| Event: Fr8 208 (135 laps / 208 miles) Round: 2 of 25 (Regular Season) Track: Atlanta Motor Speedway Location: Hampton, Georgia Date & Time: Saturday, February 22nd | 1:30 PM ET Tune-In: FOX Sports 1 | Motor Racing Network (MRN) | Sirius XM Ch. 90 |
| Team Stats & Notes |
| – Niece Motorsports Atlanta Stats: Niece drivers have accounted for 24 combined NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway since 2017. The team has earned one top-five and seven top-10 finishes, with a best overall result of fourth set by Bayley Currey in 2023. Last year, Kaden Honeycutt led the organization with a sixth-place finish. – Close, But No Cigar: Last week’s outing in Daytona saw two Niece Motorsports drivers lead the field at various points of the race, but after getting collected in separate incidents, the crews were left to wonder, ‘what if?’. |
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| No. 42 J.F. Electric / Utilitra Chevrolet Silverado RST Driver: Matt Mills | Crew Chief: Mike Shiplett |
| – Mills’ Atlanta Stats: Matt Mills has made two prior NCTS starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway, with both coming on the new track layout. Mills finished 27th here in last year’s race, which is currently his best series finish at the track. Out of seven NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) races, Mills best run is 26th-place finish from the July, 2021 event. – Shiplett’s Atlanta Stats: Mike Shiplett has called one NCTS race at this track, finishing 11th last year with Bret Holmes. Shiplett’s NXS stats are highlighted by a pole with Cole Custer in 2019, a pair of runner-up finishes (Kyle Larson, ’16, and Custer, ’19), four top-fives, and six top-10 results in seven races. He’s earned two Cup Series top-10s in 11 starts, posting a personal best of sixth-place with AJ Allmendinger in the spring of 2010. – On the Truck: Mills’ No. 42 Chevrolet Silverado RST will race with support from longtime partners J.F. Electric and Utilitra, who will serve as his anchor partners for the entire 25-race season. – Look Good, Race Good: This week sees the debut of the “day” paint scheme on Mills’ J.F. Electric Chevrolet. The No. 42 will feature different versions in corresponding day and night time races. – Recapping Daytona: Matt Mills and the No. 42 J.F. Electric team were hindered by a tire rub on the right rear of the truck. After starting 24th, Mills’ bided his time early, hoping to avoid any on-track incidents. Midway through stage two, the tire came apart, forcing a green flag pit stop which placed him two laps behind the leaders. The crew continued to work on the truck throughout the race, but were shown in 29th-place at the checkered. – Points Rundown: Mills heads to Atlanta sitting 26th in driver points, one point behind Rajah Caruth in 25th. He has a two-point buffer over Nathan Byrd, who currently holds down the 27th position. – Quoting Mills: Do you view this race as another super speedway track, or has it started to age past that point? “Year-to-year, the grip has gotten progressively worse here in Atlanta. It’s gotten more aggressive, the bumps are starting to come out, and track position matters. In last year’s race, it started to get one lane dominant on the top side, so having good pit stops and keeping that track position is going to be important all race long I think it’s a fun hybrid for us in the Truck Series, and think our No. 42 J.F. Electric team can be really strong this week.”About J.F. Electric: J.F. Electric is an electrical contractor that provides engineering expertise, backed by construction and installation know-how in a diverse range of service offerings, from utilities and commercial projects, to industrial and telecommunications customers. When having a long family history in an industry, a company not only builds on its knowledge and experience, it takes pride in cultivating a solid understanding of client needs, all the while nurturing strong relationships with its employees. Evolving through five generations of the Fowler family, J.F. Electric has matured into a well-managed and thoughtfully diversified electrical contractor which is poised to continue its growth and expansion into the future. About Utilitra: Utilitra is a woman-owned firm specializing in utility and technology solutions with a diverse team of specialized professionals. Utilitra is committed to solving their client’s unique challenges, whether one expert or a team of experts is needed. By adapting to the needs of their respective industries, Utilitra has built a range of services for their utility and technology partners. |
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| No. 44 Masked Owl Technologies / DQS Chevrolet Silverado RST Driver: Bayley Currey | Crew Chief: Wally Rogers |
| – Currey’s Atlanta Stats: Bayley Currey has made three previous NCTS starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway. In 2023, Currey scored his first top-five finish at this track when he crossed the line in fourth-place. Last year, Currey was relegated to a 30th-place result after mechanical woes forced him out of the event. Currey has made a total of six NXS starts along with one Cup Series appearance here. – Rogers’ Atlanta Stats: Wally Rogers is a two-time Atlanta race-winning crew chief. Rogers won the NXS race here with Greg Biffle from the pole in 2003. Two years later in 2005, Rogers’ truck driven by Ron Hornaday won the closest NCTS race in the history of the speedway by a margin of just 0.008 seconds. He’s made two top-fives in nine NCTS starts and another two in eight NXS starts. He’s also called seven Cup Series races at the 1.54-mile intermediate. – On the Truck: Currey’s No. 44 Chevrolet Silverado RST will race with support from Masked Owl Technologies and DQS Solutions & Staffing. – Recapping Daytona: Bayley Currey and the No. 44 team had a shot at winning Daytona, but ultimately would have their hopes dashed late in the race. Currey played it smart early on, hovering around the middle of the pack and staying out of trouble. When the laps wound down, however, the truck came to life. Currey appeared to make a race-winning move as he took the lead with three laps to go, but was shuffled out of line and collected in a last lap crash. – Points Rundown: Entering the second race of the