Action sports star Travis Pastrana will make his second appearance in three years at Las Vegas Motor Speedway at this fall's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.
The 33-year-old, who competed in the NCWTS race at LVMS in 2015, will drive for Niece Motorsports in the Sept. 30 event, which is part of the NCWTS playoffs. Pastrana finished 16th in the 2015 race and also finished 15th in the 2012 Smith's 350 at LVMS.
"I love NASCAR, and Las Vegas is always a good time, so I'm really looking forward to racing there later this season," Pastrana said. "NASCAR is something that challenges me, and I've done a lot of work over the past couple of years to try and improve my pavement skills. I'm racing my first full year of Rally since 2010, and I'm fresh off my first win in over a year, so it's really exciting to be able to get behind the wheel again and see what we can do in the Truck Series."
Pastrana will kick off his 2017 season with a test at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the No. 45 Chevy Silverado on Tuesday.
"The seat time at Charlotte will be a huge help for me to get up to speed and for the team to get a solid base setup for when we show up to race later in the year," said Pastrana, a four-time Rally America champion. "I've actually worked with several of the people on this team in the past. It's a fun group, and we have a good rapport."
Pastrana reunites with Cody Efaw, who served as his car chief in the NASCAR XFINITY Series in 2013. In 2017, Efaw has assumed the role of crew chief of the No. 45 Chevy at Niece Motorsports.
"Any time you can team up with someone you've worked well with in the past, there's obviously a level of comfort there," Pastrana said. "I know the group of guys that Niece Motorsports has assembled is going to give me a great shot at running well."
Weinerschnitzel will serve as Pastrana's primary sponsor for the race at LVMS. Additionally, Black Riffle Coffee Company, SilencerCo, Nitro Circus, Alpinestars and Palms Casino Resort will provide sponsorship support to the No. 45 team for the race.
Niece Motorsports, which is owned by Marine Corps veteran Al Niece, has competed in a partial schedule during the 2017 season, with plans of running full time moving into 2018 and beyond.
Niece owns Niece Equipment, which has provided clients with reliable products at competitive prices for more than 30 years. 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.
"We are thrilled to have Travis behind the wheel this season," Niece said. "He's extremely passionate about NASCAR and committed to working with us to have the best run possible in Las Vegas."
The NCWTS will drop the green flag at LVMS on Sept. 30 at 5 p.m. Pacific Time on FS1.