After two successful outings with Chase Austin in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Trail Motorsport is shifting their focus from on-the-track to off-the-track. Newly formed Trail Motorsport find themselves moving into the Mecca of all race shops-the former building for teams Robert Yates Racing and Petty Enterprises. With this move comes difficult decisions regarding their plans for racing. In an effort to focus on moving into a new shop and building a successful platform for the race team, Trail Motorsports has decided to scale back their race program for a few weeks. “Chase is our guy,” said Patrick Shelton, Managing Director for Trail Motorsport. “I hope to get the opportunity to work with him for a very long time.” “We need time to get our house in order. We want to put the pieces in place to secure Trail Motorsport’s long term future.”(Trail Motorsport PR)(3-4-2009)
UPDATE: Chase Austin on hold? Wait a minute. African-American driver Chase Austin, 19, was supposed to be in for the entire Truck season, but his name is missing from the entry list for Saturday’s race at Atlanta. What’s the deal? Housekeeping — moving into the building previously occupied by Petty Enterprises, says Patrick Shelton, managing director of Trail Motorsport, the African-American owned team that’s developing around Austin. They’re sitting out Atlanta because “we had to shift a lot of operating funds into capital funds,” Shelton said Wednesday — i.e., lease the building. Austin finished 13th at Daytona in his first time ever in a truck, and 23rd at Fontana, Calif. “We did a two-race deal, but we’re still working for a full-time, multi-year deal,” Shelton said. “Chase is definitely our guy.” “Things are still moving along,” Austin said by cell phone. “We’ve moving into a new shop right now and just have a lot on our plate.” Thing is, a source close to the situation said that “Chase was mad they aren’t running Atlanta ? He was furious.” “When we made a decision to skip Atlanta and get our house in order, Chase was part of the decision,” said Shelton. Austin’s response: “I can’t comment on that right now.” Another source close to the situation says the next Truck race, at Martinsville, Va., on March 28, is “iffy” for the team. The full-time contract is “tied up with the lawyers right now,” Shelton said.(ESPN.com)(3-6-2009)
