Austin Wayne Self, AM Racing head to Martinsville prepared and ready for homestretch

Following a brief one-week break from competition, AM Racing and driver Austin Wayne Self (@AustinWSelf) trek to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway for Saturday’s NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 determined to continue to showcase the team’s ongoing strength.

In the most recent event at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on Oct. 12, Self once again showed speed from his No. 22 GO TEXAN | AM Technical Solutions Chevrolet Silverado and not only contended for stage points but had an opportunity to put his AM Racing team in Victory Lane.

The race fans agreed too. In a Motor Racing Network online poll, Austin Wayne Self was voted at 63 percent to win the race.

Unfortunately, the team never made it to the checkered flag as they became a victim of a mechanical failure. With the diagnosis complete, the Mooresville, N.C.-based team heads to the famed-Virginia short track ready to finish what they started at the 2.66-mile superspeedway and deliver Self another top-10 Gander Truck Series finish this year.

“Talladega was tough to swallow because we had so much speed,” Self said. “The mechanical failure wasn’t anyone’s fault, just one of those racing deals.

“What I’m really proud of though is that our AM Racing team has been able to showcase speed at a variety of race tracks this season from superspeedways to short tracks and even the intermediate tracks and that bolds well for the rest of the 2019 season too.”

The 23-year-old returns to the 0.555-mile track poised to make his fifth start and seek his first top-10 finish. In his previous four efforts, Self-delivered a respectable 15th place finish in his track debut in 2016.

“For being a short track, Martinsville is very technical,” added Self. “When it comes to that place, sometimes you have to go slower to go faster. You need to have the momentum at the right time and be able to accelerate off the corners to be able to carry the speed down the straightaways before you get back to the corner.

“When you put 32 other trucks on the track, it becomes very crowded and even physical. Much like any short track, track position is critical so my crew chief Eddie (Troconis) and I will spend some time in race setup mode and see where we’re at.

“This race is shorter than the spring, so you have to get to work when the green flag drops. For us, it’s about going out there to keep showcasing ourselves as contenders and doing a good job for all of our partners who allow us to race every week.

“The end of the season is on the horizon and I want to bring home some good finishes at Martinsville, Phoenix and Homestead – so we can focus solely on 2020.”

With just three races left in 2019, Self said that his team has already started to look forward to next season – knowing what did work and what didn’t work for this year gives us an opportunity to elevate our team to that next level.  

“I felt like we made some significant gains this year, but there’s still work to be done before the end of the year,” added Self. “We’ll see how Martinsville goes and then get at it for Phoenix. These three races will go quickly but then again Daytona will be here before we know it too. I feel like there are good things ahead for AM Racing.”

For the series’ second trip to Martinsville this season, AM Technical Solutions will serve alongside GO TEXAN as a major associate partner for Saturday afternoon’s race.

GO TEXAN, celebrating its 20th Birthday this year, represents Texas agri-business on state, national and international levels by building recognition with the GO TEXAN mark will continue its primary role with AM Racing this weekend at Martinsville Speedway.   

Along with its signature mark in the shape of Texas, GO TEXAN celebrates, promotes and supports the business savvy and plainspoken grit Texas agriculture is known for throughout the world.

Don’t mess with Texas, CForce Bottling Company, Flying Circle and Kreuz Market will serve as associate partners in the 21st race of the year.

In 81 NGOTS races, the 2014 ARCA Menards Series Rookie of the Year has two top-fives (second at Daytona 2017, fifth at Michigan 2019) and seven top-10 finishes. The Texan maintains an average finish of 18.0 during his three years of competition.

The Austin, Texas native is nestled 14th in the championship standings with three races remaining.

 
For more on Austin Wayne Self, please visit awsracing.com, like his Facebook page (Austin Wayne Self) or follow him on Twitter @AustinWSelf.

For more on AM Racing, please visit AMRacingteam.com, like their Facebook page (AM Racing) or follow them on Twitter @AMRacingNASCAR. 

For more information on Don’t mess with Texas and how you can become involved in the program, visit dontmesswithtexas.org. 

Visit AM Technical Solutions (AMTS) online at amts.com.

For more on Flying Circle, please visit flyingcirclegear.com, like them on Facebook (FlyingCircleGear) and follow them on Instagram (@flyingcirclegear) and Twitter (@flyingcircle_). Also connect with Flying Circle on Pinterest and YouTube.

For additional information on CForce premium artesian water, please visit cforce.com.

For more on Kreuz Market, please visit kreuzmarket.com. like them on Facebook (KreuzMarketLockhart) and follow them on Twitter (@kreuzmarket).

The NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 (200 laps | 105.2 miles) is the 21st of 23 races on the 2019 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series schedule. Practice begins on Fri., Oct. 25 from 12:05 p.m. – 12:55 p.m. A final practice has been etched in from 2:05 p.m. – 2:55 p.m. Qualifying is set for race day, Sat., Oct. 26 beginning at 10:05 a.m. The 32-truck field will take the green flag shortly after 1:30 p.m. with live coverage on FOX Sports 1 (FS1), the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90). All times are local (Eastern).

AM Racing PR