Purdy Enters Knoxville on a Career-Best Streak

On a Career High Streak … Chase Purdy enters his fourth dirt start at Knoxville Raceway on a career-best streak over the past five events. The driver of the No. 61 BAMA Buggies Toyota Tundra TRD Pro has posted a career-high average finish over the last three races (13.3), thanks to three top-15 results and a season high 10^th-place effort at World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR) earlier this month. The Meridian, Miss. product has also constructed a career best five race average finish (14.8) since finishing 13^th at Kansas Speedway on May 14^th. Purdy is not only knocking down consistent finishes, but he’s also earning significant points. He was tied for 10^th for the most points earned at Sonoma Raceway last weekend and collected the ninth-most points at WWTR.

 

Dirt History … As a southeastern pavement short track racer by nature, Purdy has a limited dirt racing resume. He has made three of his 41 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts on dirt and was part of the inaugural event in 2021. Purdy earned a gritty 13^th-place finish on Bristol Motor Speedway’s (BMS) dirt surface in April, his best on dirt thus far. He’ll look to better that mark on Saturday night at the “Sprint Car Capital of the World”. 

 

Season to Date … After making 11 starts this season, Purdy sits 15^th in the Camping World Trucks championship standings, the highest he’s been ranked in his career. The driver of the No. 61 has collected one top-10 and seven top-15 finishes, which is already a career-high. His average finish of 17.7 is also a career-best through 11 events.

 

Chassis Selection … Crew chief Matt Lucas and the BAMA Buggies team have prepared chassis No. 022 for the second dirt event of the season. This Toyota Tundra TRD Pro first debuted under the HRE banner at BMS earlier this season when Purdy earned a 13^th-place finish.

 

Tune In … Coverage from Knoxville Raceway begins on Saturday evening at 7:00 p.m. ET with four qualifying heat races, followed by the 150-lap main event at 9:00 p.m. ET. Stay connected with the No. 61 BAMA Buggies team by following @Hattori_Racing on Twitter, @hattoriracing on Instagram, and Hattori Racing Enterprises on Facebook.  

 

“Dirt racing isn’t something I have a lot of experience with, but we were able to get a solid finish at Bristol earlier this year, and I think our entire team learned a lot. Knoxville got really slick and rubbered up last year, and when that happens, you just need to be patient, sort of like racing at an old, worn-out pavement track. We’re bringing the same BAMA Buggies Toyota Tundra TRD Pro that we raced at Bristol, so we’ll have some familiarity with it. The No. 16 guys won at Knoxville last year, so we have a great teammate to lean on this weekend. Hopefully we can keep improving and continue this streak that we’re on. It seems like we’re making strides every single week and the finishes and points we’re getting is showing that.”

 

HRE PR