18 year-old Gray Gaulding will pilot the #23 Toyota Camry in the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The team made the announcement at Richmond International Raceway, home track to BK Racing and Gaulding. Gaulding has been competing in some form of racing since the age of three. Gaulding’s rookie season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series in 2013 started with a bang with a 2nd place finish in the inaugural Battle at the Beach on the Daytona International Speedway’s back straightaway. Gaulding’s impressive three year stint in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West included 13 top-five finishes, 25 top-tens, and three pole awards. His first pole award was here at RIR in 2013, making Gaulding the youngest driver to do so at 15 years, 2 months, and 15 days. That same year, Gaulding picked up a win at Phoenix International Raceway making him the youngest driver to win in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West at 15 years, 8 months, and 30 days. In 2014-2015, Gaulding moved up to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series where he made 13 starts with one top-five and two top ten finishes. In 2016, Gaulding furthered his career by making starts in both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Gaulding’s first race in the #23 will be the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 5, 2017. The team will announce sponsorship for Gaulding at a later date.(BK Racing) Gaulding’s first race will be Atlanta because he has not been approved by NASCAR to run at Daytona.(1-24-2017)
UPDATE: At only 18 years of age, Gaulding has achieved a lifetime goal of competing full-time in NASCAR’s premier Cup Series. His first season begins this March at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Gaulding will drive BK Racing’s #23 Toyota for 33 of the 36 points races on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Although sponsorship is slated to be announced at a later date, it is expected that Gaulding’s main primary sponsor on the #23 will be Dr. Pepper. Although Gaulding’s teammate Joey Gase will have the #23 and Best Home Furnishings as his primary sponsor in three races this season – Daytona in February, Kentucky in July and Bristol in August – the two drivers are really only sharing the same car number. Gaulding is expected to have the #83 at Kentucky in July and Bristol in August, and he is slated to retain his crew and points for those two races. The only race that Gaulding will miss in 2017 is the season-opening Daytona 500, as he has not received approval from NASCAR to run the race due to the requirement that he has to race a Cup race at a track that is 1.5-plus miles in length before he can compete at the 2.5-mile superspeedways of Daytona and Talladega. His two starts last season in Cup were at the half-mile short track of Martinsville and the one-mile raceway of Phoenix.(Progress-Index)
