NASCAR Truck Series: Is there a stouter lineup than GMS Racing’s?

GMS Racing will field four full-time teams in the 2020 NASCAR Truck Series season. Those four drivers give the organization quite a stout outlook.

GMS Racing are a powerhouse team in the NASCAR Truck Series, and that figures to continue in the 2020 season. The organization most recently won the 2016 championship with Johnny Sauter. Last season, they fielded two full-time entries for Brett Moffitt and Sheldon Creed.

Moffitt, the reigning champion at the time, advanced to the Championship 4 before finishing in third place in the championship standings. In his rookie season, Creed finished in 10th in the standings with four top five finishes and 11 top 10 finishes.

This season, GMS Racing have expanded to four full-time Truck Series teams, and they have a stout driver lineup. Those four drivers are Moffitt, Creed, Tyler Ankrum and Zane Smith. Additionally, the team will also field a fifth part-time entry for David Gravel and Sam Mayer.

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GMS Racing’s winning ways start with Moffitt. The 2018 Truck Series champion won four races and amassed 17 top 10 finishes last year, only to come up shy of a repeat title. He will have a new crew chief, Chad Norris, atop his pit box.

Norris was the crew chief for GMS Racing’s Xfinity Series team the past two years. Two years ago, he led Spencer Gallagher to his first Xfinity Series victory. Last year, he was at the helm for John Hunter Nemechek en route to a playoff berth and seventh place finish in the championship standings.

When GMS Racing announced that Moffitt would return to the team this season, Moffitt stated the following:

"“Returning with the same teammates as well will be really cool. We already know how to work together and help each other while maintaining a bit of that competitive edge. I can only imagine what we will be able to accomplish in 2020 building off the momentum from this season.”"

Driving the #23 Chevrolet, Moffitt hopes to become a two-time Truck Series champion this season.

In his rookie Truck Series season, Creed finished 20 of the 23 races. The 22-year-old led 180 total laps and finished in second place in back-to-back races at Eldora Speedway and Michigan International Speedway. His season greatly improved with the hiring of crew chief Jeff Stankiewicz.

Stankiewicz guided Creed to win the 2018 ARCA Menards Series championship. Can the duo find victory lane this season? Creed will reprise his role as the driver of the #2 Chevrolet.

Ankrum made quite an impression in his Truck Series rookie season last year driving for DGR-Crosley. He notched his first career victory at Kentucky Speedway and therefore qualified for the playoffs. He advanced to the round of 6 and ultimately finished in eighth place in the championship standings, and he won the Rookie of the Year Award as the lone playoff rookie.

This season, Ankrum is set to pilot the #26 Chevrolet. By joining the team, he also became a member of Drivers Edge Development, the Chevrolet-based developmental program.

In back-to-back seasons, he has won the ARCA Menards Series East championship and qualified for the Truck Series playoffs. Because he was not 18 years old to start the 2019 season, he missed the first three races of the year. With a full season ahead of him, he will certainly contend for more victories and continue GMS Racing’s success.

In addition to seeking the driver championship, GMS Racing newcomer Zane Smith is seeking to win the NASCAR Truck Series Rookie of the Year Award behind the wheel of the #21 Chevrolet.

Smith will have veteran crew chief Kevin Manion atop his pit box. Manion has been to victory lane in all three NASCAR series. His expertise will help Smith as he runs full-time this season after competing part-time last year in the Xfinity Series with JR Motorsports. Impressively, Smith notched two top five finishes and seven top 10 finishes in only 10 starts.

In select races, GMS Racing will field the #24 Chevrolet for Gravel and Mayer. Gravel is slated to compete in six Truck Series races. The World of Outlaws standout is set to race at Eldora Speedway, and he will surely be a contender for the victory on the dirt track.

He is also set to compete in the ARCA Menards Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway, so while his remaining Truck Series schedule has not yet been announced, he will accrue experience and track time to rapidly learn.

Mayer, meanwhile, won the 2019 K&N Pro Series East championship and will try to defend it this season. He made three starts in the Truck Series last year. Despite not finishing in the top 10 in any of those races, including two that resulted in DNFs, he snagged a stage win at Martinsville Speedway.

Also, in 10 career starts in the ARCA Menards Series, he has recorded seven top five finishes and nine top 10 finishes. He is slated to compete for the ARCA Menards Series Sioux Chief Showdown championship this year.

GMS Racing are an accomplished organization and will look to add to their achievements this season. Moffitt and Ankrum made the playoffs last season, Creed greatly improved with crew chief Jeff Stankiewicz, and Smith is a young talent with a veteran presence atop his pit box. Even Mayer is confident GMS Racing will succeed this year with their stout driver lineup.

https://twitter.com/sam_mayer_/status/1197224245539020800

You can catch the four GMS Racing drivers and the rest of the NASCAR Truck Series field in the 2020 season opener at Daytona International Speedway. The NextEra Energy 250 is scheduled to take place on Friday, February 14 beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET with live TV coverage provided by Fox Sports 1.