SS Green Light Racing has announced that Statesville, N.C., driver Jake Crum will pilot the Honey Do Service Inc. No. 21 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series O'Reilly 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The 18 year-old student attending Mitchell Community College began his racing career at age four racing go-karts. Accumulating a total of 54 State and National Championships in various racing disciplines over the past 14 years, Crum has set his sights on the NCWTS.
In 2007, Crum became the youngest driver to win a UARA-Stars Late Model Touring Series event and backed that up by winning the 2008 UARA-Stars championship. In 2009, Crum made his ARCA Series debut, which resulted in a sixth-place finish at Mansfield Motorsports Park. The 2009 season culminated for the talented teen with a victory in the prestigious Bailey's 300 at the Martinsville Speedway, one of the biggest paydays in Late Model racing.
Crum has two K&N Pro Series East starts this season, leading 17 laps at Martinsville in June before finishing 13th.
Three-time ASA National Champion Butch Miller will oversee Crum's effort at Bristol. "The UARA-Stars series is a great training ground for young talent," Miller said. "Knowing how well Jake has run in that series gives me a lot of optimism about his ability.
"The most important thing for Jake or any young driver trying to break into NASCAR is to make laps and finish," Miller continued. "If you take care of your equipment at a track like Bristol, chances are you can get a good finish and make it to the next event. Things happen very quickly at Bristol. If you tear it up, it's hard to get to the next race."
Crum is very focused on his debut in one of NASCAR's top touring series. "This is something that I have been working toward since I was four years old, but I'm going to handle it like it were any other race," he said. "I know that it's a new level of competition and the stage is much bigger, but I'll be strapping in just like I have been for every race for the past 14 years. The most important part for me is that my parents will be there, because we have done this as a family every single step of the way.
"My goals for the Bristol race are to bring the truck home in one piece and earn a top-10 finish in my debut."
The 18-year old added: "I honestly won't be satisfied until I reach the top of the NASCAR world. I know that there is a long road ahead of me, but the only thing that I have ever wanted to be is a NASCAR Cup Series driver.
"I will be dedicating this event to the memory of Harry Davis (father of Marc Davis). Our families worked a lot together while Marc and I were growing up and Harry kept his racecars at our shop. When Harry passed away, it was a shock to us all and I would like to dedicate my first race to him."
SS Green Light Racing General Manager Bobby Dotter is looking forward to having Crum at the helm of one of the team's Chevrolets.
"Jake brings a nice resume to the Truck Series," Dotter said. "It looks like he has a lot of talent and we are excited to have him behind the wheel. We'll work on getting Jake comfortable in the heavier truck during practice and try to get him a clean 200 laps of racing."
