MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Fresh off a top-10 finish at Martinsville Speedway, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Darrell Wallace Jr. returns to AM Racing for Friday’s Vankor 350 at Texas Motor Speedway.
For the fifth NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race of the year, AM Racing will carry the brand of the United Sorghum Checkoff Program, while also commemorating Go Texan and their 20th-year celebration for Wallace’s fifth start at the 1.5-mile speedway.
Sorghum is the world’s fifth-most important grain crop and is grown on approximately 100 million acres worldwide, including approximately six million acres in the U.S.
Currently, Texas and Kansas account for 80 percent of U.S. sorghum production.
The Sorghum Checkoff focuses on developing direct awareness of the benefits of using sorghum as a fuel and feedstock in the ethanol industry and urges consumers to choose E15 at the pumps.
Ethanol serves as the foundation of demand for the sorghum industry, as ethanol producers typically use about one-third of the sorghum crop to produce clean-burning, high octane fuel.
The Sorghum Checkoff program was introduced to AM Racing through Go Texan, which is celebrating its third year of partnership with the team and serving as the primary partner on AM Racing’s truck for a majority of the season.
In Wallace’s previous four starts in the Lone Star state, he has delivered three top-10 finishes, including a personal-track best of sixth in his track debut in 2013 driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports.
After finishing 10th at Martinsville and adding to the team’s top-10 run in the season-opener at Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway, the team seeks their third top-10 of the year.
“I’m looking forward to having Bubba back in the truck this weekend at Texas,” noted crew chief Eddie Troconis. “We made great strides at Martinsville this past weekend and rebuilt our communication, and I feel like we can go to Texas and equal or better our showing from Martinsville.
“Historically, Texas has been a solid track for Bubba and if we can earn another top-10 finish, it will be a performance that will give our team some much-welcomed momentum heading into our spring break.”
AM Racing general manager Kevin Cywinski noted that Texas is one of the team’s marquee events this season and has put a lot of emphasis on their No. 22 Chevrolet Silverado for the first of two races at the Fort Worth facility this weekend.
“We feel very confident about the truck we are bringing to the track this weekend,” offered Cywinski. “Eddie and the team have been working very hard since Martinsville to make sure the truck is to their liking. We want to be better on the mile-and-a-half tracks this year and we believe the feedback from Bubba will allow us to enhance our on-track product for the rest of the Truck Series season.”
In addition to the United Sorghum Checkoff Program, AM Racing partners Go Texan will serve as a major associate partner on March 29.