Matt Mills - LiUNA! 175 Race Preview
Race: LiUNA! 175 (175 laps / 177.625 miles) | Race 17 of 23
Track: Milwaukee Mile Speedway
Location: West Allis, Wisconsin
Date & Time: Sunday, August 25th | 4:00 PM ET
Tune-In: FOX Sports 1 | Motor Racing Network (MRN) | Sirius XM Ch. 90
No. 42 Utilitra / J.F. Electric Chevrolet Silverado RST
Driver: Matt Mills | Crew Chief: Jon Leonard
- Mills' Milwaukee Stats: Matt Mills has started one Truck Series race at Milwaukee which came in last year's running of the event. While driving in his second race for Kyle Busch Motorsports, Mills lost a cylinder early that plagued his race finish. He finished 25th.
- Leonard's Milwaukee Stats: Jon Leonard has one prior start at Milwauke from when he served as crew chief for Sean Hingorani with Hattori Racing Enterprises last year. Hingorani finished 23rd while working with Leonard in his series debut.
- On the Truck: Mills’ No. 42 Chevrolet Silverado RST will race with support from longtime partners Utilitra and J.F. Electric. Utilitra will be represented as Mills' primary sponsor for the first time this season.
- Recapping Richmond: A bead failure on the right front tire of the No. 42 J.F. Electric Chevrolet forced Matt Mills out of the race early in Richmond. After qualifying 18th, Mills put in work to climb into the top-15 shortly before the conclusion of stage one. On lap 57, the tire blew and Mills made hard contact with the wall in turn four. He was credited with a 35th-place finish.
- Points Rundown: Mills' unfortunate finish in Richmond subsequently drops him one position in the points standings. Entering Milwaukee, the driver of the No. 42 is scored 22nd, 13 points behind Timmy Hill in 21st. Bret Holmes, who is currently in 20th place, has 24 points up on Mills.
- Quoting Mills: With this being a key market for Utilitra, do you feel any added pressure to have a good result?
“Yeah, on one hand, it’s very cool to be close to a big market for our partners, but on the other hand, I know I’ll have a lot more eyeballs on me. Fortunately, I’ve been able to block that part out once I get in the truck an focus on the task at hand, and I think Milwaukee was a really good track for me last year. I didn’t get to showcase the speed we had because of the mechanical failure, but Niece seemed to be really fast. So, building off that knowledge that I got last year combined with the speed we’ve been building into our trucks, I feel like we can have a good run for the Utilitra & J.F. Electric team.”
- Quoting Leonard: Can you take some of what you learned in Gateway and Richmond and apply it in Milwaukee?
“I think for all of our short tracks, you take development of those packages and adapt them to each track. The loads are different, the track is different, and the driving style is different, but you take what you’re good at and combine those philosophies into one. Milwaukee is pretty flat, and that track is just a huge corner; kind of similar to turn 1-2 in Phoenix. I think with where we’re at in the sim, and how the Niece trucks ran last year, we can improve on how we have been running on the short tracks.”
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 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.
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.
