Carrick Tanner is set to make his NASCAR Truck Series debut in the Weather Gaurd Truck Race on Dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway. Tanner will pilot the #30 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for On Point Motorsports.
Although Carrick Tanner is no stranger to dirt racing, he has no experience driving NASCAR Trucks. The cancelation of Friday (April 7)'s practice sessions came as a major blow for the debutant, taking away valuable track time. However, the 21-year-old is not worried about it and is hoping for a decent result entering the qualifying heats.
Speaking to Frontstretch on Saturday (April 8), the #30 Toyota driver spoke about his expectations for his debut NASCAR start:
"Honestly, I have no clue, it'll probably be like when I ran pavement Late Model a few years back..., that will probably be close to this even though it's on dirt. Just watching the races in the years past....just kind of going back from watching videos and stuff that I normally did when I learned how to race sprint cars and midgets."
Tanner trusts his instincts, which he has built over the years by racing on dirt. He hopes to use the heat races as a practice session and have good speed right out of the box. He believes that watching previous races will help him make up for the missed practice sessions.
On being asked about how he would get up to speed for the heat races, Tanner replied:
"Just get in the car and hope for the best when you get out there...it's about going out and having fun, I have nothing on the line to gain or lose, besides going out and having fun. Hopefully, we will have good speed and finish the race"
The 2017 USAC National Series Rookie of the Year is keeping his cool as he will be racing in his element. Being no stranger to dirt racing, the 21-year-old is hoping to implement the lessons he has learned in other categories when he goes out on the dirt track in Bristol.
Carrick Tanner reveals the bizarre way he got his NASCAR Truck Series call up
Carrick Tanner has revealed that he was approached on Instagram by a person named Nate enquiring about his interest in Truck Series.
The conversation on Instagram has led Tanner to his debut NASCAR outing.
Tanner revealed the interaction on Instagram as he said:
"Just from Instagram DM, Guy named Nate messaged me on Instagram and asked if I had intentions of running the race or anything like that. I have never run NASCAR Truck and I have never been in NASCAR, tried my whole life to get to here, and finally an opportunity came about and I took the advantage of it."