Chase Purdy is still two weeks away from his 18th birthday, but the current NASCAR Next member received an early birthday gift and will celebrate in style leading into his milestone event. Purdy and MDM Motorsports announced today that they will embark on an ARCA Racing Series championship run in 2018 that will commence at next month’s ARCA-sanctioned test at Talladega Superspeedway on November 7 – 8.
Purdy, who claimed four consecutive poles and five runner-up finishes en route to a fourth-place championship finish this season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, will once again be paired with veteran crew chief Charles “Cully” Barraclough and will have continued sponsorship support from Bama Buggies and Textron Off Road as he transitions to full-time ARCA Racing Series competition. Barraclough has led successful teams at Joe Gibbs Racing, Yates Racing and Roush Fenway Racing for the likes of Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin and David Gilliland, and is tasked with guiding the Meridian, Mississippi, native on his quest for the ARCA Rookie-of-the-Year honors.
“Having Cully on board will certainly ease the transition,” said Purdy, who started racing go-karts at age 9 before advancing to Bandolero cars at 12 and Legends Cars at 15. “Besides being a familiar face, he understands what I’m saying when I describe how the car is handling and changes that work best for me. I think that bond and relationship will make it an easier transition and more exciting season.”
MDM Motorsports, fresh off the victory in last week’s ARCA season finale at Kansas Speedway, fielded multiple part-time entries this season that tallied five victories and will make its first foray into full-time ARCA racing as well in 2018. In only its second year of competition, MDM captured its first championship with Harrison Burton in the NASCAR K&N Series and earned its first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory with Bubba Wallace at Michigan International Speedway in August. In all, MDM has scored 13 wins this season across the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, ARCA Racing Series and NASCAR K&N Pro Series.
“We expect to win a good bit and certainly contend for a championship,” said Purdy, who also competed in three ARCA Series races this season with a pair of top-10 finishes. “The Rookie-of-the-Year title is a top goal, and I’ll be surrounded by good people and good equipment, so we want to have fun and be successful. I finished second five times this year in the K&N Series and I’m looking for that one spot better where we can celebrate at the end of one of these races. I ran a few ARCA races this year after we decided it was going to be the next step in my driving career, so I have a few races on radial tires and with live pit stops, which I think are the biggest challenges moving from the K&N Series. This is the next step and I’m going to make the most of it to further advance my racing career while getting closer to the ultimate goal of racing on Sundays with the big boys.”
Purdy captured the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Rookie-of-the-Year Award in 2016 and won the 2015 US Legends INEX National Championship in the Young Lions division. A quick study, he earned his U.S. Legends INEX national championship in his first season of competition.
“As an organization, we saw Chase’s ability when we competed against him on a regular basis in the NASCAR K&N Series,” said Mark McFarland, MDM Motorsports’ managing partner. “He showed great speed throughout the K&N season and we’re looking forward to helping him grow on and off the race track. This is the first of many announcements about our plans for next season and it’s the next step of growth for our organization as we compete full-time and for the championship in the ARCA Racing Series.”
Additional information about MDM Motorsports is available at: www.MDMmotorsports.com, find us on Facebook and follow the team on Twitter @MDMmotorsports.
For more information on Chase Purdy and his run for the 2018 ARCA Racing Series championship, visit his website at: www.ChasePurdyRacing.com, find him on Facebook, and follow him on Twitter @ChasePurdy12 and Instagram @Chase_Purdy.
MDM Motorsports PR
