Crew chief Ernie Cope is looking for “a good, solid top-10 finish” from Fort Kent driver Austin Theriault in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway.
“I agree,” Theriault said. “We had that goal early on but I just haven’t been able to quite get there yet. We didn’t get the finishes we wanted but I felt I learned a lot from Iowa and Loudon.”
Theriault, 20, finished 15th and 21st in his first two Nationwide Series races for the JR Motorsports team and his final race for the team owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 over a 1.5-mile track.
He will be driving the No. 5 Camaro which will be decked out in state of Maine images like lighthouses, blueberries, lobsters and moose along with a variety of logos featuring Maine companies that have helped sponsor him.
Gov. Paul LePage’s administration also earmarked $50,000 to be one of the sponsors in an attempt to promote the state, its tourism and business climate.
Theriault tested the car on Wednesday at Kentucky Speedway and knows he will have a top-notch car and crew.
The No. 5 car has posted five wins this season, four with Kevin Harvick in the seat and the other with Kasey Kahne.
Harvick and Kahne are two of the 16 drivers who are involved in the Sprint Cup Chase for the Championship.
“The 5 team has been outstanding all year,” said Theriault. “Fortunately, I’ll be in good equipment which is all I can ask for.
“It is still a learning experience. The most difficult thing for me is I only get to race [in the Nationwide Series] every three months. You haven’t been in the race car in three months and then you have to get back in it and get up to speed [as quickly as possible],” he said.
His 15th-place finish came in the Get to Know Newton 250 at Iowa Speedway on May 18 and his 21st-place showing came at the Sta-Green 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 12.
He ran in the top 10 for most of the race in Iowa but got shuffled back to 15th on a late restart.
Theriault said he doesn’t anticipate having any extra pressure on him courtesy of the state of Maine sponsorship,
“You can only do your best,” Theriault said. “That’s what I try to do every time. It is humbling for me to have Maine on the car. As I’ve been saying all along, the message this weekend is about the hard work [ethic] and dedication all Mainers have. It’s cool to tell the story to the rest of the country about economic diversity in Maine and how dedicated the Maine workers are.”
Wednesday’s test was useful.
“It was a huge positive for me to get in some laps. I picked some things up. The track is rough and bumpy,” said Theriault. “There’s a big bump in the track and when you hit it, your head [bobbles] around. The second groove [on top] is faster but you’ve got to be able to roll on the bottom.
“There isn’t much grip so we worked on making the car turn a little better. You need to stay longer on the throttle coming off the corner onto the straightaway,” explained Theriault. Harvick won the previous race at Kentucky Speedway on June 27.
“We’ll probably set the car up a little tighter for Austin than we did for Kevin,” said Cope. “I haven’t had much time with Austin but I think he’ll be fine.”
Cope said a top-five finish isn’t out of the question, either.
Theriault has had success on tracks in excess of a mile.
In June, he became the first driver to win his first ARCA start since Alex Bowman in 2011 when he took the checkered flag at Michigan International Speedway’s two-mile oval.
Theriault said he needs to accelerate the process this weekend.
He has to get as comfortable as quickly as he can in the car and get a better feel for the track.
He would like to have a strong qualifying run so he can start in a favorable position.
“I’ll still be learning how to pass [on the bumpy track] and how to be more efficient in the draft and the side draft,” he said.
Race coverage on ESPNews will begin at 7 p.m.