Parker Chase – a part-time competitor for Venturini Motorsports in the ARCA Menards Series — will attempt to make his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Circuit of The Americas on March 26th, driving the No. 26 Toyota GR Supra for Sam Hunt Racing.
The 21-year-old will have sponsorship from Bahnbrëcker, a craft whiskey company that is owned and operated by a group of New Braunfels, Texas natives to pay homage to the founders of the town.
After competing in two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events for Kyle Busch Motorsports last season, and running a partial schedule for the last two seasons in the ARCA Menards Series for Venturini Motorsports, Chase is excited to add the NASCAR Xfinity Series to his wealth of racing knowledge.
“I’m really looking forward to making my NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Circuit of The Americas with Sam Hunt Racing and TRD,” said Chase. “Sam has assembled an impressive roster of drivers for the #26 Toyota Supra this season and I’m honored to get the wheel for COTA.”
The New Braunfels, Texas-native is a previous race winner at Circuit of The Americas, driving in the SRO GT4 America Series. Additionally, Chase has won events in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, Pirelli World Challenge, and SRO GT4 America
“Being able to make my first start with SHR is special because the team and I are very similar in that we are young, hungry, and have big goals within the sport. COTA is an hour from my house and we always have a big crowd come out and support us whenever we have an event there. We had good speed last year in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and I’m looking to put that experience to work in a few weeks.”
In the organization’s first full-time season last year, Sam Hunt Racing cultivated a roster of eight drivers of various experience levels, securing one top-five, two top-10, and nine top-15 finishes, the best of which was a third-place result at Richmond with John Hunter Nemechek.
“We’re proud to be giving Parker his first shot at the Xfinity level here at Sam Hunt Racing,” said Sam Hunt, owner of Sam Hunt Racing. “Parker is newer to NASCAR but is extremely familiar with COTA and many of the road courses with his road-racing background. He is a young gun in the Toyota program, and I believe he has the opportunity to not only learn, but surprise some folks along the way. Hopefully, we run a clean race and come home with good notes to build on for his future.”
Through the first three NASCAR Xfinity Series events of the 2022 season, Sam Hunt Racing has secured three top-15 finishes with drivers Jeffrey Earnhardt, Ryan Truex, and John Hunter Nemechek. Parker Chase joins those three drivers, plus short-track standout Derek Griffith as the team’s current five-driver lineup for this season.
“It is really cool to bring Bahnbrëcker Hefeweizen Whiskey into the Xfinity Series of NASCAR. They are a company rooted in Texas and we hope to give them a good showing on home turf,” said Chase.