Jesse Little is set to make his NASCAR Cup Series debut in the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway driving for Premium Motorsports.
Part-time NASCAR Truck Series driver Jesse Little is set to make his Cup Series debut in this Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway. He is set to drive the #7 Premium Motorsports Chevrolet in that race.
Little has never had a full-time ride in any of NASCAR’s top three series before. In fact, he has made just 18 career Truck Series starts over the course of four seasons, and he has never driven in an Xfinity Series race.
Little has only ever driven full-time in NASCAR in the K&N Pro Series East. He drove full-time in that series in the 2013 season and the 2014 season. In 49 career starts over the course of six seasons in that series, he has racked up two wins, 14 top five finishes and 24 top 10 finishes.
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The 21-year-old North Carolina native has also made four starts in the K&N Pro Series West. He finished in the top five in all four of those starts, but he did not earn any victories.
However, in five Truck Series starts this season, Little has been impressive. Driving the #97 JJL Motorsports Ford, he has posted four top nine finishes. His only finish outside of the top nine so far this season is his 16th place finish in the race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Little has finished as high as sixth place this season, which was his career-high Truck Series finish. He pulled that off in the race at Iowa Speedway. His average finish in his five Truck Series starts this season is an impressive 9.2.
Here is what Little had to say about the opportunity to make his Cup Series debut in this weekend’s 267-lap Quaker State 400 at the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, according to Motorsport.com.
"“I’m very humbled by this opportunity to make my Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut this weekend at Kentucky. There’s no expectations for Saturday night’s race other than to take the green flag and see the checkered flag. I would like to thank Jay Robinson for giving me the opportunity to gain valuable experience behind the wheel.“We’ve embraced 2018 with a good work ethic and a never-give up attitude and it has paid off for us so far. As for Kentucky, it’s an opportunity for me to gain experience and seat time in the Cup Series and I’m looking forward to driving for Premium and working with crew chief Todd Parrott.”"
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Tune in to NBC Sports Network for the live broadcast of the the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway this Saturday, July 14 at 7:30 p.m. ET to watch Jesse Little make his NASCAR Cup Series debut behind the wheel of the #7 Premium Motorsports Chevrolet.