver to earn his first-career NCTS victory at Pocono and earn his first playoff berth.
Excelling in Oval Debuts … Despite missing the season opener at Daytona International Speedway due to age restrictions, Garcia has kept himself in the playoff conversation thanks to his quick adaptation to new tracks. In 10 previous oval track debuts this season, Garcia has been rock solid with five top-10 results, including a season-high fifth-place run at Texas Motor Speedway. The Georgia driver brings a string of consecutive 10th-place finishes in the two most recent oval events at Nashville Superspeedway and World Wide Technology Raceway.
Season to Date … After 14 of the 16 regular season events, Garcia sits 15th in the championship standings despite making 13 starts. A 77-point gap to the playoff cut line stands in Garcia’s way to his first playoff berth, but a breakthrough victory would automatically place him in the playoff field. Garcia has constructed a steady and impactful rookie season with one top five and six top-10’s in his 13 races. He has an average finish of 13.8, which is eighth among all full-time NCTS drivers.
Crew Chief / Chassis Selection … Crew chief Mark Hillman and the Adaptive One team have built chassis No. 350 for Saturday’s 150-mile event. Garcia most recently drove this Silverado RST to a 10th-place run at Nashville, and a 15th-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Tune In … All on-track activity at Pocono Raceway will be carried live on FOX Sports 1 beginning with practice and qualifying at 1:30 p.m. ET on Friday afternoon. Saturday’s coverage begins with NASCAR Raceday on FS1 at 11:00 a.m. ET followed by the green flag at Noon ET. Stay connected with the No. 35 Adaptive One team by following @BMR_NASCAR on Twitter, @bmrnascar on Instagram, and Bill McAnally Racing on Facebook.
Jake Garcia Quote:
On debuting at Pocono Raceway:
“Pocono is definitely the most unique oval on our schedule with three different corners that all drive like different types of intermediate tracks. The biggest thing is that this is such a short race on Saturday. With only 60 laps, plus stage cautions, we might only have about 40 green flag laps, so qualifying will be really important with our Adaptive One Chevrolet. There won’t be many opportunities to gain track position, and the restarts will be really aggressive because of that. I think if we can qualify well, we’ve shown the speed this year that we can run towards the front and hopefully put ourselves in contention at the end of the day.”