Brad Gross is aiming to run his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at his home track. On Monday, he announced he has joined CMI Motorsports for the 22 May Truck race at Circuit of the Americas. He will drive the #49 Chevrolet Silverado with sponsorship from metalworking newsletter Manufacturing News and Quasar Data Center.
“SUPER EXCITED to announce my NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut in the #49 CMI Motorsports Race Truck at the inaugural Circuit of the Americas race in Austin!!” Gross wrote on Facebook. “This is a very challenging road racing circuit that is sure to provide quite a spectacular race for both fans and drivers! A Texas-sized THANK YOU to Quasar Data Center and Manufacturing News Magazine for making this happen!”
The team confirmed the news on Tuesday and posted on Twitter, “We’re pleased to announce that Brad Gross will be driving the #49 Chevy Silverado for the Circuit of The Americas race on May 22nd! Manufacturing News and Quasar Data Center will be joining him as his partners.”
The president of Manufacturing News for over two decades, Gross has competed in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Mid-States Conference since 2014. After running three races in his rookie year, he won the 2015 Mid-States GT2 championship. In 2019, he was named the SCCA Texas Region Driver of the Year.
Gross’s SCCA vehicle is a #13 Chevrolet late model stock car modelled after the great Dale Earnhardt‘s black #3.
In November 2020, Gross entered the Trans-Am Series TA2 race at COTA, where he finished fourteenth. Finishing runner-up in the event was Cameron Lawrence, who has worked with Gross as a driver coach and will also make his Truck début at the Austin track. COTA is a new addition to the NASCAR schedule.
CMI Motorsports fields two trucks, the #49 and #83. After missing three of the first four races, the #49 ran its first event of the year at Bristol with NASCAR newcomer Andrew Gordon, who finished thirty-first. The #83, which Tim Viens primarily drives, has yet to make a start in 2021 after failing to qualify for the season opener.
