Thursday

Veteran NASCAR Crew Chief Richie Wauters Takes the Leap into Team Ownership with Rookie Paulie Harraka

Filed under Press Releases, Truck Series

Mooresville, NC (January 25, 2012)- Veteran NASCAR crew chief Richie Wauters takes the leap into NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team ownership forming Wauters Motorsports which in 2012 will be driven by Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Paulie Harraka.

Wauters’ career began at tracks around his hometown Green Bay, Wis. and quickly moved into the NASCAR Touring Series. Wauters crewed successful NASCAR Sprint Cup teams with drivers Kenny Wallace, Elliott Sadler, Robert Pressley and Jeff Green.

Wauters, in his tenure as a crew chief in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, led teams to 18 victories from 2004-2010 with drivers Shane Hmiel, Kyle Busch and Aric Almirola.

“It is something I thought about for awhile,” Richie Wauters said of his decision to become a team owner. “I had the opportunity to buy some trucks and have a great driver headlining the team. It hasn’t been a difficult transition so far and we are really excited about the season. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is very competitive and I’m certain Paulie and the guys on this team will be right in the thick of that competition.”

Former NASCAR Drive for Diversity driver Harraka will take the wheel of the Ford F150 Camping World truck. Most recently, Harraka posted three victories in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. Harraka, a senior at Duke University, has also scored the Championship in NASCAR’s Whelen All-American Series, and posted two different NASCAR Rookie of the Year titles: NASCAR Whelen All American Series and NASCAR Camping World Series West (Now K&N Pro Series West).

Harraka is finishing up his final semester at Duke University, and his graduation will make him part of a very small group of NASCAR drivers with their college degrees. Harraka has focused his education on “anything that can help me in racing; engineering, leadership, finance, you name it. I’ve challenged myself at Duke to become a completely differentiated NASCAR driver.” Harraka said.

“Having the opportunity to jump into the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is an opportunity I’ve worked for since I was 7 years old,” Harraka said. “I am fortunate to see it coming to fruition. To be doing so with a championship crew chief like Richie Wauters and with the team he’s assembled is exciting. I’m the kind of driver that will put in whatever time, effort or work that is needed to win races, and I know that Richie is the same kind of crew chief. Together, we’ll hold nothing back, and that makes me confident that we’ll find the winner’s circle in short order.”

The Wauters Motorsports F150 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be utilizing Doug Yates and Roush Racing Engines in their debut at Daytona International Speedway for the running of the NEXTERA Energy Resources 250, Friday, Feb. 24th.

- Wauters Motorsports Press Release