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Veteran
NASCAR crew chief Richie Wauters takes the leap into NASCAR
Camping World Truck Series team ownership forming Wauters
Motorsports which in 2012 will be driven by Sunoco Rookie of
the Year contender Paulie Harraka.
Wauters' career began at tracks around his hometown Green
Bay, Wis. and quickly moved into the NASCAR Touring Series.
Wauters crewed successful NASCAR Sprint Cup teams with drivers
Kenny Wallace, Elliott Sadler, Robert Pressley and Jeff Green.
Wauters, in his tenure as a crew chief in the NASCAR Camping
World Truck Series, led teams to 18 victories from 2004-2010
with drivers Shane Hmiel, Kyle Busch and Aric Almirola.
"It is something I thought about for awhile," Richie Wauters
said of his decision to become a team owner. "I had the
opportunity to buy some trucks and have a great driver
headlining the team. It hasn't been a difficult transition so
far and we are really excited about the season. The NASCAR
Camping World Truck Series is very competitive and I'm certain
Paulie and the guys on this team will be right in the thick of
that competition."
Former NASCAR Drive for Diversity driver Harraka will take
the wheel of the Ford F150 Camping World truck. Most
recently, Harraka posted three victories in the NASCAR K&N Pro
Series West. Harraka, a senior at Duke University, has also
scored the Championship in NASCAR's Whelen All-American
Series, and posted two different NASCAR Rookie of the Year
titles: NASCAR Whelen All American Series and NASCAR Camping
World Series West (Now K&N Pro Series West).
Harraka is finishing up his final semester at Duke
University, and his graduation will make him part of a very
small group of NASCAR drivers with their college degrees.
Harraka has focused his education on "anything that can help
me in racing; engineering, leadership, finance, you name it.
I've challenged myself at Duke to become a completely
differentiated NASCAR driver." Harraka said.
"Having the opportunity to jump into the NASCAR Camping World
Truck Series is an opportunity I've worked for since I was 7
years old," Harraka said. "I am fortunate to see it coming to
fruition. To be doing so with a championship crew chief like
Richie Wauters and with the team he's assembled is exciting.
I'm the kind of driver that will put in whatever time, effort
or work that is needed to win races, and I know that Richie is
the same kind of crew chief. Together, we'll hold nothing
back, and that makes me confident that we'll find the winner's
circle in short order."
The Wauters Motorsports F150 NASCAR Camping World Truck
Series will be utilizing Doug Yates and Roush Racing Engines
in their debut at Daytona International Speedway for the
running of the NEXTERA Energy Resources 250, Friday, Feb.
24th. |
