Brent Crews, a rising talent within the Toyota development driver ranks, has formed his own NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team — Brent Crews Motorsports, which will debut in the upcoming event at Watkins Glen International on August 8.
Crews will pilot the team’s No. 70 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro in that race with primary sponsorship backing from Pristine Auction.
While the initial press release from Brent Crews Motorsports stated fellow up-and-coming young racers Jesse Love, Connor Zilisch, and Jack Baldwin had joined the team as executive leadership behind the scenes, that was later explained to be a joke amongst the friends, which made it into the final press release draft.
“There was a misunderstanding in conversations with Brent’s new truck team and me being an executive,” Zilisch said in a statement on X. I’m excited to cheer him on as a friend next weekend at Watkins and I’m pumped to go for 4 in a row this weekend in Iowa with JRM, Chevy, and Trackhouse!”
The 17-year-old racer, who spent his youth hearing tales about building race teams, is excited to build the foundation for his own race team with this effort at Watkins Glen International.
“I grew up going to dinner on race weekends with guys like Nick Tucker and Brian Keselowski listening to stories about building race cars and engines out of spare parts and barely getting to the track,” said Crews in a press release. “Even though everyone would tell them they were crazy, it always sounded like so much fun to me. When we started talking about me buying a truck to run Watkins Glen, no one was willing to tell me it was a bad idea and it just kind of snowballed from there. I sold all my micro sprints to raise some of the money and here we are.”
While building his own NASCAR Truck Series team from the ground up is an unorthodox path in today’s NASCAR, Crews says he and his stepfather have always gone about their business differently.
“My stepdad Matt and I have always done things outside the box,” Crews added. “We went National Midget racing when I was 12 and became the youngest Midget winner in history with Pristine Auction on the side of the car, so I’m super pumped to have them back on board. I don’t really know where this is going to go, but with all the buzz around road course guys right now, it didn’t seem right to miss Watkins Glen. I love the track. I have a win there. I don’t know what to expect from our team, but I will give it everything I’ve got. Watching on TV was NOT an option.”
Crews, 17, has made three NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts this season, driving the No. 1 Toyota for TRICON Garage. Crews recorded his first-career top-10 finish in just his second start in the series, which came at Lime Rock Park in June.
The young driver, who hails from Davidson, NC, has also amassed four wins in the ARCA Menards Series as well as a pair of wins in the ARCA Menards Series East, and a victory in the ARCA Menards Series West divisions.
According to the press release, the Brent Crews Motorsports team will operate out of the Nitro Motorsports Trans-Am shop in Mooresville, NC, and the team will announce additional partners, and personnel in the coming weeks.
