NEWPORT NEWS, VA :: Sam Hunt will enter his second season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East on the hunt for an elusive first career victory. He will compete in a partial schedule for Shayne Lockhart in the Denny Hamlin Foundation/DRIVE Technology Toyota. Hunt enters the season with a career-high seventh place finish which he scored last season at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina.
Hunt is excited about the opportunity to race with DRIVE Technology in car no. 18. By virtue, he will be locked in to the race at Bristol Motor Speedway, acquiring the owners points from the previous season. The cars were all acquired from Joe Gibbs Racing.
“I’m really excited to be a part of this new program,” Hunt said. “To be based out of my hometown, only minutes away from Richmond International Raceway, is pretty special to me. Most teams are based out of the Charlotte area in this series. I’m excited to represent all of Virginia and the Richmond area in a touring series car. I think our team’s pure love for racing will help us compete with the big teams were up against.”
Shayne Lockhart will also serve as the crew-chief for Hunt. Lockhart has recorded multiple victories as a driver at Langley Speedway.
“I think Shayne (Lockhart) is going to make a great owner and manager,” Hunt stated. “His attention to details and experience will make a big difference. Anybody in the late model world should have a lot of respect for him.”
“”I’m excited to head up this program,” Lockhart said. “Although I haven’t slept much lately, I feel like it’s all going to pay off. Sam is a unique talent, and I’ve known him since he first tested stock cars at Southside Speedway. He has a lot of natural talent, and we’re going to try getting him in cars where he can really show it. He is a great person off the track; anyone who meets him takes to him immediately. He is extremely humble, thankful, and pretty funny at times. The guys are excited for the chance to work with him.”
The cars are all former Joe Gibbs Racing vehicles which were raced last season by now NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Darrell Wallace, Jr.
“We are happy to help Sam and his career,” JD Gibbs said. “We hope to continue a great relationship with him and his team.”
Hunt is excited about the team and praises the hard work all the crew members from DRIVE Technology has put in to get their operation up and running before the season opener at Bristol.
“We’re doing everything we possibly can to reach our goals this year,” Hunt commented. “Guys are at the shop late every night. We built a race team in two months. Anybody who is in the sport knows how tough that would be.”
“We don’t have the fattest checkbook, and we are doing everything we can to make this work with what we’ve got,” Lockhart said about the team and their work ethic. “Lack of funding is not an excuse; it’s a reason to work twice as hard. However, we do need sponsorship.”
For Hunt, all he can focus on is reaching his goal.
“I’ve got a bad ass group that is doing so much just to help my racing career,” Hunt explained. “It’s hard to feel deserving when there’s so many guys out there, working nonstop just like me, who would love to be in my shoes. My biggest goal this year and for the rest of my racing career is to show them and everyone who doubts me that I do deserve it, and I will work as hard as I can until I reach that goal.”
Sam Hunt will compete in select events, including Saturday’s season opening race at the Bristol Motor Speedway. He will also race at Greenville-Pickens Speedway, where he scored his best career finish in 2012, Richmond International Raceway, Langley Speedway, Dover International Speedway, Rockingham Speedway and Road Atlanta, among other venues. The team hopes to run the full season if sponsorship can be found.
Practice and qualifying for the season opener will be on Thursday, March 14th and the race will be run on Saturday, March 16th.
