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Austin Cindric to drive BKR’s No. 29 truck at Martinsville

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during the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway on February 20, 2015 in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Patrick Smith

Brad Keselowski Racing announced that the next driver to fill in for the injured Austin Theriault in the No. 29 truck will be Austin Cindric.

Cindric, 17, will make his Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR debut this weekend with the Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway. It will be the second race missed by Theriault since suffering a compression fracture at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Cindric has won four races in Global Rally Cross Lites competition this season and is the youngest winner ever in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge after winning at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. He is the son of Team Penske president Tim Cindric.

“I’m really looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the Cooper Standard Ford F-150 and can’t thank Brad enough for this opportunity,” Cindric said in a press release. “I’ve never been to Martinsville so it’ll be a whole new experience.

“I’ll just take it lap by lap and absorb as much information as possible. I just need to make sure I gain the respect of the competitors because I’m new to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. I have no expectations. I’ll just take what the weekend brings me and go from there.”

The 17-year-old driver also has two starts in ARCA in 2015 with one top-five finish.

The first driver to replace Theriault was Brad Keselowski’s older brother, Brian. Brian Keselowski led 10 laps and finished 17th at Talladega Superspeedway after having to pit for fuel late.

“One of the things I wanted to do at BKR is give talented young drivers an opportunity,” Keselowski said in a press release. “Austin Cindric already has an incredibly diverse racing background. We’re happy to give him an opportunity in the Cooper Standard Ford F-150 at Martinsville to learn what it’s like to compete at a high level in NASCAR and to gain experience so he’ll be prepared to take the next step in his career.”

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