Bayley Currey pilots his No. 44 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet to a fourth place result at Atlanta Motor Speedway. (Photo By: Hayden Hutchison | The Podium Finish)
HAMPTON, Ga. — After a challenging start to the season in the Daytona opener, Bayley Currey found success at Atlanta Motor Speedway, securing a top-five result in Saturday’s FR8 208.
Currey, 28, began the race in 30th place, but he managed to navigate through wrecks and the draft to finish fourth. With less than five laps remaining, he was in position to battle for the win, racing in the inside lane on the second row.
However, the final turns did not go in his favor as veteran Kyle Busch blocked his chances at victory on the last lap.
After the race, Currey reflected on the final moments, noting the importance of playing a team-oriented role.
“I wanted to go for the win there at the end and was thinking about taking Kyle Busch three-wide and going to the bottom, but at the same time, I was thinking that it would slow us all down and a Chevrolet wouldn’t win,” Currey said.
The result marks an improvement over his 2024 season in which Currey failed to score a top-five finish. In 2023, the Texas native earned three top-five finishes.
Currey, who gained 26 positions during the race, credited his No. 44 Niece Motorsports team for their perseverance.
“We had a problem in qualifying yesterday and had to start way in the back. This Niece Motorsports No. 44 group just never gives up. We stayed with it all day and picked them off as we could, without getting in too big of a rush,” he said.
Niece Motorsports had a rough start to the year at Daytona with all their trucks finishing outside the top 20. Heading into Atlanta, things did not look much easier, as their trucks qualified 24th, 25th, and 30th.
After a strong race, each driver made significant gains, finishing fourth, sixth and 13th, respectively.
The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series takes a couple of weeks off before heading to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 on Friday, Mar. 15. Currey has made three career starts at the 1.5-mile track with his best finish being 16th.
Fans can watch Currey’s attempt to build on this momentum at Las Vegas on FS1 at 9 p.m. ET.
