Supercars’ Waters to make Truck Series debut

Australian Supercars racer Cam Waters will make his NASCAR debut at Martinsville Speedway with ThorSport Racing in the Craftsman Truck Series.

Waters, 29, left Australia last Tuesday for the United States after the Melbourne SuperSprint Supercars event. He will drive a ThorSport Racing Ford F-150 in the Friday, April 5, event.

“We’ve been working away at making this happen for some time and to finally be given the chance to race, and with a top operation, is great,” Waters said. “I’m not putting too much pressure on myself knowing I will be getting thrown into the deep end without any testing, but hopefully I can adapt reasonably quickly and be competitive. It’s a short oval so I’m sure it will be pretty wild out there.”

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Waters is a two-time championship runner-up in Supercars competition, where he currently races a Tickford Racing Ford Mustang. He’s also previously competed at Bathurst, with three podium finishes.

“I have to thank Ford Performance and the team at ThorSport for helping make this happen,” Waters said, “and also my long-time team Tickford Racing, who have always supported my plans to explore new driving opportunities in and around my continued dedication to winning the Supercars Championship with them.”

Waters will be the third Supercars driver who has ventured into NASCAR over the last year. Shane van Gisbergen made two starts last season in the Cup Series, winning in his debut on the streets of Chicago. Brodie Kostecki made his Cup Series debut on the Indianapolis road course.

ThorSport Racing fields full-time entries for Matt Crafton, Jake Garcia and reigning two-time series champion Ben Rhodes. The organization has won five driver’s championships and 28 races.

“Anything that can provide Cam with further seat time is a bonus,” said Tickford Racing owner Rod Nash. “His foray into sprint car racing and now the NASCAR truck event provides a fantastic way for Cam to stay sharp and further test his skills. The timing being in between the AGP event and Taupo also works well for our team and we’re wishing Cam well and will be watching with huge interest.”