season, Currey is scored 22nd in the championship standings. He is two points behind Spencer Boyd in 21st, and four points ahead of Dawson Sutton in 23rd. – Quoting Currey: Your team put together a strong race last year in Atlanta, so how optimistic are you to return here this year? “Yeah, we’ve had speed every time we’ve shown up to Atlanta when driving at Niece Motorsports, so I don’t see this weekend being anything different. We finished fourth in 2023 and were running fourth when we had a catastrophic failure last year, and I really think we had a truck that could win that race. Being able to take that experience back will help a lot. We had a really good truck and were leading late in Daytona, but just didn’t really have any drafting partners to help keep us there. I think we’re bringing another fast Masked Owl Chevrolet Silverado RST, and we’ll see what happens when we get down there. It is great to have that confidence especially after what we were able to do last weekend, but I don’t try to over-hype myself based off what happened last year.”About Masked Owl Technologies: Masked Owl Technologies (MOT) is an industrial solutions integrator specializing in developing customized automation and controls processes. They take a consulting-based approach to identify the root cause of system challenges and incorporate tested, emerging technology into industrial solutions that mitigate risk and solve complex problems, the first time. About DQS Solutions & Staffing: Guided by a mission to achieve excellence and adaptability, DQS partners with clients to create custom solutions that address unique business challenges. Recognized as Michigan’s fastest-growing company and #22 in the nation on the Inc. 5000 list, DQS drives industry growth while giving back through its nonprofit, Foundation for Pops, and partnerships like the River Rouge School District. |
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| No. 45 DQS Solutions & Staffing / DealBadger Chevrolet Silverado RST Driver: Kaden Honeycutt | Crew Chief: Phil Gould |
| – Honeycutt’s Atlanta Stats: Kaden Honeycutt has made two NCTS starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway, including his track debut in 2023. Last year, in his first start driving the No. 45 Silverado, Honeycutt walked away with his first top-10 at the track when he scored an impressive sixth-place result. – Gould’s Atlanta Stats: Phil Gould has called six NCTS races at this track and has had his trucks finish inside the top-10 in half of the starts. His best finishes are a pair of sixth-place runs, first in 2019 with Ross Chastain and last year with Honeycutt. Gould has also made six NXS starts here on the old surface, adding up to three top-10s (best result of seventh-place with Brian Scott in 2014). – On the Truck: Honeycutt’s No. 45 Chevrolet Silverado RST will race with support from DQS Solutions & Staffing along with DealBadger, a local auction house based in Georgia. – Recapping Daytona: What appeared to be a strong first outing in Daytona proved to be a disappointing end to Kaden Honeycutt’s night. After qualifying eighth, Honeycutt powered his No. 45 Silverado to the front of the pack at the start of the race. On lap three, Honeycutt took the lead of the race, but spun in turn four, resulting in hard contact with the inside wall. Honeycutt was credited with a 35th-place finish. – Points Rundown: Following his early crash in Daytona, Honeycutt is searching to make up ground this weekend. The driver of the No. 45 currently sits 31st, one point behind Tyler Ankrum in 30th and one point ahead of Parker Kligerman in 32nd. – Quoting Honeycutt: What clicked with you here last year to get a top-10 finish? “I think it was a combination of things. One was considering the fact that we were on the conservative side since we started towards the back in 25th. We didn’t have to go after stage points or anything like that, so we really only set ourselves up in a position to try and win the race. In the midst of that, we were able to miss a lot of the chaos. We made a bunch of good calls on pit road to put ourselves in that spot, but just didn’t have things line up correctly. This year, we have worked on a lot of those things to come back better. The approach should be the same, but we might see how qualifying is and ride early. If we can get points, we’ll take them, but we have to get ourselves a good finish to have some momentum heading into Las Vegas.”About DQS Solutions & Staffing: Guided by a mission to achieve excellence and adaptability, DQS partners with clients to create custom solutions that address unique business challenges. Recognized as Michigan’s fastest-growing company and #22 in the nation on the Inc. 5000 list, DQS drives industry growth while giving back through its nonprofit, Foundation for Pops, and partnerships like the River Rouge School District. About DealBadger: DealBadger is a secondary marketplace for customer returns and other liquidation items. With two locations based in Decatur and Smyrna, Georgia, DealBadger allows you to bid on amazing deals that most individuals or independent resellers can’t get on their own. All auctions start at $0.50 with no reserve. Visit DealBadger.com to learn more. |
| About Niece Motorsports: Niece Motorsports is a professional auto racing team founded by United States Marine Corps Veteran Al Niece. In 2025, the team celebrates its 10th consecutive season competing in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) where it fields the Nos. 41, 42, 44 and 45. Since its founding in 2016, Niece Motorsports has garnered nine wins, 50+ top-fives, 100+ top-10s, 190+ top-15 finishes and made five playoff appearances. At its 80,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Salisbury, NC, Niece Motorsports is a trusted build shop for the Chevrolet Silverados of multiple NCTS teams as well as a customizable fabrication shop for any manufacturing needs.Follow the Team: To keep up to date with the latest team news, visit niecemotorsports.com or connect on Facebook and Instagram (@NieceMotorsports) as well as X (@NieceMotorsport). |
| Media Contact: Leighton Sibille Public Relations Representative, Niece Motorsports lsibille@niecemotorsports.com | (909) 486-5873 | www.niecemotorsports.com |
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