Austin Theriault

Austin Theriault
Born (1994-01-23) January 23, 1994
Fort Kent, Maine
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
6 races run over 2 years
Car no., team No. 77 (Obaika Racing)
No. 25 (Rick Ware Racing)
2016 position 120th
Best finish 40th (2014)
First race 2014 Get To Know Newton 250 (Newton)
Last race 2016 Ticket Galaxy 200 (Phoenix)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
11 races run over 2 years
Truck no., team No. 2 (Brad Keselowski Racing)
No. 02 (Young's Motorsports)
2016 position 53rd
Best finish 24th (2015)
First race 2015 NextEra Energy Resources 250 (Daytona)
Last race 2016 Texas Roadhouse 200 (Martinsville)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 4 0
Statistics current as of November 12, 2016.

Austin Theriault (born January 23, 1994) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 2 Ford F-150 for Brad Keselowski Racing, and part-time in the Xfinity Series, driving the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro for Obaika Racing and the No. 25 Camaro for Rick Ware Racing.

Racing career

Early career

A native of Fort Kent, Maine,[1][2][3] he made his racing debut at the age of 13 in 2007 at Spud Speedway in Caribou, Maine Driving in the local racing divisions before moving up part-time to the touring late model division in 2009 where he qualified for his first American Canadian Tour race at Oxford Plains Speedway.

Theriault competing in the ACT race at Circuit Riverside Speedway Ste-Croix in 2011

In 2010, at only 16, he became a regular of the American Canadian Tour driving the RPM Motorsports No. 57ME, where he placed second place at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, the track where he also got his first touring series win in the 2012 ATCT race.

Theriault also competed part-time in the Pro All-Stars Series Super Late Model Touring Series from 2010 through 2014 where he won a total of four races.

Theriault occasionally competed in other racing events and divisions from 2011 to 2014, including the ARCA Midwest Tour, World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing, CARS X-1R Pro Cup Series, Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour, Sunoco Gulf Coast Championship Series, CRA JEGS All-Star Tour, CRA Super Series Southern Division, CRA Super Series, ACT and the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.

On July 20, 2013 Theriault competed in the prestigious IWK 250, along with car owner Brad Keselowski, in the No. 29X for Brad Keselowski Racing. After starting the race in 4th, Theriault had a clean race and brought the car home in an impressive 5th place, just two spots behind Keselowski who finished 3rd.[4][5]

NASCAR

Xfinity Series

On May 18, 2014, Theriault made his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut at Iowa Speedway, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports where he finished 15th.[6][7] On June 13 of that year, he won his first ARCA race, in Theriault's first start at Michigan International Speedway.

Theriault returned in the Xfinity Series, by practicing in the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Brad Keselowski at Iowa. Theriault later was picked up by Obaika Racing to drive the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro, starting at Richmond.

Camping World Truck Series

In 2015, Theriault began racing part-time with Brad Keselowski Racing, driving the No. 29 Ford F-150. He is sharing the ride with Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Ryan Blaney. He got his career best finish at Daytona International Speedway in February where he finished 4th.[8] He almost won at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Theriault's home track where he led late in the race before fading to 8th.[9]

On October 3, 2015, Theriault was involved in a huge crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway when his BKR teammate Tyler Reddick got loose in turn 4 and clipped him, causing the race truck he was driving to hit nearly head on into the front stretch wall where there were no SAFER barriers installed. Theriault's steering wheel collided with and destroyed his helmet,[10] and he eventually suffered a compression fracture in his lower back as a result of the crash.[11][12] After missing the next four races, Theriault returned to racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway,[13] finishing 12th. In 2016, he returned to BKR at Daytona, driving the No. 2.[14]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Xfinity Series

Camping World Truck Series

References

  1. "Fort Kent driver Austin Theriault lands part-time NASCAR Truck Series ride". The Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  2. Johnny Mehler (1 August 2015). "Fort Kent's Theriault finishes 4th in ModSpace 125". WLBZ2. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  3. "Maine driver Austin Theriault signs NASCAR deal". The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  4. "TUCKER HOISTS PRESTIGIOUS TROPHY AS VICTOR OF IWK 250 PRESENTED BY STEVE LEWIS AUTO BODY". Maritime Pro Stock Tour. Retrieved 2015-10-04.
  5. "2013 IWK 250 Presented by Steve Lewis Auto Body". Racing reference. Retrieved 2015-10-04.
  6. "Dale Earnhardt Jr. hires Austin Theriault for three Nationwide races". FOX Sports. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  7. "Hornish capitalizes on opportunity for win at Iowa; Fort Kent's Theriault finishes 15th". The Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  8. "Tyler Reddick wins Daytona trucks race for first career victory". USA TODAY. February 20, 2015. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  9. "Fort Kent's Theriault finishes 8th in NASCAR truck race". The Bangor Daily News. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  10. "Our Newest Driver". Brad Keselowski. October 15, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  11. "Brad Keselowski Racing teammates collide, driver takes vicious hit at Las Vegas Motor Speedway". FOX Sports. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  12. Joe Rodgers (October 3, 2015). "NASCAR driver Austin Theriault airlifted to hospital after head-on hit at Las Vegas". Sporting News. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  13. "AUSTIN THERIAULT CLEARED TO RACE AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI". NASCAR. November 19, 2015. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  14. "AUSTIN THERIAULT TO RUN THIRD BKR TRUCK AT DAYTONA". NASCAR. February 8, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2016.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/23/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.