By Toby Christie (Follow on Twitter @Toby_Christie)
After Wednesday’s news that GMS Racing had parted ways with veteran driver and former champion Johnny Sauter, Sauter took to SiriusXM NASCAR radio to talk about being cut from the team he had raced at for three seasons. Sauter mentioned numerous times that he believed Brett Moffitt would be taking his spot in 2019.
Thursday, we found out that Sauter was correct.
In a video posted to Twitter around 9am ET, GMS Racing revealed that they have signed a deal with Moffitt, the 2018 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series champion. The video showcases a GMS Racing Chevy Silverado with a mystery driver approaching it.
Finally, the mystery is no more when Moffitt, 26, takes off his helmet and the words Brett’s Back flash on the screen.
Don’t count him out.#WeAreGMS #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/pJUfk3CNPd
— GMS Racing (@GMSRacingLLC) January 10, 2019
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Moffitt, who hails from Grimes, Iowa, has seven-career Truck Series wins, six of which came during his magical championship run with Hattori Racing Enterprises a season ago. Now he takes his talents to one of the greatest — if not the greatest — team in the Truck Series garage.
“I’m excited to be given the chance to defend my 2018 championship,” Moffitt said in a team press release. “I have to thank the Gallagher family and everyone at GMS for this opportunity. I can’t wait to start working with Jerry and the guys to kick off the season at Daytona in a few weeks.”
The team release that came around the time of the video, announced that veteran crew chief Jerry Baxter will be paired with Moffitt, and that the driver will be behind the wheel of the No. 24 Truck.
It was also stated that the team will only run two full-time Truck teams in 2019 — down from four last year. Sheldon Creed will be Moffitt’s teammate in the No. 2 truck.
“We have a strong driver lineup in every series we’ll compete in this year,” said Mike Beam, team president. “Maury Gallagher has given us the tools and personnel we need to compete for several championships.”
In addition to the two trucks, it was also previously announced that John Hunter Nemechek would drive the organization’s No. 23 Camaro in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this year.
In his SiriusXM NASCAR radio interview on Wednesday, Sauter also mentioned that Moffitt had brought sponsorship with him, which was the reason he was ousted from the truck, but the video released by GMS did not reveal any sponsorship, nor did the press release.
All sponsorship announcements will be forthcoming.
