NASCAR Drive for Diversity Announces 2017 Driver Class
Six Drivers Selected to Join Rev Racing in Sport’s Top Development Program
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 25, 2017) –
After a season of milestones for NASCAR Drive for Diversity graduates
competing across NASCAR national series, the industry’s flagship
development program for multicultural and female drivers has announced
that six drivers will join its 2017 class. The drivers were selected
after a competitive combine held last October at New Smyrna Speedway and
will compete for Rev Racing in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.
The
2017 class features a former NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series champion, the
granddaughter of one of the sport’s female pioneers, and NASCAR Drive
for Diversity’s first sibling teammates. The drivers will attempt to
follow in the footsteps of program graduates and current national series
drivers Kyle Larson, Darrell Wallace Jr., and 2016 NASCAR XFINITY
Series champion Daniel Suárez.
"Now
more than ever, we’re seeing the impact of NASCAR’s development program
in producing drivers who excel at the highest echelons of our sport,"
said Jim Cassidy, NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations.
"There’s a great deal of talent and potential in this year’s class. With
the strong foundation that NASCAR Drive for Diversity provides, these
drivers will have the opportunity to develop the skills needed to
elevate their racing careers."
The
2017 class is led by four returning drivers, Collin Cabre, Jay Beasley,
Madeline Crane and Rubén García Jr., who first competed in stock car
racing in his native Mexico. Collin’s younger brother, Chase Cabre,
joins 16-year-old Macy Causey as this year’s NASCAR Drive for Diversity
newcomers. Causey’s grandmother, Diane Teel, was the first woman to
compete in a NASCAR XFINITY Series race in 1982.
Rev
Racing, the operational arm of NASCAR Drive for Diversity, will field
four teams in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and two in the NASCAR
Whelen All-American Series.
The 2017 NASCAR Drive for Diversity roster features:
Collin Cabre: An impressive second year in the
NASCAR Drive for Diversity program was highlighted by four top-five and
six top-10 finishes and a sixth-place finish in the NASCAR K&N Pro
Series East championship standings. After winning the 2015 season finale
at Dover International Speedway, Cabre was named to the 2016-2017
NASCAR Next class. The 23-year-old from Tampa, Florida, will compete in
his third season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East with Rev Racing.
Chase Cabre: Cabre, 20, registered 12 race wins
in 21 starts in a 600 Mini Sprint Car and is a two-time Fall Brawl
Champion at Florida’s Ocala Bullring. In 2016, he averaged a
fourth-place finish in races at Hickory Motor Speedway and set two poles
during the season. Chase will compete in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series
East in his rookie season with Rev Racing.
Rubén García Jr.: At age 20, the Mexico City
native became the youngest NASCAR PEAK Mexico driver to win the series
championship in 2015. García was also part of the NASCAR Next program in
both 2015 and 2016. He returns to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East
after finishing 10th in the series last season.
Jay Beasley: Beasley, 24, made history in 2013
by becoming the first African-American driver to win a Super Late Model
race at the Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In his first season
with the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program in 2014, he earned two
top-five and five top-10 finishes in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.
He returns to the series for his third season with Rev Racing.
Macy Causey: Causey was honored with the NASCAR
Young Racer Award in 2016. The year prior, she won the NASCAR Whelen
All-American Series Virginia Rookie of the Year Award and earned top
rookie honors at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Virginia, where in 1978
her grandmother became the first woman to win a NASCAR-sanctioned race
at the track. Causey will compete for Rev Racing in the NASCAR Whelen
All American Series.
Madeline Crane: The Georgia native began her career
racing Bandoleros at Atlanta Motor Speedway at age 10. Crane, 19, moved
into Legend cars, and by the time she was 14 had garnered 59 top-five
finishes in 82 starts. Returning for a second season with NASCAR Drive
for Diversity, she will compete in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series
following two top-five and 12 top-10 finishes in 2016.
NASCAR
Drive for Diversity aligns drivers with a team of executives, athletic
directors, crew chiefs and mentors tasked with helping them achieve
career successes, and thus improving their goal of reaching one of the
three NASCAR national series.
Since
it began fielding NASCAR Drive for Diversity cars in 2010, Rev Racing
has been one of the most consistent teams in the NASCAR K&N Pro
Series East, registering 17 wins, 65 top-five and 124 top-10 finishes
with drivers finishing in the top-10 in points each season.
"Each
year the applicant pool and talent level rises and our program
continues to evolve and create more opportunities for advancement," said
Max Siegel, CEO and owner of Rev Racing. "NASCAR Drive for Diversity
and Rev Racing are proud of the impact that we have had in the sport and
we look forward to graduating the next generation of athletes to the
national series."
The
2016 NASCAR season was a historic year for NASCAR Drive for Diversity
alumni. Larson, who is Asian-American, became the first program graduate
to win a race and reach the playoffs in the sport’s premier series, the
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
With
his NASCAR XFINITY Series victory at Michigan International Speedway,
Suárez was the first Mexican-born driver to win a national series race,
and last November he became the first foreign-born driver to win a
national series championship. Suárez will make his debut in the Monster
Energy NASCAR Cup Series racing for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2017.
The
2017 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season opener will take place on
Feb. 19 at New Smyrna Speedway, where Rev Racing scored a win with
Suárez in 2014.
About NASCAR
The
National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR) is the
sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States.
NASCAR consists of three national series (Monster Energy NASCAR Cup
Series™, NASCAR XFINITY Series™, and NASCAR Camping World Truck
Series™), four regional series, one local grassroots series and three
international series. The International Motor Sports Association™
(IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the
premier U.S. sports car series. Based in Daytona Beach, Fla., with
offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than
1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For
more information visit http://www.NASCAR.com and http://www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).
About Rev Racing
Headquartered
in Concord, North Carolina, Rev Racing is owned by Max Siegel and
operates the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Program, which is the industry’s
leading developmental program for ethnic minorities, women drivers, and
pit crew members. For more information about Rev Racing visit www.revracing.net and follow us on Twitter @RevRacin.
No comments:
Post a Comment