The heritage of the Gould family within the Niece Motorsports operation is set to extend even further, as Matt Gould makes his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut at the Milwaukee Mile Speedway.
A second-generation driver from Mooresville, North Carolina, Gould will get behind the wheel of the No. 44 Niece Equipment Chevrolet Silverado for the August 25 event at the one-mile racetrack in West Allis, Wisconsin.
The 18-year-old racer is the son of current Niece Motorsports crew chief Phil Gould, who works alongside Ross Chastain, Kaden Honeycutt, Connor Mosack, and Johnny Sauter, by calling the shots on the No. 45 Chevrolet Silverado.
Gould currently competes in grassroots NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly events throughout the southeast, primarily honing his craft at Hickory Motor Speedway. He has earned three wins in the Late Model Stock Car ranks, triumphing at Orange County Speed, Florence Motor Speedway, and Hickory.
“This opportunity means a lot to me, especially having Al [Niece] and my dad help me to get to this point,” said Gould. “I’m looking forward to it and can’t thank them enough. I’ve been having a lot of fun working on the track and putting everything together in the interior knowing that this is for my truck, and not someone else’s.”
“Huge thank you to Niece Equipment and Chevrolet for the support as well. I’m hoping to get into their simulator soon to get a feel for it, but I’ve already had some help and have leaned on so many people. I’ll have a bunch of family members watching that have been waiting on this for a long time, so I’m excited to finally be able to go and do it.”
Following in the footsteps of his father, the younger Gould has taken an opportunity with the organization to learn the mechanical ropes of the NASCAR Truck Series while he was in high school.
Gould has picked up a nickname around the shop and became affectionately known as “LP” (Little Phil). Since graduating in May, he has spent most of his time in the shop preparing several of the team’s race trucks as a full-time crew member. Thanks to Al Niece, he’ll trade in a wrench for a steering wheel next week.
“Matt has been such a great kid to have around our team,” said Niece. “His determination, whether it be from behind the wheel in his late model or from lending a helping hand to our crew, has proven how much he wants this opportunity. He’s always pitched in with whatever we throw at him and has continued to learn ever since he first started to come around. One of our goals here has always been to give him a chance to race in the Truck Series. We’ve been waiting on this for a while now, and I’m glad that we were finally able to put everything together for him in his debut. I think he’ll do a great job for us.”
Next weekend’s event at Milwaukee will be the first time in his career that Gould won’t have his father, Phil, working directly with him.
“That’s going to be crazy for me,” said Phil. “You know, I’ll have my own team to worry about when I’m working on our truck, but I’ll be peeking over around him to make sure he’s good. It’s really cool, I’m super thankful to Al (Niece) Cody (Efaw) and everyone here at the shop for believing in him and giving him this opportunity. He’s been working really hard in the background, working on his truck and doing all the things he needs to do to prepare for it. Of course, I believe in him; I’m his dad, so I’m supposed to, right? But it’ll be really cool to see everyone else behind him, and I’m confident he’ll do well. I’m definitely hoping for the best.”
Tom Ackerman, the Competition Director of Niece Motorsports, will serve as crew chief for Gould in his series debut. Milwaukee will mark the second time the organization has brought its No. 44 Silverado on track in 2024. Conor Daly debuted the entry at IRP.
