Photo Credit: Joe Gibbs Racing
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (October 20, 2015) – Ross Kenseth is scheduled to make his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut on October 31, 2015 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, driving the No. 18 Aisin-AW Toyota Tundra for Hattori Racing Enterprises (HRE).
Martinsville marks Kenseth’s second career NASCAR start, after finishing sixth in his XFINITY Series debut at Chicagoland Speedway in June, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. Kenseth and the No. 18 HRE team are testing today at Martinsville, where HRE will attempt to make their 2015 debut in the Camping World Truck Series under the guidance of team general manager Pat Tryson.
“It feels great to get an opportunity to make my first Truck Series start,” said Kenseth. “Shige (team owner) and I have tried to put something together for a long time and finally all of the pieces fell into place. I’m thankful to him for this opportunity and am looking forward to working hard to make our debut a successful one in a couple of weeks.”
The son of 2003 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Matt Kenseth, the 22-year-old Kenseth has pieced together an impressive resume winning many of the nation’s biggest short track late model events before transitioning to heavier stock cars. Kenseth won his first ARCA Series race earlier this year at Michigan International Speedway in only his third career ARCA start. He followed that up with an impressive NASCAR debut at Chicagoland, where he qualified second and finished sixth in the June XFINITY Series race.
“Ross has shown great promise in his young career and it is good that we were able to put this opportunity together for him to race with us at Martinsville,” said Shigeaki Hattori, owner of Hattori Racing Enterprises. “I want to thank all of our partners, and especially Aisin-AW, for making this possible. We are a young team and I know everyone involved will be motivated to do well.”
The Kroger 200, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race from Martinsville Speedway, is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31. The race will be carried live on Fox Sports 1, MRN Radio and Sirius / XM NASCAR Channel 90. Tickets are still available and can be purchased online at www.martinsvillespeedway.com.
Follow Ross Kenseth online for the latest information at www.rosskenseth.com on Twitter at @RossKenseth, on Instagram at www.instagram.com/rosskenseth and Facebook at www.facebook.com/ross.kenseth.
About Aisin-AW:
Committed to the principle of providing superior quality, we manufacture products that gain the trust and confidence of customers. With “quality supremacy” as our corporate principle, we will accept challenges of innovation for the future automotive society, as the world’s No. 1 manufacturer of automatic transmissions and car navigation systems.
AW North Carolina is determined to be a leader in our industry, providing a strong foundation for bringing Aisin AW’s global product recognition to North America. We understand that an open and fair management approach is the key to building our company, our products and our team. At AW North Carolina, we are proud of what we do because we are proud of our products, our team members, our customers, and our community. More detailed information about our company can be found at www.aw-nc.com.
About Hattori Racing Enterprises:
Hattori Racing Enterprises was founded in 2009 by Shigeaki Hattori, to give young drivers a chance to develop their talents and gain experience in quality equipment with a skilled and knowledgeable team.
A championship driver himself, Hattori earned the Formula Toyota title in Japan in 1994 he then later moved to the United Stated in 1995, where he competed in the Indy Racing league`s Indy Lights and IndyCar Series. Hattori also raced in the Toyota Atlantic Series and in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
