Niece Motorsports has made a change for the remainder of the 2022 season. The Camping World Truck Series team and driver Kris Wright have parted ways after 17 races.
Questions about Wright’s status with the team surfaced on August 8 with the release of the entry list for the Truck Series race at Richmond Raceway. The No. 44 had Chad Chastain instead of Wright, who had controlled it for the first 17 races of the 2022 season. FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass reached out to Niece Motorsports and received confirmation that the team and Wright had parted ways.
Ready to run it 🔙 in Richmond.
According to Pockrass, Chastain will be in the No. 44 for the trip to Richmond. However, there are still questions about which driver — or drivers — will take over for the remaining races on the 2022 Camping World Truck Series schedule.
Chastain has made two starts for Niece Motorsports over the past two seasons. He drove the No. 45 Chevrolet at Watkins Glen International in 2021 and then he drove the No. 41 Chevrolet at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in 2022.
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Wright Joined Niece Motorsports Ahead of the 2022 season
GettyKris Wright prepares for a race at Darlington.
Wright, who was in his first full-time Truck Series season, started the first 17 races and finished all but four of them. He posted an average finish of 25.5 while turning in a season-best finish of 15th at Circuit of the Americas.
Prior to joining Niece Motorsports, the Pennsylvania native spent the 2021 season in two different series. He made 16 starts for Young’s Motorsports while driving the No. 02 Chevrolet Silverado, and he secured a career-best finish of 12th at Daytona International Speedway.
Kris Wright just got INSANE AIR.
📺 : NBCSN
💻 : t.co/cVaaFL8ofh
Along with his time in the Truck Series, Wright also made his debut in the Xfinity Series. He joined Sam Hunt Racing for seven road course races and controlled the No. 26 Toyota Supra. Wright secured two top-20 finishes during his inaugural run in the Xfinity Series. He finished 18th at the Daytona Road Course and 17th at Watkins Glen International.
Mechanical issues disrupted two of his starts while crashes ended two others. The race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course, in particular, saw Wright catching air in the No. 26 after hitting a piece of the curb.
Niece Motorsports Changed Its Approach for 2022
Niece Motorsports has worked with a variety of drivers since first taking on the Camping World Truck Series in 2016. Such names as TJ Bell, Travis Pastrana, Jeb Burton, Austin Wayne Self, and Trevor Bayne have all made starts along with several others.
The 2021 season, in particular, had two full-time drivers in Carson Hocevar and Ryan Truex. They ran the full schedule while several other drivers rotated starts throughout the season.
Niece Motorsports made a major change for the 2022 campaign. Hocevar returned to the No. 42 after making the playoffs as a rookie, but the team brought in three other full-time drivers. Lawless Alan took over the No. 45 Chevrolet while Dean Thompson took over the No. 40 Chevrolet. Wright was the last driver to join the group.
Along with the quartet of full-time drivers, Niece Motorsports has also used a fifth entry for some part-time runs. Chad Chastain, Tyler Carpenter, and Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks all drove the No. 41 Chevrolet for one race each while Ross Chastain controlled it for five races.
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Niece Motorsports Parts Ways With Full-Time Driver