Bayley Currey - Wright Brand 250 Race Preview
Race: Wright Brand 250 (250 laps / 156.25 miles) | Race 10 of 23
Track: North Wilkesboro Speedway
Location: North Wilkesboro, North Carolina
Date & Time: Saturday, May 18th | 1:30 PM ET
Tune-In: FOX Sports 1 | Motor Racing Network (MRN) | Sirius XM Ch. 90
No. 41 AutoVentive / Precision Vehicle Logistics Chevrolet Silverado RST
Driver: Bayley Currey | Crew Chief: Mike Hillman, Jr.
- Currey's North Wilkesboro Stats: Bayley Currey will make his first-career start at North Wilkesboro Speedway in Saturday's Wright Brand 250.
- Hillman's North Wilkesboro Stats: Mike Hillman, Jr. has one prior start at North Wilkesboro which came last year working with Ross Chastain. The No. 41 team started the event in 12th, got stage points with an eighth-place run in stage two, and finished the race in ninth.
- On the Truck: Currey’s No. 41 Chevrolet Silverado RST will race with support from AutoVentive and Precision Vehicle Logistics.
- Guest Speaker: Currey traveled to Waco, Texas during the week to appear as a keynote speaker in front of a large crowd at the Texas Asphalt Pavement Association (TXAPA) MAPS Conference. TXAPA has had a relationship with Niece Motorsports team owner, Al Niece, for several decades, and appeared as the primary sponsor on Ross Chastain's No. 45 entry earlier this year at COTA.
- Recapping Darlington: Close to securing their first top-10 of the season, Bayley Currey and the No. 41 AutoVentive / Precision Vehicle Logistics team would be relegated down the finishing order after a flat right front tire forced a green flag pit stop. Currey started the Buckle Up South Carolina 200 from 17th, dropped to 20th at the conclusion of stage one, and made ground up to 16th in stage two. By virtue of the flat right front tire issue, the team would ultimately be scored with a 22nd-place finish as their final result.
- Points Rundown: Due to the poor finish caused by the flat tire in Darlington, Currey lost one position in the points standings. Now scored in 14th, Currey is three points behind Stewart Friesen in 13th and 41 points below Ben Rhodes at the Playoffs cutline.
- Quoting Currey: Without having any laps here on the new surface, how valuable is your experience in the simulator going to be?
“It’s everything. I feel like sim time is huge, especially at the races where we only have a 20-minute practice. We’ll have a full-length practice here this time, so that will help us, but definitely going to be leaning off that. Sim time is important everywhere, but especially at a new track like what we have this week.”
- Quoting Hillman: Do you see track position as the most important factor with the repave?
“I think track position is going to be very important, that’s my guess. It seems to be like that at most of the repaves. Looking at some of the lap times from the CARS Tour test, it looks like it’s going to be that way. We just have to make sure that we do everything we can to maintain the track position throughout the race to have a shot at a good finish.”
About Niece Motorsports: Niece Motorsports is owned by United States Marine Corps Veteran Al Niece. In 2024, Niece Motorsports enters its ninth season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Niece also owns Niece Equipment, which has for over 40 years provided clients with reliable products at competitive prices. Niece Equipment’s reputation is built on service, integrity and dependability. The company provides water and fuel/lube trucks that are engineered with quality and durability in mind for the construction and mining industry. Follow the team on Facebook and Instagram @NieceMotorsports as well as X @NieceMotorsport.
About AutoVentive: AutoVentive is an industry-leading Software as a Service (SaaS) applications developer providing customized solutions to the automotive logistics industry. The company is part of Liberty Hill Equity Partners, LLC, a Cincinnati-based private equity firm.
About Precision Vehicle Logistics: Precision Vehicle Logistics is a customer-focused group of professionals committed to service excellence in finished vehicle logistics. Precision offers a unique combination of talented experience, industry-leading software and systems, and a network of partners and resources to deliver customized solutions to the world’s leading automakers.