Originally from Pelham, N.H., Caisse was the Camping World Series East championship runner-up in 2006 and 2007. In 39 career starts he compiled 24 top 10s with wins at seven different tracks. His 12 Coors Light Pole Awards rank sixth in series history.
“I have a personal vendetta against that track,” Caisse said of Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. “I’ve had a lot of success out there, and it’s a pretty cool race to be in, but finishing second doesn’t really do it for me. I want to go out there and win the race. That’s what my goal is.”
Caisse is a three-time participant in the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown. While he has recorded impressive runs in NASCAR’s premier short-track event, he’s still looking for that elusive win.
“I’ve got a good feel for that race track, and I’ve been out there three different times,” Caisse said. “It’s a driver’s race track for sure, and it takes a little time to get used to it, so there are certain things as a driver I know going into it.”
He earned the pole and led 34 laps in his debut in 2005, and finished as the runner-up in 2006 after leading 15 laps. In 2007, he again earned the pole and led the first 74 laps before getting taken out by a lapped car that left him with a 36th place finish.
Caisse is a development driver for Richard Childress Racing, for which he made two starts in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2009. He made one Camping World Series East appearance this past season, a seventh place finish at South Boston (Va.) Speedway in a Dave Davis Motorsports car.
The 23-year-old will drive the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Chevrolet for car owner Ted Marsh in the 2010 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, with a new engine provided by RCR.
The seventh running of the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, which brings together the top racers from across North America for the “Daytona 500 of short-track racing,” will be highlighted by the 225-lap Camping World Series all-star race. Each race winner during the 2009 Camping World Series East and West seasons is eligible for a protected starting spot, as are the 2009 champions from each of NASCAR’s six regional touring series and the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion.
Caisse joins a list of early commitments that include: Camping World Series champions Ryan Truex (East) and Jason Bowles (West), two-time Showdown winner Matt Kobyluck, Eric Holmes, Jim Inglebright, David Mayhew, Eddie MacDonald, Steve Park and Greg Pursley.
In addition to eligible 2009 race winners and series champions, the starting lineup will be determined through time trials, limited provisionals for Camping World Series regulars, and the last-chance “Open” race that provides drivers one final chance to make the grid.
The 2010 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown schedule also includes 100-lap Whelen All-American Series Super Late Model and 75-lap Late Model races. Both nights of racing will air live on SPEED.
- NASCAR Press Release