NASCAR fans may have found a new favorite driver. Brenden Queen ran his first Truck Series race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, put on a splendid display of his racing skills and finished P4. While he struggled with the pit road penalty, that didn’t stop him from competing for a strong finish at the end of the race.
Fans were excited by “Butterbean” Queen’s performance on the track, so much so that they stood up as he rolled the No. 1 Tricon Garage truck on pit road after finishing the race. At 26 years old, it’s fair to say that he will soon need a full-time driver and, considering today’s debut, he might have convinced one or two team owners to consider her as their next full-time driver.
Brenden Queen eyes full-time ride in Craftsman Truck Series
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The Chesapeake, Virginia, native had a breakthrough in camp last year, competing in the CARS Tour. He had four wins to his name along with 15 top-10 finishes, leading him to finish second in the championship standings. Racing in his first NASCAR race, he surely brought the same energy and determination he is known for. What impressed fans the most was that despite trying to race hard, he did not cause unwanted crashes or accidents.
He went door-to-door several times during the final laps of the race, but managed to keep himself and others out of unwanted trouble. Experiencing fan affection and a good, solid P4 finish, Butterbean in his post-race interview said, “Man, it’s what I’ve worked for my whole life and I never knew if I’d get this opportunity. First of all, a big thank you to Tricon Garage, everyone at Toyota, TRD, TPC for giving me this opportunity. Tricon Garage brought a quick and fast Best Repair company, leadcars.com Toyota Tundra and I was a lucky man to drive it.”
Additionally, he was asked about his future plans and the possibility of competing in the Truck Series. To which he replied: “I have to thank the man upstairs for keeping us all safe, and I never knew if he would have this opportunity, and Being Nation is stuck with me as you can see. I am a blessed man and I hope to turn this into more opportunities. I love racing my latest model, but this is my dream. Get to the next level.”
Meanwhile, Brenden Queen’s teammate Corey Heim, driving the No. 11 Tricon Garage truck, earned his third win of the season.
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It’s Heim Time at North Wilkesboro Speedway
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Corey Heim has arguably been the best driver in the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series. He already has six top-10 finishes, including today’s win and the other four top-10 finishes. The only disappointing race was at Darlington, where he crashed and finished P28. Despite constant changes to the race schedule at North Wilkesboro, Heim focused on his role and got his No. 11 truck into victory lane.
Crossing the finish line 2.47 seconds ahead of runner-up Grant Enfinger, Heim has reduced the gap to four points behind leader Christian Eckes, who finished the race in sixth place. However, since Brenden Queen was receiving applause from fans in the stands, Heim kept his post-race interaction fairly brief.
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“That was crazy, yeah. Crazy weekend with the water and all, but from practice I knew we had the speed, so I can’t say enough about these guys at Tricon Garage. I mean, what a truck, what a weekend; We knew all the potential in practice and we executed very well today, a big thanks to them.”
The battle between the leading teams and the drivers is heating up. Next up on the Truck Series schedule is a trip to Charlotte Motor Speedway. And Heim will already have a redemption story in mind after last year’s second-place finish.
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