No stranger to running dirt tracks across the country, Tanner Carrick is set for a new challenge as he will make his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut on April 8 with On Point Motorsports during the Weather Guard Truck Race on Dirt at the famed Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
“Running the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Bristol wasn’t something that was really on my radar, and I am really thankful and appreciative that the team at On Point Motorsports reached out,” Carrick said. “Running on dirt is something that I am really familiar with, so I am really excited for this opportunity and look forward to working with everyone associated with the team.”
The 21-year-old joins dirt late model driver Jonathan Davenport on the entry list as one-off dirt track ‘ringers.’
Carrick has been on the dirt since he was just six-years-old as he kicked his driving career off in an Outlaw Kart in Northern California.
Honing his craft in Karts for 10-years, Carrick was able to pick up four championships between Red Bluff (Calif.) Speedway and Cycleland Speedway, before moving into winged sprint cars and midgets when he turned 16.
2017 saw Carrick split his time running his family-owned sprint car in California as he also broke onto the national scene as he piloted a United States Auto Club National Midget fielded by Keith Kunz with backing from Toyota USA/Toyota Racing Development.
At the national level, Carrick was a quick study as he earned USAC National Series Rookie of the Year, earned USAC’s Most Improved Driver in 2019, and was able to earn two USAC National Midget Series wins, three POWRi National Midget Series wins, and a Chili Bowl Midget Nationals Preliminary win.
While Carrick slowed his midget career down after the 2020 season, he continues to make appearances as his schedule sees fit, but he has since turned his full attention to winged sprint cars and has morphed into one of the top contenders on the West Coast.
To date, Carrick has picked up 17 career sprint car wins sprinkled at Placerville Speedway, Silver Dollar Speedway, Marysville Raceway, and Ocean Speedway.
With tremendous accolades on dirt, Carrick now looks forward to his NASCAR debut as he teams with On Point Motorsports to attack a dirt covered oval at ‘The Last Great Colosseum.’
“I am really thankful for the opportunities I have had over the course of my career that have led me to this point,” Carrick said. “Starting my career with Keith Kunz Motorsports and building a great relationship with them and Toyota has been something that I have always cherished, and for this opportunity with On Point Motorsports to come about and them to also have a relationship with Toyota is cool.
“I am really looking forward to getting to work.”