JD Motorsports will have some familiar faces in its camp next year. Lead driver Ross Chastain is returning to the #4 car, with 2013 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Ryan Preece back in the #01 car as well. ‘We’re trying hard and we have a lot of great people behind us,’ Preece said. ‘We’re hoping that next year, we can keep on digging. We want more sponsorship and make a lot more great things happen.’ Chastain’s return to the team comes as he caps off his second full-time season with JD Motorsports. However, he failed to finish in the top 10 this year. ‘Before, the [No.] 01 car was leaps and bounds over the [No.] 4 car on the racetrack and business-wise,’ Chastain said. ‘To have equal racecars is a big deal. I’ll be back in the #4 car next year. Me and Johnny shake hands and we’re racecars who want to go racing. We want to do it at the highest level possible, and we’re trying to get this car up the leaderboard.’ While the two drivers are confirmed to be returning, Garrett Smithley is unclear of whether or not he will return to pilot the team’s #0 car in 2017. ‘Nothing is solid yet,’ Smithley said. ‘We’re still working on sponsors and everything. I think we will be.’(Frontstretch)(11-24-2016)
UPDATE: With the approach of a new racing season, the JD Motorsports with Gary Keller team is working toward finalizing its driver lineup for the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule. Ross Chastain, one of the top young drivers in the sport, will return to JD Motorsports for a third straight season. The team is working with Garrett Smithley, who had a fine rookie season this year in JD Motorsports Chevrolets, to return Smithley to the team lineup next season. ‘We’re 99 percent sure Garrett will be back with us,’ said team owner Johnny Davis. ‘But we’re still working on funding and sponsorship issues to get everything lined up.’ The team has a vacancy in its third car as Ryan Preece, who ran his Xfinity rookie season with JD Motorsports, has decided to move on to other opportunities. The Florida Watermelon Association will return as a sponsor of Chastain’s cars next year.(JD Motorsports)
